The Senate passed a long-term highway bill (HR 22) on July 30, 2015, and then agreed to a House-passed three-month extension (HR 3236) to keep the Highway Trust Fund from running out of money. The House did NOT take up the Senate bill before leaving for its summer recess.
The Senate’s bipartisan bill is a six-year authorization with about three-years-worth of offsets to keep the Highway Trust Fund solvent. The short-term bill, passed by both the House and Senate will continue transportation funding through October 29.
The Senate bill that was passed did NOT include the used car amendment that would have prohibited the sale of used vehicles under any open recall. Such an amendment, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), would immediately diminish the value of millions of customer trade-ins. When the long-term extension is considered by the House, NADA will continue working to ensure any similar amendment is not part of the final bill.