Ordinarily, organizations that depend on federal funding are satisfied when Congress passes a continuing resolution to temporarily fund government operations until it can work out a permanent funding plan.

That wasn’t the case last week when the resolution continued most programs but eliminated billions in federal money for transit, rail, bridge and road programs funded by the Biden administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The decision eliminates about $4.2 billion in public transit funds – some of it guaranteed formula funding and some competitive – and almost all funding for passenger rail projects, about $26.2 billion.

The change would reduce transit funding by 20% in the current fiscal year and passenger rail projects by 81%.

The cuts include $59.9 million in formula funds for Pennsylvania, $7.3 million for Pittsburgh Regional Transit and $48.4 million for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority that serves the five counties around Philadelphia. Pennsylvania would lose another $60 million in bridge improvement funds.

PRT said it is monitoring the situation, and the state Department of Transportation said it can shift money to cover ongoing projects for now.

The Trump administration has worked against continuing many of the public infrastructure programs established by former President Joe Biden. It has always been uncertain whether those programs would continue after the five-year funding authorization expired, said Ward McCarragher, vice president for government and advocacy for the American Public Transportation Association.

But eliminating previously authorized funding is unprecedented, he said in a recent interview.

“This is different,” he said. “This has not happened before. We haven’t seen Congress reduce formula funding for public transportation before.”

Here’s how last week’s situation unfolded:

Congress was divided as it a faced an early September deadline to pass a new federal budget, and Democratic and Republican leaders wanted to avoid another government shutdown before the key November elections. At the same time, the Surface Transportation Act that funds roads, bridges and public transportation programs across the country was due for renewal by the end of September.

So with bipartisan support, the Senate on Aug. 8 put the two items together in a resolution to continue funding through Dec. 11 that was passed overwhelmingly. However, the resolution eliminated provisions for funding programs authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Despite repeated pleas from groups like the American Public Transportation Association and leaders of transportation committees in both chambers, the House of Representatives approved the same resolution on Tuesday by a vote of 370-48. President Donald Trump is expected to approve the decision.

McCarragher said a key problem is that the resolution takes away with no warning money that states and local agencies had expected to receive even if the IIJA programs were eliminated in the new Surface Transportation Act. Under the program, agencies had been able to commit money for projects before they actually received it.

This hasn’t happened before because the IIJA money was set up differently than previous programs — more complicated in some ways but more easily accessible in others, McCarragher said.

“This would eliminate that special type of government funding,” he said. “It is a form of guaranteed funding. (States and agencies) are counting particularly on the formula funding.”

Additionally, the resolution eliminates money that had been available on a competitive basis for agencies to replace buses and upgrade stations and stops to make them more easily accessible for riders with mobility issues. Pittsburgh Regional Transit has received funds under both programs in recent years.

“It particularly hurts legacy programs like Pittsburgh, where they have a lot of older equipment,” he said. “As an agency, you knew you could compete for those funds.”

Pittsburgh Regional Transit said it didn’t have specific information on where it had expected to use the $7.3 million it will lose unless it is reauthorized later.

“At this time, we are awaiting additional information and legislative action later this year and anticipate having a better sense of the situation at that time, the agency said in a statement.

PennDOT indicated it didn’t expect any immediate problems from the funding decision because it can shift money to cover continuing work. It will monitor the situation as it unfolds later in the year.

McCarragher said APTA will do all it can to restore the funding.

“Our hope is Congress, whatever its (political) makeup is, restores this and reverses this in December,” he said.

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