A $275 billion highway and transit reauthorization bill may come to the House floor for a vote this week with a provision to reopen the reauthorization in January to increase funding.

The "reopener" provision would halt federal funds on Sept. 30, 2005, unless legislation is enacted to increase the minimum guarantee of 90.5 percent of the federal gasoline taxes states generate to a level of 95 percent by fiscal 2009.

The committee endorsed the $275 billion, six-year highway and transit budget March 24. The spending plan still must be approved by the full House of Representatives and then be merged with a Senate bill and signed by the president.

The committee first approved by a voice vote a $375 billion bill. But that vote was seen as an opportunity for members to express their dissatisfaction with the lower funding numbers demanded by the House GOP leadership and the Bush administration.

A second bill, a scaled-back version of H.R. 3550, is what is expected to move to the House floor, possibly on Wednesday. The $275 billion bill would provide guaranteed funding of $217 billion plus $4.5 billion in exempt obligations for highways, $52 billion for transit and $6 billion for highway safety programs.

Meanwhile, Committee Chairman Don Young, R-AK, opened the markup by expressing his disappointment at having had to reduce funding from $375 billion to $275 billion. He said the committee would return to the issue "very soon" to attempt to increase the funding levels.

"This game is not over," he said during the markup. "I commit to this committee to do what's right for the nation in the very near future." He added, "For the people who say we can't afford to do this, I say you can't afford not to do it."