After an ugly shutdown that furloughed thousands of employees in July, the Federal Aviation Administration should win quick approval of a deal in the House Tuesday to keep the agency running.
Without any action, the agency that oversees the country’s airways would have partially shuttered this Friday. The measure, which is expected to come to the House floor Tuesday, also temporarily extends funding to the nation’s highways and other transportation projects, which otherwise would have expired Sept. 30.
The breakthrough is an early sign that this fall session of Congress might not be dominated by threat of a government shutdown, as Democrats and Republicans in both chambers seem poised to push the FAA bill across the finish line with little acrimony.
Congressional leaders reached a deal on the twin measures late Friday. Under the agreement, the FAA gets about $5.4 billion to keep the agency running until Jan. 31, while the highway projects get roughly $20 billion to take them until March 31 — which keeps them at the same level of funding as the current fiscal year. The federal gas tax, which collects 18.4 cents per gallon and was due to expire at the end of this month, also will be extended through March.
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