{
  "id": "R43420",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R43420",
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  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
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      "id": 445346,
      "date": "2015-09-11",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-06T18:24:27.855596",
      "title": "Surface Transportation Program Reauthorization Issues for Congress",
      "summary": "The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21; P.L. 112-141), a two-year authorization of federal spending on highway and public transportation programs, surface transportation safety and research, and some rail programs, was set to expire September 30, 2014. MAP-21 has been extended three times since then, most recently through October 29, 2015, by the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 (P.L. 114-41). That legislation also transferred $8.07 billion from the Treasury general fund to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF).\nNearly all the funding for highways and most of the funding for public transportation is drawn from the HTF. However, the motor fuel taxes that are the main source of HTF revenue no longer raise enough money to support the programs Congress has authorized. Congressional Budget Office projections indicate that the shortfall between revenues and outlays will average roughly $14-$15 billion annually from FY2016 through FY2021. MAP-21 made up most of the difference between motor fuel tax revenue and spending authorization by transferring money from the Treasury general fund to the HTF. As Congress considers surface transportation reauthorization, the funding shortfall is the major issue framing the debate. The alternatives will involve choices among raising motor fuels taxes, cutting spending, finding other revenue sources for the HTF, approving further transfers from the general fund, and seeking to increase private investment in surface transportation infrastructure. MAP-21 made major changes in the program structure for both highways and public transportation. Some of the changes were designed to increase program efficiency by requiring performance measurement and streamlining project development. As these changes are recent, their effectiveness may be difficult to evaluate.\nOther issues likely to arise in the reauthorization process include the following:\nwhether MAP-21\u2019s consolidation and reorganization of highway, public transportation, and surface transportation safety programs are working as intended;\nwhether states are maintaining their spending effort to meet highway needs;\nwhether the Federal Highway Administration is enforcing federal regulatory requirements;\nwhether the greater state control over highway spending decisions enacted in MAP-21 has led to sufficient attention to repairing or replacing deficient bridges;\nwhether MAP-21 reductions in the Bus and Bus Facilities Program funding have created difficulties for small transit agencies;\nwhether expanding federal credit programs or creating a national infrastructure bank would be useful in meeting transportation infrastructure needs;\nwhether the national freight planning process established in MAP-21 should now lead to a major federal initiative related to freight transportation.\nOn July 30, 2015, the Senate passed a six-year reauthorization bill. The bill, called the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act (DRIVE Act; H.R. 22), would provide $274 billion for Federal-Aid highways from the HTF and $75 billion for public transportation from both the HTF and the Treasury general fund.",
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      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 3760,
          "name": "Surface Transportation"
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    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc808203/",
      "id": "R43420_2014Oct07",
      "date": "2014-10-07",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Surface Transportation Program Reauthorization Issues for Congress",
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    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc809996/",
      "id": "R43420_2014May07",
      "date": "2014-05-07",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Surface Transportation Program Reauthorization Issues for Congress",
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  "topics": [
    "Environmental Policy",
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