On Wednesday, March 21, the U.S. House of Representatives rejected Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21^st Century (MAP-21) in a procedural vote.  House Democrats had attached MAP-21, the U.S. Senate’s 1.5-year transportation reauthorization bill, to unrelated legislation.  On Thursday, March 22, 2012, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica introduced a three-month extension (H.R. 4239) of the current federal authorization.  This extension would ensure continuity of federal programs and funding while the House continues its consideration of a long-term reauthorization bill.  Representative Mica indicated that this bill would include key reforms proposed in the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act (AEIJA) over the winter.  AEIJA would have linked energy production to infrastructure finance, streamlined the environmental review process, and implemented several other reforms.  Click here for CMAP’s analysis of AEIJA as originally introduced. 

If successful, the extension would be the ninth to the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), which originally expired on September, 30 2009.  The current extension expires March 31, 2012.