Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act
.svg.png) | |
| Other short titles |
Federal Public Transportation Act of 2015 |
|---|---|
| Long title | An Act to authorize funds for Federal-aid highways, highway safety programs, and transit programs, and for other purposes |
| Nicknames | FAST Act |
| Enacted by | the 114th United States Congress |
| Citations | |
| Public law | Pub.L. 114–94 |
| Legislative history | |
| |
The Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act is a funding and authorization bill to govern United States federal surface transportation spending. It was passed by Congress on December 3, 2015, and President Barack Obama signed it on December 4.[1][2] The vote was 359-65 in the House of Representatives and 83-16 in the United States Senate.[1]
The $305 billion, five-year bill is funded without increasing transportation user fees.[3] (The federal gas tax was last raised in 1993.)[4] Instead, funds were generated through changes to passport rules, Federal Reserve Bank dividends, and privatized tax collection.[1][5]
Unrelated provisions
- This law authorizes the Export-Import Bank of the United States through 2019.[2]
- New crop insurance funding is approved.[6]
- Emigrant Savings Bank is exempted from certain provisions of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.[7]
- The Act also includes several revisions to federal securities law, including Section 76001 of the Act. This provision creates a new Section 4(a)(7) of the Securities Act of 1933, a new exemption from registration under that act intended to facilitate secondary trading of private company securities among accredited investors. By so doing, Congress and the President hoped to support smaller, nonpublic companies with their capital raising efforts by providing more liquidity for their securities, with reduced regulatory burdens.[8][9]
References
- 1 2 3 Laing, Keith; Carney, Jordain (December 3, 2015). "Senate sends $305B highway bill to Obama". The Hill. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
- 1 2 Laing, Keith (December 4, 2015). "Obama signs $305B highway bill". The Hill. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
- ↑ "5-Year, $300 Billion "FAST Act" Will Extend Transpo Policy Status Quo to 2020 - Streetsblog USA".
- ↑ When did the Federal Government begin collecting the gas tax? - Ask the Rambler - Highway History - FHWA
- ↑ Erb, Kelly Phillips. "Congress Orders IRS To Use Private Debt Collection Companies".
- ↑ "Highway bill has some farm help too". Farm Futures. December 4, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
- ↑ Carter, Zach (December 1, 2015). "Congress Is About To Hand This Bank A Ridiculous Gift". The Huffington Post. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
- ↑ David Lynn; Anna Pinedo (December 7, 2015). "FAST Forward: A Summary of the Securities Law Provisions of the FAST Act (client alert)" (PDF). MOFO Jumpstarter. Morrison Foerster. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ SecondMarket. "Secondary Trading Markets" (PDF). Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved 21 January 2016.