After narrowly avoiding a global economic meltdown by raising the U.S. debt limit at the beginning of August, Congress returned to a packed agenda in September. Since most legislation – particularly that involving the expenditure of federal dollars – was on hold until the debt limit deal was reached, Congress must spend the fall dealing with appropriations as well as several major expiring authorizations, including surface transportation. But will Congress complete action on these important measures, or simply push off dealing with them until a later date? The latter is more likely.

For example, consider the fact that as of this writing, out of the 12 appropriations bills that Congress must pass in order to keep the government functioning after September 30, not a single one has become law. Even in a less divided Congress there would hardly be enough time between the end of the August recess and the end of the fiscal year for Congress to give full consideration to the wide range of programs involved in the appropriations process. This task appears nearly impossible in the 112th Congress, which has been characterized by deep ideological divisions. As a result, it is likely that, like last year, Congress will rely on a series of “continuing resolutions” to keep the federal government limping along after September 30 at flat or reduced funding levels.

Surface transportation authorization is on the same track. Since the current surface transportation bill, SAFETEA-LU, expired on Sept. 30, 2009, Congress has kept the federal highway and transit programs running through a series of short-term extensions, with the latest version extending the programs through March 2012. Much of the delay in completing a full reauthorization has been due to funding issues – the Highway Trust Fund, which provides the funding for these programs, is not taking in sufficient gas tax revenues to support current funding levels. How to fill the gap between what is coming in and what is needed to address our nation’s crumbling infrastructure is an issue that has created a fundamental divide between the House and the Senate that will be hard to bridge. House leadership wants to cut highway and transit funding to match whatever the Highway Trust Fund takes in – projected to be more than a 30 percent cut over the next six years. On the other hand, Senate leadership would prefer to keep the same funding levels, and they are looking for a revenue source to bolster the Highway Trust Fund so that cuts will not be necessary.

If the Senate is able to find a revenue source with bipartisan support, it is possible that a two-year surface transportation reauthorization – at current funding levels – could move forward in that chamber. But would such a measure pass the House? The answer is not clear. Some House members would resist handing a victory to the Democrat-led Senate and to President Obama, who has highlighted transportation as a job-creator. But others would be hard-pressed to vote against a job-creating bill that does not increase the deficit (since it would be paid for from the Highway Trust Fund).

The authorization and appropriations debates are being conducted in the shadow of a debate that is more far-reaching than either one: the work of the Deficit Reduction Committee. This group of six senators and six representatives, evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, is charged with finding $1.5 trillion in savings for the federal budget over the next 10 years. The Deficit Reduction Committee is required by law to vote on a package of recommendations by November 23, and, if a majority of Committee members vote in favor, the full House and Senate must vote on the recommendations, without amendment, by December 23. If the recommendations do not pass both chambers, a package of $1.2 trillion in cuts will go into effect, dramatically reducing a variety of federal programs, including defense spending and various entitlement programs.

The Deficit Reduction Committee’s work has the potential to significantly reshape federal programs of all types, impacting millions of Americans in hundreds of different ways. With the Deficit Reduction Committee’s work as a backdrop for the transportation reauthorization and appropriations discussions this fall, it is little wonder that Congress seems to be turning to these matters with less than full enthusiasm. While the rest of the country wants action, Congress appears to be heading toward another round of stop-gap funding bills that will provide flat – or reduced – funding, which will only kick the can for major transportation policy reform further down the road.