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The U.S. Capitol features prominently in the Washington cityscape. (Washington Aerials)

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WASHINGTON — Congressional Republican leaders plan to advance in 2026 high-profile budget, transportation and fiscal funding legislation as a way to deliver on a robust agenda prior to the November midterm elections.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) indicated his caucus, which is governing with a razor-thin majority, would proceed with a series of comprehensive bills in the new year. Central among the House GOP transportation policy priorities is a multiyear highway measure, consideration of which would coincide with proposals specific to health care and federal appropriations.

“We’re going to have a very aggressive legislative agenda coming right out of the gates in January,” the speaker told reporters on Capitol Hill on Dec. 16, days before adjourning for the year.

Highway Bill

The top transportation leaders in Congress said they will schedule consideration of a comprehensive highway measure as early as springtime. Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure panel, and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, intend to pave the way for approval of a multiyear transportation measure that would further adopt emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, and fund traditional infrastructure networks.

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“I want to put a highway bill together that addresses the next 20 years of issues within the transportation system," Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) says. (Al Drago/Bloomberg News)

“I want to put a highway bill together that addresses the next 20 years of issues within the transportation system rather than overreact into the last 10 years. And that’s what we have to do,” Graves said during the 2025 off-year elections.

Capito recently stressed the need to invest in modernizing surface transportation corridors while identifying a long-term funding fix for the nation’s highway system. Maintenance programs for federal roadways are backed by the Highway Trust Fund, an account approaching insolvency that relies on revenue federal fuel taxes.

is among the groups calling on Congress to approve a new multiyear highway law. The group is urging lawmakers to approve a highway bill that reflects the needs of the trucking industry, including advancement of technologies and applications designed to facilitate the flow of freight and improve safety.

In September, ATA joined about six dozen organizations in urging lawmakers to focus on providing funds for big-ticket highway projects that will help facilitate the flow of freight.

“Highway, bridge and public transit investment levels for fiscal year 2026 should, at minimum, be carried forward with inflation adjustments, regardless of the previous budgetary source of these programs. These investments are needed for safety enhancements, infrastructure rebuild and congestion relief,” the groups wrote Sept. 4 to Reps. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), along with Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), House and Senate committee chairpersons and ranking members, respectively.

The groups also expressed support for further streamlining the environmental permitting processes, saying, “Modernization of federal requirements can identify and eliminate challenges in the environmental review and permitting process that stand in the way of timely project delivery.”

The is urging Congress to advance secure funding measures for transportation and safety enhancements.

“To advocate for those goals, AASHTO will urge Congress to refocus the federal transportation program around formula funding and strategically deploying discretionary grants and coordinate with industry partners to help “connect the dots” with members of Congress on the role and importance of the formula programs to advance projects in every congressional district across this nation,” the group said in the fall.

In 2025, the issued a D+ grade for the country’s network of roadways, despite seeing some gains.

“Although Americans’ travel patterns have shifted in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, vehicle miles traveled (VMT) have rebounded,” ASCE said. “Some 39% of major roads in the U.S. are in poor or mediocre condition, an improvement from the 43% recorded in 2020.”

Fiscal 2026 Appropriations

Congressional funding leaders plan to schedule votes in January on a “minibus” package that would combine the fiscal 2026 Transportation-HUD, Interior-EPA, Commerce-Justice-Science, Labor-HHS-Education and Defense bills.

Approval of these measures would avert another partial government shutdown. Most of the federal government is operating under a temporary funding gap that expires Jan. 30. Congress and the White House acknowledged they plan to avoid a repeat of last fall’s record-breaking government shutdown.

The House’s legislative version would allocate similar funds for the transportation agencies and provide $200 million specifically for expanding truck parking operations nationwide. Inadequate access to parking has been a long-standing concern across the trucking industry.

For ATA, the DOT funding presents a forum for adopting provisions linked to enforcement of English language-proficiency requirements, further reviewing concerns about predatory towing and enhancing resources to combat cargo theft.

At a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing in December, ATA President Chris Spear emphasized the significance associated with adopting cargo theft protections.

“Trucking is the lifeblood of our economy, but prolific incidents of cargo theft are undermining our essential role. Brazen thieves acting with de facto impunity are robbing our industry to the tune of $18 million per day," Spear said. “The increased costs — from replacing stolen products to shouldering higher insurance premiums to investing in stronger security measures — are mounting. These added expenses put tremendous pressure on motor carriers, putting jobs and small businesses at risk.”

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ATA President Chris Spear testifies on the impact cargo theft has on the trucking industry. (American Trucking Associations)

The federation’s president added, “Cargo theft has the potential to exacerbate inflation. In sum, there is a direct connection to rampant cargo theft and growing affordability concerns. The bottom line is that cargo theft is not a victimless crime. It’s not just the manufacturers, motor carriers and logistic service providers that are hurt. The American public is harmed because the goods that people are trying to buy are either not on the shelves or are priced higher than normal.”

Emissions

EPA is working on re-evaluating a 2022 Heavy-Duty Engine and Vehicle nitrogen oxides rule and is planning to propose a rule with likely revisions in the spring. If finalized, the action will “make major changes to the program requirements while maintaining the model year 2027 start of the standards, which can significantly reduce the cost of new heavy-duty vehicles, while still protecting human health and the environment, and avoiding regulatory distortions of the heavy-duty vehicle market,” the agency said in a statement to Transport Topics.

The effort was compelled by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who in 2025 pushed for re-evaluating the Biden-era rule that regulates NOx and other emissions beginning with model year 2027.

November Midterms

The battle for control of Congress will be front and center as re-election campaigns ramp up in the fall. Running on an affordability message, Democrats governing in the minority seek to topple the party in power in Washington: Republicans. The midterm elections also will provide a clearer picture of constituents’ sentiment specific to the Trump White House as well as Republicans’ national agenda.��

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Democrats in Congress, led by Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, both from New York, intend to run on the political theme of affordability and health care costs. Senate Democrats recently launched a 2026 initiative focused on lowering costs.

On Dec. 17, Schumer explained, “While we don’t know what 2026 will bring, I can promise you this, Democrats will fight, making costs our highest priority. I’ve been in great touch with Hakeem Jeffries and our House Democratic team, and they are on the same page.”

By most metrics, Democrats ended 2025 in a stronger political position having won the governor’s mansions in Virginia and New Jersey, and the mayor’s office in New York City.

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House Republican leaders continue to endorse the White House’s agenda. As Johnson said during an event Dec. 17 at the Treasury Department, “We had four years of Bidenomics, and we all know what that did to people’s pocketbooks, to their outlook on the economy, and to their real experience and having to suffer through record high levels of inflation, lower wages, and less opportunity.”

The term “affordability” has become an all-encompassing messaging tool transcending groceries and gas prices. Health care, rent prices and child care costs are central to economic concerns, prominent political strategists have argued.

Trump has touted his administration’s efforts to address ongoing affordability concerns. Speaking from the White House during an address to the nation on Dec. 17, the president sought to capture the moment.

“The price of eggs is down 82% since March and everything else is falling rapidly. And, it’s not done yet, but boy are we making progress.”

Defense Bill

Before leaving Washington for the holidays, Congress cleared for Trump the National Defense Authorization Act, which would approve about $900 billion for projects and programs at the Pentagon.

Tucked into the package are provisions to further military pay, realize upgrades to installations, fund new weapons technologies, pursue energy directives and enhance transportation guidance.

Specific to the trucking industry, the Pentagon bill proposes improvements to the procedures associated with moving military freight and relocation assistance for thousands of service members and their families.

The bill also includes requirements for the Defense Department to enhance restroom access for drivers operating at military installations and would seek to strengthen certain transportation procurement regulations.

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Henry Hanscom (left) and Mike Matousek. (American Trucking Associations)��

“In spite of the increasingly challenging political and legislative environment, ATA continues to grind out wins for the trucking industry,” said Henry Hanscom, ATA’s senior vice president of legislative affairs. “Truck drivers and motor carriers are critical to our national security, delivering military personnel and supplies where they need to be safely, securely, and on time. The significant reforms that ATA successfully secured in the annual defense bill will strengthen this essential partnership between trucking and the Pentagon.”

Mike Matousek, director of the ATA Government Freight Conference, said, “This bill requires military installations to provide restroom access to truck drivers delivering munitions for DOD and includes several provisions intended to address waste, fraud and abuse in the transportation of military freight.”

Dan Hilton, executive director of the ATA Moving and Storage Conference, noted, “Our industry takes pride in facilitating hundreds of thousands of seamless moves each year, relocating military families and their possessions wherever and whenever duty calls. We appreciate Congress’ willingness to listen to our concerns and address these issues by enacting measures that will improve the process of military moves and ensure proper oversight is in place.”

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