Congress to Weigh $200 Million Boost for Truck Parking
House, Senate Aim for Long-Term Bills to Stave Off Shutdown Talk
Key Takeaways:
- Congress is racing to finalize fiscal 2026 funding by Jan. 30, with House and Senate transportation bills advancing similar agency budgets and a proposed $200 million boost for truck parking.
- The push follows a record shutdown, as Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Rep. Steve Womack urge passage of full-year appropriations to avoid another lapse and address priority programs.
- Lawmakers also aim to finish the annual defense policy bill this year, which includes a measure guaranteeing restroom access for credentialed commercial drivers.
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A provision that would dedicate $200 million to improving access to truck parking is among the items on federal lawmakers’ radar as Congress aims to finalize fiscal 2026 funding as dates on the chambers’ legislative calendar wind down.
Following the longest government shutdown on record, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) pressed members of his chamber to focus on clearing for President Donald Trump funding bills specific to the Department of Transportation and other agencies. Thune is urging lawmakers to focus on long-term funding, a move that would preclude another potential shutdown by dispelling Congress’ recent habit of extending short-term measures.
“I would just urge everybody who is interested in actually having the government funded through the traditional appropriations process to try and work constructively to get these bills up on the floor,” Thune told Capitol Hill reporters Nov. 19. “Let us get on them and have an amendment process, and try and process them in a way that enables us to fund the government through the appropriations process, as opposed to — as I said — either a continuing resolution or an ‘omnibus’ or something like that.”
Thune continued, “Those are not solutions that are good for the country. And they’re certainly not good for this institution or for the House of Representatives,” pointing to a so-called regular order approach of passing individual fiscal funding bills. “We want to do it the old-fashioned way.”
The government is funded through Jan. 30. Absent enactment of fiscal 2026 funding beyond that date, federal agencies would again face shutdown.
Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) is chairman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee. He recently sought to capture the urgency of the moment: “Passing full-year appropriations bills is exactly what Congress should be doing; but we should have done it while the government was still funded, not after leaving Americans without a functioning government for over 40 days,” he said.
Womack. (Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press)
“I’m encouraged by the progress in this package,” Womack said, “but make no mistake, our job is not complete. The package delivers updated funding to respond to some of our nation’s most pressing needs, supporting our veterans and agricultural producers. Now it’s time to roll up our sleeves and finish the job by passing the remaining nine full-year appropriations bills before the next deadline. We don’t have much time, so let’s get to work.”
Thune, Womack and other Republicans are likely to continue to encounter partisan pushback. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Nov. 19 reaffirmed his critique of Republicans in leadership.
“We have a week of legislative session that began on Monday and will last until Friday, and House Republicans haven’t brought a single bill to the floor that actually addresses the high cost of living in the United States of America,” he said.
A committee-passed Senate version of the fiscal 2026 transportation bill would provide $927 million for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The Senate legislation 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 of the transportation bill would approve mostly similar funding levels for those agencies as well as dedicate $200 million for more parking access for truck drivers. If enacted by Trump, the truck parking improvement funds would be administered by DOT’s Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highway Projects program.
Before the end of the year, Thune also announced policymakers intend to wrap up consideration of the annual National Defense Authorization Act. The must-pass Pentagon policy bill includes a provision that would ensure commercial drivers working with proper security credentials have access to restroom facilities within close proximity of their assignments. Lead sponsors of the NDAA’s Senate version said last month they “look forward to working with the House to finalize a bipartisan bill.”
