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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (left) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (right) meet with Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden in February. (Evan Vucci/Associated Press)

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Fiscal 2025 funding legislation and other must-pass bills await consideration on Capitol Hill while most members of Congress are campaigning during the final weeks before the elections.

When lawmakers return to Washington after the November elections, their priority will be finalizing bills to fund operations at the U.S. Department of Transportation and other agencies. Funding authority for the government expires Dec. 20, following President Joe Biden’s enactment of a short-term measure averting a partial federal shutdown.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) sees the December deadline as an opportunity. On Sept. 25, he argued it provides congressional funding leaders additional time to craft bipartisan fiscal 2025 bills. The original government funding deadline was Sept. 30.

“Because bipartisanship ultimately prevailed, the government will stay open. Vital government services will not be halted. Appropriators will have more time to fully fund the government before the end of the year,” Schumer said. “And I hope it sets the tone for more constructive, bipartisan work when we return later in the fall.”

The path to this extension wasn’t smooth. Partisan debates on immigration, social policies and homeland security contributed to Congress missing the September deadline. Prior to the House’s vote on the short-term funding bill, Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) stressed the urgency of the situation.

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“Like most, my preference would be to pass full-year appropriations bills through regular order, but we are out of time,” Cole told colleagues. “We cannot afford a shutdown, which would be greatly damaging to our national security, to critical government programs, and to the American people.”

The transportation sector is watching these developments closely. Earlier this year, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a fiscal 2025 transportation bill allocating $964.5 million to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. A House committee-passed version would provide $909 million to the federal trucking regulator.

Notably, the House bill includes $200 million for expanding parking access for commercial truck operators. American Trucking Associations has endorsed this provision and is pressing for congressional approval.

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“We will seek to ensure that the final conference [funding] agreement addresses trucking’s priorities,” ATA President Chris Spear said.

Beyond transportation, lawmakers will tackle bills related to Pentagon programs, freight rail safety and water infrastructure projects.

The biennial Water Resources Development Act 2024, passed in both chambers this summer, is a key piece of legislation. Its final approval would facilitate billions of dollars for the nation’s ports, dams and canals.

Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.), the bill’s sponsor, emphasized its importance: “Delaware’s beaches, waterways and ports are the backbone of our economy. That’s why we worked hard to invest in the First State’s water infrastructure with WRDA 2024.”

Carper added that the bipartisan legislation would direct the Corps to protect Delaware’s shorelines from climate change threats, support ecosystem restoration and water resources research, and create good-paying jobs statewide.

The Association of State Dam Safety Officials, Dredging Contractors of America and the International Liquid Terminals Association have endorsed this biennial legislation.

Specific to freight rail policy, senior lawmakers are calling for passage of the Commerce Committee-passed Railway Safety Act, co-sponsored by Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio). Vance is former President Donald Trump’s running mate. House Republicans have introduced their own version, the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2024, sponsored by Troy Nehls (R-Texas) and Seth Moulton (D-Mass.).

The congressional measures respond to a high-profile freight train derailment last year. The National Transportation Safety Board determined a Norfolk Southern railcar’s defective wheel bearing caused the Feb. 3, 2023, derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

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