The White House has said that President Obama is planning to sign the bill.
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Congressmen in both parties praised the bill as a model of bipartisan cooperation that didn’t give everyone everything they wanted but overall is an important step forward. The committee’s senior Democrat, Rep. Peter DeFazio of OR, called the measure “historic” but cautioned that “it is a starting point, not the end”.
Puts a brand new concentrate on steering transportation assist to highways designated as “freight corridors”.
Congress set the gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon in 1993, and it hasn’t kept pace with construction demands because of inflation and more fuel-efficient cars.
Another revenue-raising policy rider attached the to legislation is a provision allowing the government to revoke the passports of those owing more than $50,000 in back taxes to the IRS.
-Transfers $53 billion over 5 years from the bank’s capital account to help pay for transportation programs. But in 1991 Congress created a number of competitive grant programs, supposedly so the money would be spent where it was most needed. All 65 votes against the highway bill were from Republicans, many of whom opposed the measure’s inclusion of the Export-Import Bank reauthorization. The money would help offset the cost of highway and transit programs. The catch is the sales don’t start until 2023 – three years after the transportation it helps pay for has expired.
Auto safety advocates applauded some of the new safety standards but said the bill had setbacks as well, such as a measure that keeps secret federal safety scores for trucking companies. Industry officials say the government’s methodology is unfair.
The bill also would bar rental auto companies from renting cars that have been recalled, unless the necessary repairs are made.
-Raises the legal responsibility cap on passenger rail accidents rom $ 200 million to $ 295 million, and makes the rise retroactive to incorporate the Amtrak crash. The derailment killed eight people and injured almost 200 others. The appropriations, if approved, would provide $12 billion for mass transit, $10 billion for Amtrak and $1 billion for National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) programs.
Unfortunately the bill fails to enable states to allow increased truck weights on federal interstates, after the defeat of an amendment offered by Rep. Reid Ribble of Wisconsin that would have provided states the option to increase truck weight limits on federal interstates.
California also is expected to receive $582.3 million in a new freight program over five years, $82.1 million to upgrade rail-highway grade crossings, and significant increases in funding for recreational and bike trails. “This disrepair complicates and delays the commutes of the millions of Kentucky drivers and businesses who rely on our roads and bridges every day”, Senator McConnell said. Chris Murphy and members of Connecticut’s construction industry hailed congress passing a federal transportation funding bill Thursday.
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Transportation advocates are exhaling after the passage of a five-year, $305 billion highway bill by lawmakers on Thursday. “And most importantly, it would also support jobs in Kentucky and across the nation as these and other important infrastructure projects get underway”, Senator McConnell added.
