On July 31, 2015, President Obama signed into law the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 (the Act), which extends funding to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) for an additional three months. The HTF is used to fund roads, bridges and mass transportation projects.

This temporary extension, the 34th since 2008, provides for $8 billion of funding and expires on October 29, 2015. Unlike previous recent extensions, the funding is being sourced with transfers from the General Fund. The last extension, which occurred on May 23, 2015, was for only two months and expired on the day President Obama signed the Act (see Legal Update, Congress Extends Trust Fund Authority Through July 31, 2015). The temporary solution, while it avoids the insolvency of the HTF, fails to extend funding for a meaningful amount of time and highlights the need for Congress to develop a more sustainable and rational approach to US infrastructure funding.

One such sustainable solution, the "Developing a Reliable and Innovative Visions for the Economy" or "DRIVE" Act, passed the Senate on July 30, 2015. That proposal would fund the HTF for six years at $275 billion, with guaranteed funding for the first three years and an option to review thereafter. These longer-term proposals are critical to infrastructure projects such as roads and bridges that require extensive planning and have long completion horizons. The US House of Representatives plans to negotiate its own version of the longer-term solution, which includes taxing US profits held abroad. Both chambers of Congress will need to reach a consensus on infrastructure funding on or before October 29, 2015 or push for another stop-gap measure.