White House has extra asks for stalled federal highway bill

With Congress facing a deadline in two months to renew funding for transportation infrastructure nationwide, the Trump administration is urging lawmakers to codify its list of priorities before they recess in August.

Current U.S. surface transportation law expires Sept. 30. The bipartisan BUILD America 250 Act, a five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill costing $580 billion, cleared the House Transportation and Infrastructure in May.

As it is still not scheduled for a floor vote, Congress will likely pass a short-term extension.

“If a short-term extension of current authorities becomes necessary, we strongly urge Congress to adopt a set of critical policy priorities,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote to committee lawmakers in a letter released Wednesday.

“Incorporating these focused priorities into surface transportation reauthorization efforts w...