Transportation Energy Efficiency Act of 1979
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Public Works and Transportation.
Transportation Energy Efficiency Act of 1979 - Title I: Energy Efficient Public Transportation - Amends the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964 to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 1981 through 1989 from the Energy Security Trust Fund to finance grants, loans, and/or contracts for: (1) Federal financial assistance to State and local agencies for the construction or improvement of mass transportation systems; (2) public transportation projects substituted for segments of Interstate highway; (3) buses and bus facilities; and (4) projects for the deployment of innovative techniques and methods in the management and operation of public transportation services. Limits the amount of such funds which may be appropriated for allocation by the President. Title II: Improved Automobile Use - Permits the Secretary of Transportation to increase the Federal share of Interstate Highway costs to at least 90 percent for energy conservation projects. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to governments and private organizations of 90 percent of the costs for energy conservation projects and for the purpose of planning, implementing, or evaluating innovative transportation strategies for more efficient use of automobiles and alternatives to low occupancy automobiles. Permits the inclusion in highway safety programs of programs for increased automotive fuel efficiency, including improved driver practices and vehicle operation and maintenance with funding provided from the Energy Security Trust Fund. Authorizes appropriations from such Fund for fiscal years 1980 through 1989 for carrying out the national maximum speed limit, energy conservation projects, and highway safety programs. Limits the percentage of funds to be used for public information programs directed to improve automobile usage and administrative costs. Authorizes appropriations out of the Highway trust fund for liquidation of obligations incurred for highway projects approved on or after the Transportation Energy Efficiency Act. Reduces the apportionments to States where a segment of the Interstate system is withdrawn for a substituted public mass transit project and makes a revised estimate of the Federal share of the costs of such segment available for highway substitution projects.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on September 19, 1979. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 19, 1979: Referred to House Committee on Public Works and Transportation.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
HAROLD JOHNSON (D-CA) introduced it on September 19, 1979, and 3 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 1 Democrat, 2 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on September 19, 1979, 17205 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17205 days ago, on September 19, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers