WASHINGTON --- Congress is set to vote this week on a deal to extend funding for the Federal Aviation Administration and surface transportation projects without the big cuts or labor policy changes Republicans have sought.

The bill negotiated by leaders in both chambers, could come up for a vote in the House of Representatives as soon as today. It would fund the FAA through January and extend the surface transportation bill through March at their present funding levels.

FAA funding is due to expire Friday and surface transportation funding expires Sept. 30. Both have been funded piecemeal for years, and this year's funding debates proved especially contentious.

The debate came to a crescendo with a 13-day partial shutdown of the FAA in late July and early August, when agency employees --- except for air traffic controllers --- were furloughed and construction projects halted. House Republicans had proposed to cut surface transportation funding by one third in fiscal 2012, which begins next month.

Supporters of transportation funding said the GOP softened its stance, at least temporarily, in accordance with Washington's increased focus on creating jobs.

"It's clear that unless these extensions happen at current funding levels there could be job losses laid at Congress' doorstep, both Republicans and Democrats," said Janet Kavinoky, of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The highly influential business lobby has formed a rare partnership with labor unions to push for more infrastructure spending.

"I think this is a reflection of the focus on jobs. I think it's a reflection of the fact that nobody wants to see another FAA expiration."

The Georgia Department of Transportation, which relies on the federal government for 54 percent of its funding, has been planning projects assuming the federal bill would have big cuts. Spokeswoman Jill Goldberg said the agency might adjust its project list if the bill passes.

"We are going to continue being conservative and not overspending or overpromising when we're not sure that it's going to happen," she said.

At MARTA, the reductions proposed in earlier bills would likely have forced the agency to cut 5 percent to 6 percent of transit service. Its only alternative would have been to consume the reserves built over the past two years through a dramatic fare increase and other service cuts.

"We do breathe a sigh of relief," said Ted Basta, MARTA's chief of business support services, adding that he doesn't know what the board would have decided.

The extensions do not address a fight over union organizing rules that was a major factor in the July FAA shutdown. House Republicans wanted to strike down an Obama administration decision that would make it easier for airline and railroad workers to form a union. Senate Democrats refused to accept such a bill and the president threatened to veto it.

The short-term extension also does not include any back pay for FAA employees who were furloughed. A spokesman for the Senate Commerce Committee said an agreement on that issue is still being negotiated.