Looking to take action on an extension of SAFETEA-LU that would take funding into the new year, Senate leaders are looking to put a six-month extension plan on the table for federal surface transportation funding. This plan would be an amendment in the nature of a substitute for the House-passed three-month plan (H.R. 3617). The Senate substitute would extend federal surface transportation funding until April 30, 2010. The Senate version further differs from H.R. 3617 in that it would restore the $8.708 billion rescission that took effect on September 30, 2009.

However, as of October 29, 2009, the Senate has only read the House-passed bill and placed it on the calendar for further action. Efforts to hotline the Senate-version of the bill have revealed at least one potential objector to obtaining unanimous consent in the Senate. In addition, it is unclear whether the White House will back a six-month extension after pushing for an eighteen-month extension that would place surface transportation funding in the hands of the 112th Congress.