Congress is already working to write the next big surface transportation bill, with House leaders looking to move a bill through the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee (T&I) as early as this fall. This would govern highway and transit funding for the next many years after the current authorization (which is part of the IIJA) expires in late 2026. Why has the work already started? It’s because the midterm elections in November 2026 will complicate efforts to pass any major legislation in the preceding few months. Plus big bills take time.
Historically, Congress has worked on and passed surface transportation bills on a bipartisan basis, and it’s been clear from key Senate and House leaders that they intend to continue that tradition. With a very slim margin in the House, and a 60-vote threshold in the Senate, a bipartisan approach is also necessary.
House T&I Chairman Sam Graves sought and received an exemption earlier this year that allowed him to lead the Committee for two more years, in part so he could spearhead this bill. Together with Ranking Member Rick Larsen, he has moved aggressively on a bipartisan basis to solicit and evaluate ideas from stakeholders as well as the Members of Congress. (There’s activity in the Senate as well, but it appears that the House is moving more quickly.) If Congress doesn’t pass a transportation bill in the first few months of 2026, it will have to just extend the current authorization for some period of time.
Meanwhile, while efforts to tie transportation funding to actions on DEI and immigration remain areas of fierce policy and legal debate, there have been other important actions garnering less attention. The Department of Transportation has released billions of dollars in grants and issued one of its first significant NOFOs (grants for buses and facilities), while at the same making some targeted cuts (which are being challenged in court). It will be interesting to see if and how moves of the Trump Administration impact Hill negotiations on a transportation bill since Members of Congress generally will want (and expect) programs they include to be implemented by whatever Administration is in power.
Finally, in an important and welcome signal about the critical role that transit plays in our nation, the Trump Administration proposed an uptick in spending on public transit in its FY 26 proposed budget.
As progress on surface transportation reauthorization and updates to funding for transit programs develop, we’ll refresh our 2025 Funding Guide with the latest.