By a vote of 217-201, the House sent the measure (HR 2847) back to the Senate. Senators had approved the bill last week by a vote of 70-28 after overcoming a Republican filibuster. The Highway Trust Fund's authority lapsed Sunday after the House did not act on the 10-month extension last week and after Sen. Jim Bunning, R-KY, held up a separate bill extending authorization by 30 days. Federal Highway Administration reimbursements to state transportation departments ceased Monday and Tuesday and the U.S. Department of Transportation furloughed some 2,000 employees until the Senate was able to clear the measure and President Barack Obama signed it late Tuesday night.

The jobs measure approved today by the House would be the fifth short-term extension of the 2005 transportation authorization law known as "SAFETEA-LU," which expired Sept. 30, 2009. Under the fourth extension approved Tuesday night, Highway Trust Fund authorization now lapses March 28. Work continues in Congress on a full six-year surface transportation authorization, which has been delayed over funding concerns.

Today's House version of the jobs bill includes $15 billion worth of payroll tax breaks for small businesses that hire new workers and Build America Bonds financing support for state and local infrastructure projects. The House amendment adopted today includes a few minor changes from the version passed last week by the Senate. Those changes include reiterating existing federal law requiring state DOTs to award at least 10 percent of their contracts to "small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals." This provision was added to address concerns of the Congressional Black Caucus, CQ Politics reported. Some CBC members had been withholding their support for the measure over concerns it doesn't do enough to address job creation for minorities.

Another change adopted by the House would add a year to the date of implementation of the worldwide interest allocation tax break -- which would begin in 2020 rather than 2019 under the Senate bill -- to offset the cost of the measure's tax cuts and bond provisions.

"At the end of a tumultuous week, which included the unprecedented shutdown of federal highway, transit, and safety programs, the House has now acted to put transportation back on a sound footing for the remainder of the year," said AASHTO Executive Director John Horsley. "Enactment of HR 2847 will allow states to move forward into the spring construction season, creating jobs and rebuilding aging highways, bridges, and transit systems. In addition, the bill restores the federal highway program to the levels achieved last year, repairing the $1 billion a month cut that has been in place since last September. It ensures sufficient funds for the Highway Trust Fund to keep federal programs running. Finally, it provides enough time for Congress to develop and enact the multiyear highway and transit authorization that is needed for America’s economic recovery and job restoration. We urge the Senate to speed this legislation to the president for signature."

What enabled the legislation to move forward in the House was an agreement struck among House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar, D-MN, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, regarding funding formulas for two discretionary highway categories: Projects of National and Regional Significance and the National Corridor Infrastructure Improvement Program.

Oberstar said on the floor this afternoon that the agreement is to modify the two highway formulas in future legislation to distribute the funds more equitably to all states. Oberstar urged representatives to approve the amendment and return the bill to the Senate.

"What we are doing here is restoring stability to the highway, bridge, safety, and transit programs, providing certainty for states so they can award bids, they can advertise bids, and keep contracts going," Oberstar said. "I hope we can correct this measure and I will do everything I can to correct it to ensure fairness for all 50 states in the distribution of the funds they send to Washington. ... We'll restore the funding formulas to the way it is intended in SAFETEA-LU."

In addition to the 10-month authorization extension, $19.5 billion in interest payments for the Highway Trust Fund, restoring FY 2010 highway levels to $42 billion, and extra support for Build America Bonds, the bill also would change federal law to ensure the trust fund receives future interest payments and to shift the burden of paying for motor-fuel-tax exemptions to the General Fund.