[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5505 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5505
To limit spending from the Highway Trust Fund, and for other purposes.
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IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 12, 2024
Mr. Lee introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works
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A BILL
To limit spending from the Highway Trust Fund, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Balance the Highway Trust Fund
Act''.
SEC. 2. OBLIGATION LIMITATION.
(a) General Limitation.--Subject to subsection (d) and
notwithstanding any other provision of law, for each fiscal year, the
obligations for Federal-aid highway and highway safety construction
programs shall not exceed the net highway receipts most recently
estimated by the Secretary of the Treasury for that fiscal year under
section 9503(d)(1)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(b) Distribution of Obligation Authority.--For each fiscal year,
the Secretary of Transportation (referred to in this section as the
``Secretary'')--
(1) shall not distribute obligation authority provided by
subsection (a) for the fiscal year for--
(A) amounts authorized for administrative expenses
and programs by section 104(a) of title 23, United
States Code; and
(B) amounts authorized for the Bureau of
Transportation Statistics;
(2) shall not distribute an amount of obligation authority
provided by subsection (a) that is equal to the unobligated
balance of amounts--
(A) made available from the Highway Trust Fund
(other than the Mass Transit Account) for Federal-aid
highway and highway safety construction programs for
previous fiscal years the funds for which are allocated
by the Secretary (or apportioned by the Secretary under
section 202 or 204 of title 23, United States Code);
and
(B) for which obligation authority was provided in
a previous fiscal year;
(3) shall determine the proportion that--
(A) the obligation authority provided by subsection
(a) for the fiscal year, less the aggregate of amounts
not distributed under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this
subsection; bears to
(B) the total of the sums authorized to be
appropriated for the Federal-aid highway and highway
safety construction programs, less the aggregate of the
amounts not distributed under paragraphs (1) and (2) of
this subsection;
(4) shall distribute the obligation authority provided by
subsection (a), less the aggregate amounts not distributed
under paragraphs (1) and (2), for each of the programs (other
than programs to which paragraph (1) applies) that are
allocated by the Secretary under this Act and title 23, United
States Code, or apportioned by the Secretary under section 202
or 204 of that title, by multiplying--
(A) the proportion determined under paragraph (3);
by
(B) the amounts authorized to be appropriated for
each such program for the fiscal year; and
(5) shall distribute the obligation authority provided by
subsection (a), less the aggregate amounts not distributed
under paragraphs (1) and (2) and the amounts distributed under
paragraph (4), for Federal-aid highway and highway safety
construction programs that are apportioned by the Secretary
under title 23, United States Code (other than the amounts
apportioned under sections 202 and 204 of title 23, United
States Code) in the proportion that--
(A) amounts authorized to be appropriated for the
programs that are apportioned under title 23, United
States Code, to each State for the fiscal year; bears
to
(B) the total of the amounts authorized to be
appropriated for the programs that are apportioned
under title 23, United States Code, to all States for
the fiscal year.
(c) Redistribution of Unused Obligation Authority.--Notwithstanding
subsection (b), the Secretary shall, after August 1 of each fiscal
year--
(1) revise a distribution of the obligation authority made
available under subsection (b) if an amount distributed cannot
be obligated during that fiscal year; and
(2) redistribute sufficient amounts to those States able to
obligate amounts in addition to those previously distributed
during that fiscal year, giving priority to those States having
large unobligated balances of funds apportioned under sections
144 (as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of
MAP-21 (Public Law 112-141)) and 104 of title 23, United States
Code.
(d) Applicability of Obligation Limitations to Transportation
Research Programs.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2),
obligation limitations imposed by subsection (a) shall apply to
contract authority for transportation research programs carried
out under chapter 5 of title 23, United States Code.
(2) Exception.--Obligation authority made available under
paragraph (1) shall--
(A) remain available for a period of 4 fiscal
years; and
(B) be in addition to the amount of any limitation
imposed on obligations for Federal-aid highway and
highway safety construction programs for future fiscal
years.
(e) Redistribution of Certain Authorized Funds.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date of
distribution of obligation authority under subsection (b) for
each fiscal year, the Secretary shall distribute to the States
any funds (excluding funds authorized for the program under
section 202 of title 23, United States Code) that--
(A) are authorized to be appropriated for the
fiscal year for Federal-aid highway programs; and
(B) the Secretary determines will not be allocated
to the States (or will not be apportioned to the States
under section 204 of title 23, United States Code), and
will not be available for obligation, for the fiscal
year because of the imposition of any obligation
limitation for the fiscal year.
(2) Ratio.--Funds shall be distributed under paragraph (1)
in the same proportion as the distribution of obligation
authority under subsection (b)(5).
(3) Availability.--Funds distributed to each State under
paragraph (1) shall be available for any purpose described in
section 133(b) of title 23, United States Code.
SEC. 3. OBLIGATION LIMITATION.
Section 5338 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(f) Obligation Limitation.--Notwithstanding subsection (a) or any
other provision of law, for each fiscal year, the total of all
obligations from amounts made available from the Mass Transit Account
of the Highway Trust Fund by subsection (a) and any other provision of
law shall not exceed the net mass transit receipts most recently
estimated for that fiscal year by the Secretary of the Treasury under
section 9503(e)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.''.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act and the amendments made by this Act take effect October 1,
2025.
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