Surface Transportation Act

Members of the House of Representatives debated H.R. 2950, the Surface Transportation Act of 1991. H.R. 2950 authorizes $151 billion for transportation programs through 1997, including federal and mass transit programs and the national highway system. The legislation would allow flexibility by the states in directing funds to non-federal roads and bridges, and would extend the federal gasoline tax to 1999. The House passed the bill in a vote of 343 to 83. The legislation differed from the transportation legislation passed by the Senate or the administration’s transportation legislation in the amount of money appropriated for the nation’s highway system and in the apportionment of federal funds to the states. close