Bill · S. 3786· Senate(119-S-3786)
Balance the Highway Trust Fund Act
- Introduced
- 2/5/2026
- Last activity
- 2/5/2026 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
- Sponsored by
- Mike Lee
- Cosponsors
- None
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Balance the Highway Trust Fund Act aims to limit spending from the Highway Trust Fund. It sets an obligation limitation for Federal-aid highway and highway safety construction programs based on net highway receipts estimated by the Secretary of the Treasury. This Act also imposes a limitation on obligations from the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund. The Secretary of Transportation is tasked with specific rules for distributing and redistributing obligation authority. This includes specific instructions on how to handle unused funds and proportions for various programs. The Act is scheduled to take effect on October 1, 2027.
Yes
No question was scored yes.
The opposite
Does this improve buses, trains and other public transport?-5
The bill imposes an obligation limitation on the Mass Transit Account, which may restrict funding for public transportation.
Does this reduce what the federal government spends?-4
The bill imposes obligation limitations on the Highway Trust Fund and the Mass Transit Account to limit federal spending.
Would people in cities be better off under this?-3
The restriction on the Mass Transit Account may negatively impact urban areas that rely heavily on public transit.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Redistribution of Funds to Active States: The Secretary of Transportation is required to redistribute obligation authority after August 1 of each fiscal year to States that are able to obligate funds, specifically giving priority to those with large unobligated balances of certain funds. This could benefit States that are ready to move forward with projects (Section 2(c)).
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Redistribution of Unallocated Funds: The Secretary must distribute funds to States that will not be allocated or apportioned due to the obligation limitations. These funds can be used for any purpose described in section 133(b) of title 23, United States Code (Section 2(e)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Limits on Administrative and Research Funding: The bill prohibits the distribution of obligation authority for administrative expenses, programs by section 104(a) of title 23, and amounts for the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (Section 2(b)(1)).
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Limits on Available Funds: The Secretary of Transportation is prohibited from distributing obligation authority that is equal to the unobligated balance of funds from previous fiscal years (Section 2(b)(2)).
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Restrictions on Mass Transit: The Act amends the United States Code to ensure that total obligations from the Mass Transit Account do not exceed the net mass transit receipts estimated by the Secretary of the Treasury (Section 3).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Improves Public Transit-5
- Economy And Finance
- Reduces Government Spending-4
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Urban Residents-3
- 2/5/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
- Introduced in Senate