House Appropriators Approve Scaled Back Transportation Spending Bill

What happened: The House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Subcommittee May 21 approved a Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 transportation funding measure that would cut highway investment by more than $10 billion, airport funding by $5 billion and mass transit by $4 billion. All committee Republicans supported the measure, while all Democrats opposed.

The measure’s investment reductions result from a decision to not continue general fund support dedicated to programs under the 2021 federal infrastructure law.

What’s the catch: With the pending Sept. 30 expiration of the surface transportation law, Congress is beginning the FY 2027 appropriations process without authorized investment levels in place. Therefore, appropriators are operating off FY 2026 core investment levels as a placeholder while negotiations continue.

Chairman Womack acknowledged this trade-off noting, “the T&I [Transportation & Infrastructure] committee is marking up their five-year surface transportation reauthorization today. This bill cuts the check for the Highway Trust Fund programs, and we look forward to tracking progress on that bill. In the meantime, our 27 mark holds those trust fund programs at fiscal 26 levels.”

This serves as a reminder of the urgent need for timely renewal of surface transportation programs.

What’s next: The full House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to vote on the proposal the week of June 1. ARTBA weighed in with the committee urging them to restore total investments to the FY2026 level to preserve the continuity of state transportation improvement plans.