The threat of a partial government shutdown that would ensnare transportation programs looms as congressional Republicans and Democrats continue to disagree about President Donald Trump’s funding request for a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.

Sensing the impetus for considering a long-term infrastructure funding bill when the new Congress convenes in less than a month, key House and Senate policymakers have started to outline proposals for what would be a massive piece of legislation.

WASHINGTON — With the current session of Congress quickly coming to a close, the top policymaker on environmental issues in the U.S. House made sure new draft legislation on ethanol mandates he co-authored would see the light of day.

Ahead of the Dec. 11 announcement of the next BUILD grant recipients, a few members of Congress have alerted the public about extra funds headed to their districts to help alleviate the cost of infrastructure projects.

A funding extension to keep several federal agencies operating through Dec. 21 was signed into law by President Donald Trump, the White House announced Dec. 7.

Federal policymakers should raise and index federal fuel taxes to address immediate funding needs for the vast network of infrastructure projects and transportation corridors nationwide, recommended authors of a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report published Dec. 6.

Most politicians rely on heavy doses of optimism when pitching policies to constituents and colleagues. That was evident with Rep. Bill Shuster, who emulated his father, Bud, in his ability to charm and persuade the people in his Pennsylvania district, as well as members of the committee.

After nearly two decades in Congress, Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Bill Shuster will at month’s end vacate his House seat and with it his perch as chairman of the influential Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

WASHINGTON — The next chairman of the transportation policy panel in the U.S. House of Representatives said the ban on earmarks the GOP imposed nearly a decade ago is no longer needed.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is scheduled to host its annual policy review session at the Transportation Research Board’s annual meeting Jan. 15, the agency announced this week.