The U.S. Senate passed a stopgap spending measure this week by an 89-4 vote, but the bill does not renew the advance appropriations built into the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law — leaving roughly $38.6 billion a year in federal transportation funding set to disappear when that law expires on September 30. States across the country, including Montana, are watching closely as the October 1 deadline approaches.

What the Continuing Resolution Does — and Doesn’t — Do

The continuing resolution keeps the federal government operating at existing funding levels and extends highway and transit program authorization through December 11. However, it does not carry forward the advance appropriations that Congress authorized under the infrastructure law former President Joe Biden signed into law in 2021.

Those advance appropriations totaled $184 billion over five years for transportation programs. For fiscal year 2026 alone, total advance appropriations across all categories reached approximately $66.2 billion — with transportation accounting for more than half of that figure. The House has passed its own version of the stopgap, and the two chambers will need to reconcile the measures before the deadline.

What Expires and What Remains

About 30 percent of the expiring transportation funds — roughly $10.8 billion per year — flow to states through formula-based programs tied to specific modes of transportation. Ten separate formula programs would be affected beginning October 1 if no extension is enacted.

The largest single piece is the Federal Highway Administration’s bridge repair program, which accounts for $5.5 billion of that formula funding annually. Airport construction comes in second at $3 billion per year. The Federal Transit Administration’s grant program stands to lose $950 million, and state transportation departments would forfeit $900 million earmarked for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

The remaining 70 percent of the infrastructure law’s advance appropriations is distributed through 25 competitive grant programs rather than by formula, meaning individual project awards would also be at risk if Congress does not act.

State-by-State Exposure Varies Widely

California faces the steepest formula-funding loss of any state, at nearly $1.1 billion. Vermont sits at the opposite end of the spectrum, with $55.6 million at stake — the smallest exposure among all states. Montana’s specific figure was not detailed in available data, but smaller states dependent on federal infrastructure dollars for rural roads and bridges have historically relied heavily on formula-driven distributions from Washington.

Ben Gilsdorf, speaking to the Daily Montanan, explained that the stopgap’s gaps are most acutely felt in specific high-impact categories. “It’s not all of the programs under (the infrastructure law) that would stop without an extension,” Gilsdorf said. “But for us, it’s several of the most impactful ones.”

A Second Chance Before Year’s End

Because the stopgap extends government funding only through December 11, lawmakers would have another opportunity to address the lapsed infrastructure appropriations in a subsequent spending deal before the end of the calendar year. Gilsdorf acknowledged that possibility, telling the Daily Montanan, “There’d be another bite at the apple.”

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, and Vice Chair Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, are among the senior members who will shape what that next package looks like. Murray circulated state-by-state funding-loss data to Democratic colleagues last month, signaling that the political pressure to restore the funding is already building on both sides of the aisle.

What Comes Next

With the infrastructure law set to expire September 30 and the stopgap running out December 11, Congress faces a compressed window to either extend the advance appropriations or fold them into a longer-term spending agreement. If no action is taken by October 1, states will effectively absorb an immediate funding cut across bridge repair, airport construction, transit grants, and other programs.

For Montana, where federal dollars underwrite a significant share of road and infrastructure maintenance across a geographically vast and sparsely populated state, the outcome of the next spending negotiation carries real consequences for project timelines and transportation agency budgets heading into 2027.