Fiscal 2025 Bills Top Congress’ End-of-Year Session

Budget authority for the Department of Transportation and most federal agencies expires Dec. 20. (Mikhail Makarov/Getty Images)

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The approval of fiscal 2025 bills tops Congress’ priorities as lawmakers prepare to kick off their post-election legislative agenda.

Members of the House and Senate are scheduled to return to Washington as early as the week of Nov. 11. Finalizing fiscal federal funding measures will guide their legislative actions throughout the upcoming lame-duck period on Capitol Hill.

Congressional leaders have repeatedly said they intend to avert a partial government shutdown. Before Congress recessed prior to this month’s election, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) elevated bipartisanship as the key for finalizing the fiscal 2025 funding bills.

In September, President Joe Biden enacted a short-term continuing funding resolution. As part of that law, budget authority for the Department of Transportation and most federal agencies expires Dec. 20.

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Schumer 

“Appropriators will have more time to fully fund the government before the end of the year,” Schumer said, adding, “This bipartisanship is a good outcome for America. And I hope it sets the tone for more constructive, bipartisan work when we return later in the fall.”

Reflecting on the temporary funding measure, House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told colleagues it “allows the people — and importantly the next president — to have a say in the appropriations process.”

Following his victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, President-elect Donald Trump will commence his second term in late January, eight years after his first. He is the second president to serve nonconsecutive terms. Grover Cleveland was the first.

Several senior lawmakers are calling on colleagues to approve emergency aid during the upcoming appropriations process. The Biden White House is requesting about $3 billion for rebuilding Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge and nearly $1 billion to assist regions affected by natural disasters. The bridge collapsed in March.

“We must provide the critical disaster assistance that so many communities across this country are in desperate need of, including both natural disasters and the dramatic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Appropriations Committee ranking member, said last month. “The devastating flooding from Hurricane Helene further highlights the fact that it is far past time for Speaker [Mike] Johnson to agree to a comprehensive disaster package that helps individuals, small businesses and communities fully recover.”

Earlier this year, the Senate Appropriations Committee backed a transportation bill that would provide $964.5 million for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The Senate bill also would provide the Federal Highway Administration $63.1 billion, the Federal Aviation Administration $22 billion, the Federal Transit Administration $17 billion, Federal Railroad Administration $3.4 billion and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration $1.2 billion.

A House committee-passed version of the transportation legislation would provide FMCSA with $909 million. The House measure also would dedicate $200 million for parking expansion projects nationwide for commercial truck drivers.

After DOT last month announced grants for truck parking programs in Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin, American Trucking Associations pointed to Congress’ central role on the persistent issue.

“When drivers finish their shift, they deserve to know that they will be able to find a safe place to sleep that night,” said ATA President Chris Spear on Oct. 22. “Congress can be a part of the solution by building on this investment and voting to pass the $200 million for truck parking included in this year’s appropriations bill.”

Floor votes on government fiscal funding measures have yet to be scheduled in the Republican-led House and Democrat-controlled Senate. A partial federal shutdown would take effect if Congress fails to clear for Biden’s signature funding bills by Dec. 20.