Washington in Shutdown Mode Amid Partisan Impasse
Transportation Policy Awaits Consideration on Capitol Hill
Key Takeaways:
- The federal government remained in a partial shutdown as congressional leaders stayed divided over budget talks tied to health care subsidies.
- Republicans blame Democrats for refusing to reopen agencies without prior policy talks, while Democrats demand negotiations on expiring health care subsidies before approving funding.
- Transportation committees continued planning a multiyear highway bill and debated long-term fixes for the Highway Trust Fund, as current highway authority expires in 2026.
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Washington’s partisan impasse continues to keep the federal government in a partial shutdown as the transportation panels eye consideration of a multiyear highway measure.
Congressional leaders appear divided over ways to reopen most federal agencies as the shutdown entered its third week. House and Senate Republicans in the governing majority pledged to negotiate certain policies with Democratic counterparts but only in a functioning federal landscape.
Democrats, however, insist on holding negotiations on expiring health care subsidies as their central terms for agreeing to fund the government. As of Oct. 15, most agencies remained in shutdown mode.
RELATED: Trucking Rolls On as Shutdown Stalls Other DOT Sectors
“Fifteen days into a government shutdown, and Democrats show no sign that they’re ready for it to end,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said Oct. 15. “Not even the prospect of military families going without a paycheck was enough for Democrats to reopen the government. Nor are Democrats concerned about needy families uncertain about the future of nutrition assistance.”
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Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, also criticized the Democratic leadership. The House, unlike the Senate, is in recess during the partial shutdown.
“[House and Senate] Minority Leaders [Hakeem] Jeffries and [Chuck] Schumer have sidelined Congress and good-faith efforts toward regular order,” Cole said. “They’ve decided that progressive popularity matters more than Americans being paid on time, nutrition assistance for babies and health services for our seniors.”
Democrats continue to insist on discussions specific to federal health care subsidies for certain families and individuals around the country. The ranking member on the Appropriations Committee, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), pushed back on Republicans’ reaction to convening discussions over aspects of the social safety net.
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“Republican leaders are trying to stick their heads in the sand and trying to pretend that everything is fine,” Murray said Oct. 15. “On one hand, we have many Republicans saying, ‘What’s the rush? We can talk about maybe doing something on health care later.’ Never mind the fact they refused to talk about this earlier, even as they rushed to jam through tax breaks for billionaires a few months ago.”
“I say to my Republican colleagues, especially in the House: You can’t hide from your constituents forever. The American people expect Congress to fix this health care crisis,” said Schumer (D-N.Y.).
"The American people expect Congress to fix this health care crisis,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said. (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg)
Congress has not finalized its fiscal 2026 transportation appropriations bills. The committee-passed Senate version would provide $927 million for the . The bill also would provide the Federal Highway Administration $63.3 billion, the Federal Aviation Administration $22 billion, the Federal Transit Administration $16.8 billion and the Federal Railroad Administration $2.9 billion.
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The House version would approve mostly similar funding levels for the transportation agencies as well as provide $200 million for expanding truck parking operations nationwide. Earlier this year, Henry Hanscom, ’ senior vice president of legislative affairs, touted the proposed allocation, arguing the “substantial investment for expanded parking capacity would help alleviate one of the biggest challenges that truck drivers face and improve the efficiency and safety of our roadways.” The American Transportation Research Institute consistently ranks a lack of meaningful parking for commercial drivers as a major industry concern.
Meanwhile, the congressional transportation committees are planning to renew their focus on a multiyear highway policy bill. Committee aides familiar with the legislative schedule said they expect the formulation of draft legislation to commence sometime in the fall. Formal legislative markup hearings have not been scheduled.
Jeremy Sanders and Pat Gunn of Stoughton Trailers discuss the future of intermodal equipment.Tune in above or by going to .
Federal authority for most highway programs expires in the fall of 2026. At issue for lawmakers is crafting long-term funding programs for maintaining freight and commuter corridors.
This spring, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) acknowledged a need to update the Highway Trust Fund by next year. The account relies on insufficient revenue from the gas and diesel tax.
“Since 2001,” Graves explained, “spending from the [Highway Trust Fund] has simply exceeded its revenues. That’s why we need to find a more sustainable solution that maintains the conservative user-pays principle.”
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