CD127: The Fast Act (The Transportation Funding Law)

Transportation: We all need it, and Congress funded it. In this episode, we take a detailed look into the FAST Act, which funds our national transportation network for the next five years. Please support Congressional Dish: to contribute with PayPal or Bitcoin; click the PayPal "Make it Monthly" checkbox to create a monthly subscription to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Mail Contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North #4576 Crestview, FL 32536 Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Bill Highlights Division A - Surface Transportation Title I - Highways will get an average of 41 billion per year. Private Freight Grants: can go to to upgrade rail infrastructure; the Federal share of these projects is . Acceleration of Projects Creates a that will allow States to conduct environmental reviews, using their own State laws, instead of using the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Capped at 5 States The State can if the Secretary of Transportation determines the laws of the State are at least as stringent as the Federal requirements. No lawsuits will be allowed, challenging the permit approval, after . The program will sunset in Miscellaneous The Department of Transportation will identify for installation of electric car charging stations and hydrogen, propane, and natural gas refueling stations by the end of 2016. The goal is to have the charging and refueling stations deployed by . Allows the Department of Transportation that need fixing until the Interior Department issues final rules. The Secretary of the Interior to move the swallows. Title III - Funding level The Mass Transit Account will provide and at . for positive train control installation, which can be used to pay for up to 80% of the cost. Buy American Requires to be purchased, when possible. Title IV - grants to States in return for their establishment of laws that prohibit texting and driving. Federal grant money from funding for State & local programs for checking for motorcycle helmet usage or checkpoints for motorcycle monitoring. Impaired Driving grants to States for implementation of drunk driving laws. on marijuana-impaired driving by the end of 2016. Title V - Drug Test Expansion Allows companies to conduct preemployment and random tests of commercial drivers for alcohol and controlled substances using as an alternative to urine testing. for religious exemptions Title VI - Innovation Highway User Fees Grants will be provided to States that for funding the Highway Trust Fund. The goal is to test the design and public acceptance of user fee systems. to operate the fee collection systems. The fees collected Public Access to Research A will be available on a public website and updated once per year. Title VII - Special permits for special permits for transporting hazardous material by 60 days The decisions will be available to the public "Wetlines" Requires the Secretary of Transportation to that would have Transportation of flammable liquids by rail Within a year, the Secretary of Transportation has to to require railroads to report accurate, real-time information about hazardous liquids being transported to the local fusion centers, who will share the information with State and local first responders. Tank cars that do not meet can to transport oil and ethanol until 2018 or May 2025, depending on the type of tank car. The Secretary of Transportation can for up to 2 years The Secretary of Transportation will have 180 days to create regulations to make sure that tank cars modified to meet Federal standards that have been approved by the Secretary. Title XI - Funding Levels Amtrak, which owns the tracks and passenger cars operating in the Northeast, will get an average of $. For Amtrak operations in the rest of the country, where private freight companies own our tracks, Amtrak will receive an average of . Food and Beverage Reform Amtrak will have to eliminate the operating loss associated with offering food and beverages on Amtrak trains in a way that Amtrak will be to cover food and beverage related operating losses in December 2021. Pets on Trains Amtrak will have one year to launch a Gulf Coast Rail A working group will be created and have nine months to for the best option for restoring intercity rail passenger transportation between New Orleans, LA and Orlando, FL. Privatizing long distance routes The Secretary of Transportation will have to create a by mid-2017 that will allow non-Amtrak companies to operate up to 3 long distance passenger rail routes. The non-Amtrak operator will have control of the route for and it can be renewed once for an additional four year period. The operator will be given an . The can be the private company that owns the tracks, another private company that has an agreement with the track owners or the States. The non-Amtrak operator to Amtrak's reservation system, stations, and operations facilities and will be required to give hiring preferences to the Amtrak employees laid off because of the transfer. Cameras on Trains By the end of 2017, the Secretary of Transportation must create regulations in the control cabs on all passenger trains Liability Cap Amtrak for the fatal accident that occurred on May 12, 2015. Title XXIV - Recall Information The Secretary of Transportation will have until the end of 2017 to for easily accessible information on vehicle safety recalls. Information about recalls will have to be in addition to first class mail. There will be a testing the idea of States informing customers of recalls when they register their vehicles. the amount of time consumers get to have their recalled tires replaced from 60 days to 180 days. Rental Car Safety Rental car companies with more than 35 cars can sell, lease, or rent out cars They can until the solution is available, if it is not immediately available at the time they are notified. Motor Safety Violation Penalties from $5,000 per violation to $21,000 per violation, capped at $105 million. Driver Privacy Information from a car's event data recorder by someone other than the owner or lessee if it's authorized by a court, is provided willingly by the owner/lessee, is needed for emergency response purposes, or is for traffic safety research and the personally identifiable information is hidden. Tires The Secretary of Transportation will create regulations for , taking steps to ensure that wet traction functionality is not effected. Creates a Whistleblowers If a whistleblower gives credible and unique information about a safety problem to the Secretary of Transportation that results in sanctions, the . Title XXXII - Passport Denials for Tax Delinquencies If a person has a seriously delinquent tax debt over $50,000, the Secretary of State and . Privatize Tax Collection the Treasury Secretary to issue at least one contract for tax collection services . Customs Fees a every year with inflation. Federal Reserve Funds the amount of money that can be held by the Federal Reserve banks to $10 billion and transfers the remainder to the general fund of the Treasury. Adjusts to the lower of the rate of the 10 year Treasury notes or 6 percent Strategic Petroleum Reserve the Secretary of Energy to sell at least 66 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and deposit the money into the general fund of the Treasury. The amount sold at the discretion of the Energy Secretary until the revenue totals $6.2 billion. Crop Insurance Profits a part of the Bipartisan Budget Act that Oil & Gas Royalties that oil and gas companies could accrue on overpayments. PAYGO Scorecard The effects of this law on the budget Title LI - Export-Import Bank and reduces the amount of loans, guarantees, and insurance the Export-Import bank can have outstanding to $135 billion (from $140 billion). the Export-Import bank to hold 5% of it's funds in reserve to protect against losses. independent audits of the Export-Import bank's portfolio that allows the Export-Import Bank to enter into contracts to "share risks". The amount of liability allowed to be transferred is capped at a total of $10 billion. Title LV - Environmental Law Waivers during which there is a sudden increase in energy demand - which that the United States is involved in - "any party" that follows an order to generate electricity can not be sued for violating "any Federal, State, or local environmental law or regulation". The order that allows immunity for breaking environmental laws as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission "determines necessary to meet the emergency and serve the public interest." If the emergency order is set aside by a court, . Strategic Transformer Reserve The Secretary of Energy will have one year to create a plan that are critical infrastructure or support military installations. Title LXXI - Makes it and for a company that makes under $1 billion per year to offer stock to the public. Title LXXII - Reduces paperwork for companies that make under $1 billion per year and want to offer stock to the public. Title LXXIII - the requirement that collectable coins be 10% copper Title LXXIV - Investment advisors who solely advise small business investment companies even if they are managing assets over $150 million (). Title LXXV - Banks will not have to mail privacy notices to their customers if they haven't changed their policies since the last disclosure was sent. Title LXXVI - Allows privately held shares to be sold to without registering the securities with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Title LXXXII - Allows to become members of Federal Home Loan Banks if they are FDIC eligible or are certified by the State If the State doesn't get to it in under 6 months, the application is . Title LXXXIII - of a bank that counts as a "small bank" from banks that have less than $500 million to banks that have less than $1 billion for the purpose of . Sound Clip Sources Hearing: , November 3, 2015. Hearing: , November 3, 2015. Hearing: , Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, September 17, 2015 Hearing: , House Transportation Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials, June 24, 2015. Hearing: , House Transportation and Infrastructer Committee, June 2, 2015. Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes By Jennifer Briney, June 27, 2015 , By Jennifer Briney, June 24, 2014 By Jennifer Briney, February 8, 2014. Reports By William J. Mallett, December 28, 2015. , December 2, 2015. Additional Reading Article: By Chris Isidore, CNN Money, June 1, 2016. Article: By Bill Cummings, CtPost, May 17, 2016. Article: By Shriram Bhashyam, TechCrunch, December 20, 2015. Article: , Insurance Journal, December 4, 2015. Article: By Shannon Van Hoesen, Environmental Working Group, December 3, 2015. Article: By Robert S. Kirk, December 2, 2015. Article: By Keith Lang, The Hill, December 1, 2015. Article: By Joan Lowy, U.S. News and World Report, October 28, 2015. Article: By Meghan Cline, United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, October 27, 2015. Article: By Philip Brasher, Agri-Pulse, October 27, 2015. Article: By Ashley Halsey III and Michael Laris, The Washington Post, October 27, 2015. Article: By Ashley Halsey III and Michael Laris, The Washington Post, October 25, 2015. Article: By Simone Pathe, PBS, September 15, 2014. Article: By Alwyn Scott and Tim Hepher, Reuters, September 10, 2014. Article: By Susan A. Fleming, U.S. Government Accountability Office, September 11, 2013. Article: By Steven Pearlstein, The Washington Post, September 9, 2013. Article: By Timothy Cama, Transport Topics, October 10, 2011. Article: By Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, January 27, 2011. Additional Information Metra Website: explaining the FAST Act OpenSecrets: OpenSecrets: OpenSecrets: OpenSecrets: Website: Website: Website: Website: Website: YouTube: , October 3, 2008. Music Presented in This Episode Intro & Exit: by (found on by mevio) Cover Art Design by