On Oct. 2, Congress passed a short-term extension of the authorization of surface transportation programs, extending authorization through Oct. 31. Surface transportation program funding that was last authorized in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act expired on Sept. 30 at midnight. As a result, surface transportation agencies and programs at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) that rely on that authorization, including the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, were partially shut down until the passage of the short-term extension. The infrastructure package passed by the Senate in August contains long-term reauthorization of these surface transportation programs but has not yet been passed by the House. This package or another short-term extension will need passed by Oct. 31 to prevent another partial shutdown of surface transportation programs at U.S. DOT.
