[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 142 (Tuesday, September 20, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H5697-H5698]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DIRECTING THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION TO PROVIDE CONGRESS ADVANCE
NOTICE OF CERTAIN ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 5977) to direct the Secretary of Transportation to
provide to the appropriate committees of Congress advance notice of
certain announcements, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5977
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b) or as
expressly provided in another provision of law, the Secretary
of Transportation shall provide to the appropriate committees
of Congress notice of an announcement concerning a covered
project at least 3 full business days before the announcement
is made by the Department of Transportation.
(b) Emergency Program.--With respect to an allocation of
funds under section 125 of title 23, United States Code, the
Secretary shall provide to the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate
notice of the allocation--
(1) at least 3 full business days before the issuance of
the allocation; or
(2) concurrently with the issuance of the allocation, if
the allocation is made using the quick release process of the
Department (or any successor process).
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act, the following definitions apply:
(1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term
``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of
the House of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Environment and Public Works, the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the
Senate.
(2) Covered project.--The term ``covered project'' means a
project competitively selected by the Department of
Transportation to receive a discretionary grant award, letter
of intent, loan commitment, loan guarantee commitment, or
line of credit commitment in an amount equal to or greater
than $750,000.
(3) Department of transportation.--The term ``Department of
Transportation'' includes the modal administrations of the
Department of Transportation.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Missouri (Mr. Graves) and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Carson) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.
General Leave
Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 5977.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Missouri?
There was no objection.
Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the Congress authorizes funding for the Federal
transportation programs, which, in turn, obviously provide the funding
and credit assistance for transportation projects across the country.
However, the authorizing committees don't consistently get advance
notice from the Department of Transportation prior to its announcement
of grant awards and credit assistance for projects.
What this bill does is real simple. It requires the Department to
give the authorizing committees at least 3 days advanced notice prior
to announcing grant awards and credit assistance for projects. It is
going to improve transparency and enhance oversight of the Department
by ensuring that Congress is properly notified of these announcements.
I encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 5977.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I rise in support of H.R. 5977. This bill ensures that the members of
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and certain Senate
committees, will receive at least 3 days advanced notice of
discretionary grants and loans made by the Department of
Transportation.
When Congress enacted the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st
Century Act (MAP-21), we included a Congressional notification
requirement for surface transportation grants. Language to require
notification was omitted inadvertently when Congress enacted the most
recent surface transportation authorization act, the Fixing America's
Surface Transportation Act, or FAST Act.
The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure has not
consistently received notice from DOT prior to the announcement of
grant awards and credit assistance for transportation projects since
the passage of the FAST Act.
I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster), the author of the FAST Act,
the chairman of the Transportation Committee.
Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Missouri (Mr.
Graves) for his help in developing H.R. 5977 and for his hard work on
developing and passing the FAST Act, the Fixing America's Surface
Transportation Act, which provides 5 years of funding for Federal
transportation programs. These programs enable us to make much-needed
investment in our transportation system.
H.R. 5977 will help ensure that Federal transportation funding is
spent wisely, through proper and consistent notification from the
Department of Transportation to Congress.
I thank my colleagues for their help in developing this important
legislation, and I urge the support of H.R. 5977.
Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to help
me and support this legislation. It is a very important piece of
legislation.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Graves) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 5977.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. HUELSKAMP. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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