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It is notable that this bill actually reduces the deficit between 2015 and 2025 by using a combination of spending reductions and provisions that would improve tax compliance. These offsets were included in a proposal that would’ve extended the Highway Trust Fund through December 2015. Among those offset provisions would be:

A requirement that lenders report additional information so that borrowers don’t understate their tax burden. Lawmakers estimate that this will provide an estimated $1.8 billion in offsets.
Giving the IRS a six-year window to review returns that were substantially understated. Estimated offsets? $1.2 billion.
Requiring estates subject to the estate tax to report the value of property upon the owner’s death — yielding an estimated $1.5 billion in offsets.
Tax filing deadline changes for partnerships, S corporations, and C corporations with offsets estimates at $314 million.
Extending a rule that allows employers to transfer excess defined-benefit plan assets to retiree medical accounts and group-term life insurance — yielding $172 million in offsets.
Equalizing taxes on liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, and compressed natural gas from different levels would provide $90 million in tax relief (not offsets).
The current budget treatment of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) fees would be extended for two additional years, leading to $3.1 billion in offsets.

The VA would be required to develop a plan to consolidate all seven of its programs that allow veterans to receive healthcare outside of the VA into one program to be known as the “Veterans Choice Program.” This plan must be delivered to Congress before November 1, 2015 and will be the initial proposal for the Veterans Choice Program. This bill affords the VA more flexibility in using the over $3.3 billion dollars from the Veterans Choice Fund to subsidize care for veterans outside of the VA, and also expands eligibility for existing programs that would be consolidated.

It also includes provisions of the Hire More Heroes Act, allowing veterans who are enrolled in government healthcare through TRICARE or the VA to be exempt from the employer mandate — which requires businesses to offer health insurance if they have more than 50 full-time employees. Eligible veterans would be eligible to make pre-tax contributions to Health Savings Accounts if they receive care from the VA if they are receiving treatment for a service-connected disability.

","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, to provide resource flexibility to the Department of Veterans Affairs for health care services, and for other purposes.","short_title":"Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015","popular_title":null,"short_summary":"(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the House passed version is repeated here.)\n\nSurface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015\n\nDirects the Secretary of Transportation to reduce the amount apportioned for a surface transportation program, project, or activity for FY2015 by amounts apportioned or allocated under the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 and the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2015 for the period from October 1, 2014, through July 31, 2015.\n\nTITLE I--SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM EXTENSION\n\nSubtitle A--Federal-Aid Highways\n\n (Sec. 1001) Amends the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 to continue from October 1, 2014, through October 29, 2015, and authorizes appropriations through that period for, specified federal-aid highway programs under:\n\n the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation...","summarized":true,"cost":0,"cost_commentary":"The CBO estimates that implementing this bill would authorize $12 billion in contract authority through the end of October, and limit discretionary spending to $4 billion over the 2016-2025 period. On balance, this bill would decrease deficits by $6.9 billion over the 2015-2025 period.","impact":"Anyone who uses roads and highways, businesses and agencies that repair and manage roads, the Dept. of Transportation, and the HTF administrators.","argument_for":"It's unrealistic to expect a long-term solution for transportation funding to materialize in two days before the most recent extension expires. This bill would give Congress a chance to get a permanent fix done in October. Allowing veterans to access subsidized healthcare outside the VA will give them more efficient access to health care.","argument_against":"There’s been far too much kicking the can down the road in Congress recently. There is a bipartisan consensus that something longer-term must be done for transportation funding: put a long-term fix up for a vote, and deal with veterans healthcare separately!","bill_type":"hr","published":true,"type":"FederalBill","id":"hr3236-114","bill_id":"hr3236-114","formal_id":"H.R. 3236","chamber":"house","congress":114,"last_action_at":"2015-07-31T00:00:00.000Z","active":true,"enacted":true,"enacted_at":"2015-07-31","vetoed":false,"last_vote_at":"2015-07-30T00:00:00.000Z","debated_on":null,"congress_url":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th/house-bill/3236","plain_text_url":"https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-114hr3236enr/html/BILLS-114hr3236enr.htm","shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/hr3236-114.png","congress_full_text_url":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th/house-bill/3236/text","is_current_congress":false,"last_version_on":"2015-07-28","related_bill_ids":["hres388-114","hr3246-114","hr2514-114","hr898-114","hr1665-114","hr3038-114","s12-114","s344-114","s1880-114","hjres61-114","hr22-114"],"progress":"Enacted","house_passage_result":true,"senate_passage_result":true,"position_count":49,"committees":[{"name":"Transportation and Maritime Security","chamber":"house","committee_id":"HSHM07","subcommittee":true},{"name":"Committee on Education and Labor","chamber":"house","committee_id":"HSED","subcommittee":false},{"name":"Committee on the Budget","chamber":"house","committee_id":"HSBU","subcommittee":false},{"name":"Committee on Energy and Commerce","chamber":"house","committee_id":"HSIF","subcommittee":false},{"name":"Committee on Homeland Security","chamber":"house","committee_id":"HSHM","subcommittee":false},{"name":"Committee on Natural Resources","chamber":"house","committee_id":"HSII","subcommittee":false},{"name":"Committee on Science, Space, and Technology","chamber":"house","committee_id":"HSSY","subcommittee":false},{"name":"Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure","chamber":"house","committee_id":"HSPW","subcommittee":false},{"name":"Committee on Ways and Means","chamber":"house","committee_id":"HSWM","subcommittee":false},{"name":"Health","chamber":"house","committee_id":"HSWM02","subcommittee":true},{"name":"Committee on Veterans' Affairs","chamber":"house","committee_id":"HSVR","subcommittee":false}],"links":{"rollCalls":"/api/roll_calls?bill_id=hr3236-114","details":"/api/bills/hr3236-114/details","sharingMessage":"/api/sharing_messages/hr3236-114","positionsFor":"/api/bills/hr3236-114/positions/for","positionsAgainst":"/api/bills/hr3236-114/positions/against"},"upcoming":false,"cosponsors_count":2,"slug":"hr3236-114-surface-transportation-and-veterans-health-care-choice-improvement-act-of-2015","latest_chamber_votes_id":"hr3236-114","official_url":null,"target_video":true,"following":false,"vote_count":912,"yea_vote_count":514,"nay_vote_count":396,"passed_house":true,"passed_senate":true,"vote_id":null,"my_position_id":null,"topic_ids":["economy","government","transportation-and-public-works"],"issue_ids":["budgets","travel","economy","government","transportation-and-public-works"],"sponsor_id":249}],"votes":[],"issues":[{"id":"budgets","name":"Budgets","slug":"budgets","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Budgets. 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I don't think my 2000 pound car does the same damage a 80000 pound truck does! Put the tax burden in the right place ","argument_against":null,"show_argument_for":true,"show_argument_against":false,"upvote_count":0,"upvotes_for_count":0,"upvotes_against_count":null,"has_upvoted":false,"endorsement_count":0,"links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/positions/4d369248-e211-4409-8e02-ae33ecc193a8"},"body":"Make the corporations pay every red cent they're the reason the roads are in the shape their in. I don't think my 2000 pound car does the same damage a 80000 pound truck does! Put the tax burden in the right place ","stance":"yea","created_at":"2016-02-14T16:35:55.646Z","shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/positions/4d369248-e211-4409-8e02-ae33ecc193a8.png","note_color":null,"note_text":null,"bill_id":"hr3236-114","user_id":"zm8V87XW","endorser_ids":[]}}

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Stopgap: Giving Congress Until October 2015 to Agree on a Highway Funding Plan