Summary
On June 24, 2015, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee approved the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy (DRIVE) Act (S. 1647). The bill would reauthorize highway programs for six years, and provide an average annual increase in highway formula apportionments of 3%. Meanwhile, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee has passed its title of the bill, which covers highway safety and rail programs.
Before the full chamber can consider this surface transportation reauthorization, the Senate Banking Committee must provide a public transit title, and the Senate Finance Committee must provide the critical funding title. This Issue Brief examines the two titles of the DRIVE Act that have been released, and discusses the outlook for surface transportation reauthorization.