News

Transportation Bill Heads to the House Floor Next Week

Extension Through Nov. 20

This week saw significant progress in moving a multi-year highway & transit bill.  Following passage of the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015 (STRRA) in the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee last week, the full House is expected to consider the bill next week.

Prior to the bill hitting the floor, the House Rules Committee will meet to determine the parameters for debate and what amendments will be considered.  It is likely this process will be completed by Tuesday with consideration of the bill beginning next Wednesday, Nov. 4.  Since the Senate acted first on their reauthorization bill, the process for passing the House bill is a bit different from previous authorizations.  Ultimately, the House will amend the Senate-passed DRIVE Act to include the House-passed STRRA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration title and other transportation related amendments.  What remains to be seen is if the House plans to allow amendments to the Highway Trust Fund pay-fors that were included in the DRIVE Act. 

AGC is continuing to push for inclusion of an amendment to expand the mileage limit allowing construction drivers to reset their hours-of-service after a 24-hour break.  In addition, we are working with Representative Jim Renacci (R-Ohio) to include an amendment that would initiate a process to ensure the future solvency of the Highway Trust.  We will communicate to AGC chapters and members if the House will vote on these or other amendments of interest to the construction industry.

Extension of Highway & Transit Programs

Also this week, the House and Senate passed by voice votes an extension of highway & transit programs until Nov. 20. The legislation also included an extension of the deadline for railroads to reach full installation of positive train control (PTC) technology to 2018.  The 3-week extension of the highway and transit programs provides a short timeframe for the House and Senate to work out the differences of their respective reauthorization bills (assuming House passage). It is not outside the realm of possibility that a final bill could be agreed to and signed by the president by Nov. 20.  However, both the House and Senate will be in session very little in November, which may ultimately lead to another short-term extension into early December.  If needed, the next extension would be passed to simply give House and Senate negotiators time to finalize their agreement and give members of Congress time to see the see the final bill before voting on it. 

For more information, please contact Sean O’Neill at oneills@agc.org or (202) 547-8892.

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