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The Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 or ACRONYM, is/was a bill/law introduced/passed to the 113th United States Congress

Provisions of the bill
This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the Congressional Research Service, a public domain source.

The Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 would continue from October 1, 2014, through May 31, 2015, and authorizes appropriations through that period for, specified federal-aid highway programs under:


 * the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21),
 * the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) Technical Corrections Act of 2008,
 * the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21),
 * the National Highway System Designation Act of 1995,
 * the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA), and
 * other specified law.

The bill would subject funding for such programs generally to the same manner of distribution, administration, limitation, and availability for obligation, but at a specified pro rata of the total amount, as funds authorized for appropriation out of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) for such programs and activities for FY2014.

The bill would amend MAP-21 to authorize appropriations out of the general fund of the Treasury for the Tribal High Priority Projects program for the period from October 1, 2014, through May 31, 2015.

The bill would prescribe an obligation ceiling of $26,800,569,863 for federal-aid highway and highway safety construction programs for the same period.

The bill would authorize appropriations from the HTF (other than the Mass Transit Account) for administrative expenses of the federal-aid highway program for the period from October 1, 2014, through May 31, 2015.

The bill would extend, for the same period, the authorization of appropriations for specified National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) safety programs (including administrative expenses) and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) programs.

The bill would require a specified amount of the total amount apportioned to states for highway safety programs for a cooperative program to research and evaluate priority highway safety countermeasures for the period from October 1, 2014, through May 31, 2015.

The bill would amend the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act to continue, for the same period, the authorized distribution of funds for coastal wetlands, recreational boating safety, projects under the Clean Vessel Act of 1992, boating infrastructure projects, and the National Outreach and Communications Program.

The bill would extend the apportionment of nonurbanized area formula grants for competitive grants and formula grants for public transportation on Indian reservations for the period from October 1, 2014, through May 31, 2015.

The bill would extend the apportionment of urbanized area formula grants for passenger ferry projects for the same period.

The bill would extend, for the period from October 1, 2014, through May 31, 2015, the authorization of appropriations from the HTF Mass Transit Account for: (1) formula grants for public transportation; (2) research, development demonstration, and deployment projects; (3) the transit cooperative research program; (4) technical assistance and standards development grants; (5) human resources and training grants; (6) capital investment grants; and (7) administration expenses.

The bill would allocate, for the same period, certain amounts to states and territories for formula bus and bus facilities grants.

The bill would authorize appropriations for the same period for hazardous materials (hazmat) transportation safety projects.

The bill would authorize the United States Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to make certain expenditures from the Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Fund for the same period.

The bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to extend through May 31, 2015, the authority for expenditures from the: (1) HTF Highway and Mass Transit Accounts, (2) Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, and (3) Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund.

The bill would make appropriations out of the Treasury to the HTF Highway and Mass Transit Accounts.

The bill would make appropriations out of the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund and transfers such amounts to the HTF Highway Account.

The bill would amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code to revise the applicable percentages for determining minimum funding standards for single-employer defined benefit pension plans (funding stabilization). Exempts plans providing accelerated benefit distributions from the application of such standards.

The bill would amend the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to extend, through September 30, 2024, certain customs user fees for the processing of merchandise entered or released into the United States.

Congressional Budget Office report
''This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the Congressional Budget Office, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Ways and Means on July 10, 2014. This is a public domain source.''

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that enacting H.R. 5021 would reduce direct spending and increase revenues. In total, those changes would reduce budget deficits over the 2014-2024 period by an estimated $9.9 billion. The legislation also would transfer about $9.8 billion from the general fund of the Treasury to the Highway Trust Fund to facilitate continued spending from that trust fund. CBO’s estimate of the effect of H.R. 5021 on budget deficits does not include the effects of such a transfer; however, the budget resolution passed by the House of Representatives considers transfers from the general fund of the Treasury to the Highway Trust Fund to be new spending.

Major provisions of the legislation would:


 * Extend the spending authority for certain surface transportation programs,
 * Extend the authority to collect fees charged by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and
 * Allow single-employer defined benefit pension plans to use higher interest rates when calculating their future liabilities for the 2013-2020 plan years. Using higher interest rates would reduce the minimum contributions that employers are required to make to such plans, leading to increases in offsetting receipts, direct spending, and revenues. CBO expects that the bill would increase the amount of underfunding in such plans.

Pay-as-you-go procedures apply because enacting the legislation would affect direct spending and revenues.

CBO has reviewed the nontax provisions of H.R. 5021 and determined that they contain no intergovernmental mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. The staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) has reviewed the tax provisions of H.R. 5021 and determined that they also contain no intergovernmental mandates.

CBO has determined that the nontax provisions of the bill would impose a private-sector mandate, as defined in UMRA, by extending customs fees. CBO estimates that the cost of the mandate would well exceed the annual threshold established in UMRA for private-sector mandates ($152 million in 2014, adjusted annually for inflation). JCT has reviewed the tax provisions of H.R. 5021 and determined that they contain no private-sector mandates.

Procedural history
The Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014 was introduced into the United States House of Representatives on July 8, 2014 by Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI). The bill was referred to the United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, the United States House Committee on Ways and Means, the United States House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce, the United States House Committee on Education and the Workforce, the United States House Committee on Natural Resources, and the United States House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs. On July 15, 2014, the House voted in Roll Call Vote 414 to pass the bill 367-55.

Debate and discussion
Media coverage. Organizations and people for or against.