[House Report 113-162]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


113th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    113-162

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TO AMEND TITLE 23, UNITED STATES CODE, WITH RESPECT TO THE OPERATION OF 
     VEHICLES ON CERTAIN WISCONSIN HIGHWAYS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

                                _______
                                

 July 22, 2013.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Shuster, from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2353]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, to whom 
was referred the bill (H.R. 2353) to amend title 23, United 
States Code, with respect to the operation of vehicles on 
certain Wisconsin highways, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment 
and recommend that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose of Legislation...........................................     2
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Hearings.........................................................     2
Legislative History and Consideration............................     2
Committee Votes..................................................     2
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     2
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................     3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................     3
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     4
Advisory of Earmarks.............................................     4
Duplication of Federal Programs..................................     4
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings..............................     4
Federal Mandate Statement........................................     4
Preemption Clarification.........................................     4
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     4
Applicability of Legislative Branch..............................     5
Section-by-Section Analysis of Legislation.......................     5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     5

                         Purpose of Legislation

    H.R. 2353 amends title 23, United States Code, to 
grandfather Wisconsin commercial vehicle weight limits on 
Highway 41 between Green Bay and Milwaukee when the route is 
designated as part of the Interstate Highway System.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    Highway 41 in Wisconsin, from Green Bay to Milwaukee, is a 
131 mile corridor that is critical to economic activity and 
commerce within the state. Many businesses, including 
manufacturers and retail, are located along this corridor and 
rely on the corridor to efficiently move their goods to market. 
The corridor generates 29 percent of Wisconsin's tourism 
revenues and over 150,000 vehicles travel on the corridor 
daily.
    In 2014, the State of Wisconsin intends to designate 
Highway 41 as part of the Interstate Highway System. Once the 
corridor is designated, Highway 41 will be required to meet 
federal commercial vehicle size and weight limits. Section 127 
of title 23, United States Code, limits commercial vehicle 
weights on the Interstate Highway System to 80,000 pounds gross 
vehicle weight, 20,000 pounds on a single axle, and 34,000 on a 
tandem axle.
    H.R. 2353 would grandfather current state commercial 
vehicle weights limits after Highway 41 is designated as an 
Interstate. Current Wisconsin state law allows certain 
commodities, such as forest products, agriculture, and scrap 
metal, to be transported on commercial vehicles that are over 
Interstate weight limits. H.R. 2353 allows trucks hauling those 
commodities to operate as they did before Highway 41 was 
designated as an Interstate.

                                Hearings

    No hearings were held on H.R. 2353.

                 Legislative History and Consideration

    On June 13, 2013, Representative Tom Petri (for himself and 
Representative Reid Ribble) introduced H.R. 2353. On July 18, 
2013, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure met in 
open session and ordered the bill reported favorably to the 
House by voice vote with a quorum present.

                            Committee Votes

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires each committee report to include the 
total number of votes cast for and against on each record vote 
on a motion to report and on any amendment offered to the 
measure or matter, and the names of those members voting for 
and against. There were no record votes taken in connection 
with consideration of H.R. 2353.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(1) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are 
reflected in this report.

               New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures

    Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives does not apply where a cost estimate and 
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 has been timely submitted prior to the filing of the 
report and is included in the report. Such a cost estimate is 
included in this report.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 
received the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2353 from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, July 22, 2013.
Hon. Bill Shuster,
Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2353, a bill to 
amend title 23, United States Code, with respect to the 
operation of vehicles on certain Wisconsin highways, and for 
other purposes.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Sarah Puro.
            Sincerely,
                                              Douglas W. Elmendorf.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 2353--A bill to amend title 23, United States Code, with respect 
        to the operation of vehicles on certain Wisconsin highways, and 
        for other purposes

    Under current law, there are weight restrictions on the 
vehicles that use the Interstate Highway System based on the 
number of axles on the vehicle. (The Interstate System is a 
subset of the National Highway System.) H.R. 2353 would allow 
vehicles over the restricted weight to continue to operate on 
United States Route 41 in the state of Wisconsin if that route 
were to be designated as a part of the Interstate System in the 
future. That route is not currently part of the National 
Highway System, so it is eligible for federal grants for 
highway construction. Including the route in the Interstate 
System in the future could affect Wisconsin's allocation of 
federal funds.
    CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would have no 
impact on the federal budget because it would not affect the 
magnitude or the timing of any future grants from the 
Department of Transportation to the state of Wisconsin. 
Enacting H.R. 2353 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    H.R. 2353 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Sarah Puro. The 
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
performance goal and objective of this legislation is to 
grandfather current weight limits on Highway 41 in Wisconsin 
after the corridor has been designated as an Interstate.

                          Advisory of Earmarks

    Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House 
of Representatives, the Committee is required to include a list 
of congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited 
tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of 
rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. No 
provision in the bill includes an earmark, limited tax benefit, 
or limited tariff benefit under clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of 
rule XXI.

                    Duplication of Federal Programs

    Pursuant to section 3(j) of H. Res. 5, 113th Cong. (2013), 
the Committee finds that no provision of H.R. 2353 establishes 
or reauthorizes a program of the federal government known to be 
duplicative of another federal program, a program that was 
included in any report from the Government Accountability 
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-
139, or a program related to a program identified in the most 
recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.

                  Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings

    Pursuant to section 3(k) of H. Res. 5, 113th Cong. (2013), 
the Committee estimates that enacting H.R. 2353 does not 
specifically direct the completion of any specific rule makings 
within the meaning of section 551 of title 5, United States 
Code.

                       Federal Mandate Statement

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act (Public Law 104-4).

                        Preemption Clarification

    Section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 
requires the report of any committee on a bill or joint 
resolution to include a statement on the extent to which the 
bill or joint resolution is intended to preempt state, local, 
or tribal law. The Committee states that H.R. 2353 does not 
preempt any state, local, or tribal law.

                      Advisory Committee Statement

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act are created by this 
legislation.

                  Applicability of Legislative Branch

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 
104-1).

               Section-by-Section Analysis of Legislation


Section 1. Operation of vehicles on certain Wisconsin highways

    H.R. 2353 amends section 127 of title 23, Unites States 
Code, to allow vehicles that are permitted to operate on 
Highway 41 in Wisconsin to continue to operate on the same 
corridor after the corridor has been designated as an 
Interstate.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is 
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

TITLE 23, UNITED STATES CODE

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CHAPTER 1--FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAYS

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Sec. 127. Vehicle weight limitations--Interstate System

  (a) * * *

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  (j) Operation of Vehicles on Certain Wisconsin Highways.--If 
any segment of the United States Route 41 corridor, as 
described in section 1105(c)(57) of the Intermodal Surface 
Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, is designated as a route 
on the Interstate System, a vehicle that could operate legally 
on that segment before the date of such designation may 
continue to operate on that segment, without regard to any 
requirement under subsection (a).

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