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H.R. 2716: Transportation Empowerment Act

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H.R. 2716: Transportation Empowerment Act

114th Congress · introduced 2015-06-10 · Transportation and Public Works · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2015-06-10 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. DeSantis, Ron [R-FL-6] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Transportation Empowerment Act

Plain summary

Transportation Empowerment Act This bill prescribes a limitation on funding of transportation programs and projects for FY2016-FY2020. Appropriations out of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) (other than the Mass Transit Account) are authorized for FY2016-FY2020, subject to a certain limitation, for specified core programs under the federal-aid highway program, including: emergency relief for highways and roads, the federal lands transportation program, and Federal Highway Administration administrative expenses. A state may transfer and use excess federal-aid highway funds for any surface transportation project (including mass transit and rail). Certain limits are placed on federal assistance to states for highway bridge replacement and rehabilitation to bridges on the federal-aid highway system. Beginning with FY2015, a highway construction or improvement project shall not be considered a federal project: unless and until a state expends federal funds for the construction portion of the project, solely by reason of the state expenditure of federal funds before the construction phase of the project (including for any environmental document or design work), or upon state reimbursement to the federal government of the federal costs of such projects. The Internal Revenue Code is amended to make amounts in the HTF available for expenditure for core highway programs through FY2022. The Department of the Treasury shall pay from the HTF into the Treasury general fund amounts equivalent to the floor stocks refunds made before July 1, 2022, as well as into the Airport and Airway Trust Fund amounts equivalent to certain aviation fuel taxes received before October 1, 2022. A motor fuel tax rate schedule is prescribed for the financing of core highway programs. Treasury authority to make certain transfers to the Mass Transit Account shall be terminated at the end of FY2016, at which time Treasury shall transfer all amounts from the Mass Transit Account to the Highway Account. The national highway performance program is revised to repeal program requirements for specified National Highway System transportation improvement projects, including environmental mitigation projects. The surface transportation program is revised to eliminate from eligibility for program assistance: carpool projects, fringe and corridor parking facilities and programs, including electric vehicle and natural gas vehicle infrastructure, and bicycle transportation and pedestrian walkways projects; transportation alternatives; and environmental mitigation projects, including environmental restoration and pollution abatement projects. Also repealed are: the obligation of a state to use a portion of program funds for replacement or rehabilitation of off-system bridges, metropolitan transportation planning requirements for federal-aid highways, and the authorization of federal assistance to states for historic bridges. Certain requirements of the highway safety improvement program are revised or repealed, eliminating eligibility for projects for pedestrian or bicyclist safety or safety of persons with disabilities. The congestion mitigation and air quality improvement program and the transportation alternatives program are repealed. Appropriations out of the HTF (other than the Mass Transit Account) are authorized for FY2016-FY2020 for the highway research and development program. Treasury shall allocate to the states for surface transportation projects (including mass transit and rail) any excess highway tax receipts appropriated to the HTF in FY2016-FY2019. Excise taxes on gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene, and diesel-water fuel emulsion are reduced. Credits or refunds are required for certain floor stocks taxes on liquids imposed before October 1, 2020. This Act shall become effective only if the Office of Management and Budget certifies that it is deficit neutral.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Transportation Empowerment Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. DeSantis, Ron [R-FL-6] · 51 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Marlin A. Stutzman (R-IN), Richard Hudson (R-NC), Jim Jordan (R-OH), Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), Austin Scott (R-GA), Michael T. McCaul (R-TX), Andy Harris (R-MD), Gary J. Palmer (R-AL), Randy K. Weber, Sr. (R-TX), Paul A. Gosar (R-AZ), Scott DesJarlais (R-TN), Bill Huizenga (R-MI), David Schweikert (R-AZ), Roger Williams (R-TX), Daniel Webster (R-FL)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (4)
Appropriation
Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization
A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Obligation
A binding promise by a government agency to pay money, for example by signing a contract or awarding a grant. Spending data such as USAspending.gov counts money when it is obligated, which can be before it is actually paid out.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong114-hr2716 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114