Congress passes 8-month extension to TEA-21

The House and Senate passed an 8-month extension bill authorizing funding (as opposed to guaranteed funding) for highway and transit programs at levels recommended in TEALU (H.R. 3550) for FY 2005, providing 8/12 of the authorized total. However, the bill links the actual guaranteed funding to what the budget resolution for FY '05 assumed for highway and transit spending. This means that transit spending will remain at the FY '04 level, well below what the extention authorizes for FY '05. Highway spending, which includes money available for bike/ped projects, will rise for the first 8 months, with funding at roughly $23.1 billion (8/12 of the $34.7 billion authorized in TEALU).

While a lame duck session is still a possibility, albeit a remote one, this extension more than likely sets us up to tackle a 6-year bill in the next Congress. Bicyclists are encouraged to continue to speak to their Congressional members during this election season about the America Bikes agenda. You can find a copy of the Congressional leave behind sheet on the homepage at http://www.americabikes.org. Also, the new extension expiration date of May 31, 2005, once again makes participation in the National Bike Summit critical. Dates for the Summit next year are March 16-18, 2005. Check out http://www.bikeleague.org for additional scoop.