Congress Poised to Boost Transportation Spending

What happened: Congress reached agreement on transportation spending legislation through Sept. 30 that would fully-fund programs at Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 authorized levels and also provide supplemental investment for highways, transit, and airport programs. Highway programs would receive $74.5 billion (a $2.4 billion increase from FY 2025), airports would receive $9.6 billion (a $520 million increase from FY 2025), and transit programs would receive $20.8 billion. See a complete breakdown of spending.

ARTBA led a group letter of nearly 50 national organizations, encouraging Congress to pass the legislation prior to the Jan. 30 deadline, in order to avoid another short-term extension.

Why it matters: The House passed the legislation Jan. 22 by a vote of 341-88, signaling transportation investment continues to be an area of bipartisan agreement in Washington. This spirit of cooperation will be critical in advancing surface transportation authorization legislation later this year.

What’s next: The bill is expected to pass the Senate next week. With funding certainty through Sept. 30, attention can now turn to securing on-time renewal of a robust, long-term surface transportation reauthorization.