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What is House Bill H.R. 3819?

This bill would fund highway and transportation projects through the Highway Trust Fund until November 20, 2015. The program’s spending authority is currently set to expire on October 29, 2015. The bill’s sponsors hope that a three-month extension will give members of Congress enough time to reach a long-term agreement on highway and transportation funding.

All of the programs receiving funding under this legislation would receive pro-rated amounts based on the number of days in the fiscal year and the length of the extension.

The Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s highway safety programs and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s programs would be funded and reauthorized through the end of the extension.

Overall funding for public transportation during the extension would be $1.197 billion between October 1 and November 20, 2015.

Appropriations for programs related to the transportation of hazardous materials during the extension would total $5.958 million.

The deadline for implementing Positive Train Control (PTC) — which is a system of automated brake controls that slow trains — would be extended from the end of 2015 until 2018.

Impact

Anyone who uses roads and highways, businesses and agencies that repair and manage roads, the Dept. of Transportation, and the HTF administrators.

Cost of House Bill H.R. 3819

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

More Information

In-Depth: Upon introducing this bill, Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) — the Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee — cited the need for a longer-term fix and his hope that this legislation would provide both chambers of Congress the necessary time to reach such a solution:

"Last week, the Transportation Committee unanimously approved the bipartisan, multi-year Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015. We look forward to voting on that bill in the House sson and then going to conference with the Senate on their highway bill. I am confident that we can resolve the differences between the House and Senate measures and producing a final product that’s good for our Nation’s infrastructure. This extension will allow the highway bill process to continue moving forward without shutting down transportation programs and projects across the country."

There has been concern surrounding the looming PTC deadline, as freight railroads have begun announcing that they would suspend shipments of dangerous chemicals before the end of the year as PTC will not be installed on the requisite 70,000 miles of track.

Of Note: A previous extension for the Highway Trust Fund was introduced on May 14, 2015 and provided for funding until the end of July. It was signed into law on May 28, and various longer-term proposals were being discussed that the time — which ranged from providing additional funding sources for the HTF for a six-year fix to letting the HTF expire.

More recently, the House has considered an extension through December, while the Senate extensively debated a six-year extension. However, the House has expressed a strong preference to have its own long-term proposal in the fall, which led to the passage of a short-term patch through the end of October. The House Transportation Committee passed its own six-year extension of the Highway Trust Fund on October 22, which will likely be considered in November.

Media:

Summary by Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: Flickr user jefzila )

AKA

Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2015

Official Title

To provide an extension of Federal-aid highway, highway safety, motor carrier safety, transit, and other programs funded out of the Highway Trust Fund, and for other purposes.

bill Progress

EnactedOctober 29th, 2015
The President signed this bill into law
The senate Passed October 28th, 2015
Passed by Voice Vote
The house Passed October 27th, 2015
Passed by Voice Vote
IntroducedOctober 23rd, 2015