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Congress acted on the so-called fiscal cliff legislation late yesterday without addressing the Hurricane Sandy emergency supplemental bill that was debated  before the Senate last week.

In Dec. 28 letters to congressional leadership, American Public Transportation Association (APTA) officials called on Congress to immediately pass the Hurricane Sandy legislation. The measure would have provided $12 billion for projects that are "vital to restoring the transportation network in the wake of unprecedented disruptions" to infrastructure along the East Coast, APTA officials said in a prepared statement.

"While the images of the storm's damage have largely receded from national headlines, state and local leaders and our transportation professionals are working tirelessly to fully restore the transportation infrastructure and public transit services in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York," they said.

But, national news media reported early this morning that House Republican leadership decided to allow Congress' current term to end without taking up the Sandy legislation. A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) was quoted as saying "the speaker is committed to getting this bill passed this month," according to The Washington Post.