Moving Towards A Safe Climate Act
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
Moving Towards A Safe Climate Act
This bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to publish a national strategic action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector to the emissions target by the year 2040. (The emissions target is a level of greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector that does not exceed 20 percent of the level of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States for the year 2005, as determined by the Environmental Protection Agency.)
The plan may include criteria such as (1) strategies that increase the usage of passenger rail, public transportation systems, walking, cycling, and other low-carbon modes of transportation; (2) strategies and policies that reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled; (3) recommendations for tax incentives for the adoption of technology that produces low levels of greenhouse gas emissions; and (4) the development of transportation technology that dramatically reduces existing greenhouse gas emissions or produces low levels of greenhouse gas emissions.
The bill requires each state to develop a strategic action plan. DOT may withhold funding from states beginning in FY2023 until it determines that the state's strategic plan complies with criteria under the national plan.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 10, 2020. 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 March 11, 2020: Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
- 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 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 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?
Daniel Lipinski (D-IL) introduced it on March 10, 2020. No cosponsors are recorded.
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 March 10, 2020, 2375 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2374 days ago, on March 11, 2020.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 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