Agricultural and Rural Commodities Transportation Act
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on Commerce.
Agricultural and Rural Commodities Transportation Act - Title I: Short Title - Sets forth the title by which this Act is to be cited. Title II: Amendments to Part 1 of the Interstate Commerce Act - Defines specific terms as they are held to be meant in the application of provisions of the Interstate Commerce Act. Defines such terms as "variable cost" and "fully allocated cost". Empowers the Interstate Commerce Commission to determine and prescribe what will be a just, reasonable, and compensatory individual or joint rate, fare, or charge, or rates, fares, or charges not less than the variable cost or in excess of 100 percent of the fully allocated total cost, to be charged by a common carrier or carriers by railroad subject to this part for the transportation of agricultural commodities, where shippers have no effective alternative means of transport, and to make an order that the carrier or carriers shall cease and desist from such violation to the extent to which the Commission finds that the same does or will exist. Directs the Commission to promulgate and publish rules and regulations prescribing uniform cost accounting methods for carriers by railroad subject to this part. States that such rules and regulations shall prescribe the elements of cost to be included in the calculation of carriers' variable and fully allocated total costs as required in this Act. Directs the Commission to promulgate, publish, maintain, and update a formula necessary to determine the variable and fully allocated total costs of railroad carriers, on an individual and regional grouped basis, necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. Title III: Effective Dates - Sets forth a schedule of effective dates whereunder specified provisions of this Act shall become effective.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on August 15, 1974. 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 August 15, 1974: Referred to Senate Committee on Commerce.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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 93rd Congress (1973-74), 651 of the 23,396 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.8 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?
LEE METCALF (D-MT) introduced it on August 15, 1974, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
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 August 15, 1974, 19019 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 19019 days ago, on August 15, 1974.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 93rd Congress has not finished by January 3, 1975 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers