The legislative process is the backbone of federal funding for public transportation, but—like a human spine—it’s part of a complicated organism that can’t be understood without help. What follows is a “guided tour” that explains how bills are enacted—in this case, public transit-related bills—and why the process seems at times to take so long.

To begin with, any member of Congress can write a bill on any subject and submit it to the full chamber, which refers the legislation to a specific committee for consideration. Which committee will receive the legislation, though, is less straightforward.

In the House, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (T&I) considers authorizing legislation for transportation, which includes public transit. The Ways and Means Committee oversees transit financing, including the Highway Trust Fund and commuter benefits, and the House Appropriations Committee takes care of apportioning funds. The appropriations bill that includes DOT also covers the Department of Housing and Urban Development, while the Department of Homeland Security has its own appropriations bill, which includes transit security.

The situation is even more dispersed in the Senate. The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee covers public transit; the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee oversees highways; and the Commerce Committee has responsibility for passenger and freight rail, including intercity rail. The Senate Appropriations Committee takes care of transportation appropriations, but the Highway Trust Fund is in the purview of the Senate Finance Committee.

Bills that cover topics under the jurisdiction of different committees can receive multiple referrals.

The administration launches the legislative process for major bills such as budgets and, in the past, major transportation authorization bills by submitting its version of the legislation to Congress. The administration has not formally submitted a full proposal for the next authorization bill, but did release principles in conjunction with its request for the Fiscal Year 2012 budget. Congress rarely enacts the administration’s bill without making changes.

Members of Congress introduce a large number of bills, many of which never progress beyond consideration by a committee or subcommittee. Legislators need a reason to move a specific bill, such as funding specific needs or dealing with a particular problem.

In general, the process goes like this:

A member of Congress introduces a bill to the full House or Senate, which assigns the bill to the committee of jurisdiction.

The legislation receives consideration first in a subcommittee, then in the full committee. Along the way, senior committee staff plan hearings on topics related to the issues covered in the bill; they receive input from members of the committee, consult with interested organizations, and ultimately invite witnesses to testify.

The subcommittees incorporate information obtained during the hearings as they prepare draft legislation for the full committee. Separate bills on similar topics may make their way through the House and Senate at the same time, each with its own schedule for hearings, committee meetings, and procedural votes.

Subcommittee members “mark up” (amend) the draft bill until the majority agrees to submit the revised bill to the parent full committee, which then holds its own mark-up session. The full committee may insert entire new sections to the bill, even to the point of preparing a completely different version.

If components of the legislation fall under the jurisdiction of another committee, it goes there after passing the primary committee by majority vote. After the committees finish their oversight, the bill is then “reported out” to the full chamber of its respective body of Congress.

The full House and Senate debate, amend, and vote on their respective surface transportation bills, after which a conference committee is formed to reconcile differences between the two and arrive at a mutually acceptable compromise.

Once the conference committee agrees on a final version of the bill, it is returned to each body of Congress for final passage. The full House and Senate must vote on conference bills in their entirety, exactly as presented by the conferees. When the conference bill has passed both houses, it goes to the president for signature.

However, all of these steps are not always necessary to complete the legislative process, according to Justin Harclerode, director of communications for the House T&I Committee. For instance, a committee can discharge a bill without considering it at the subcommittee or full committee level, and the bill can go straight to the House floor. Either the House or Senate can generally take up a piece of legislation passed out of the other body and approve it, in which case there is no need for a conference.

Planning a House Hearing
Harclerode also presented an overview of what goes into a congressional hearing. “The process of arranging and conducting committee hearings can vary in length, but typically takes several weeks,” he said. “Once a hearing topic is determined, potentially relevant witnesses must be identified and invited, making sure that they can offer valid insights on the topic at hand, and that their schedules will work with the date or dates being considered.”

While witnesses prepare their remarks on their own and submit the written testimony before the hearing, the committee members and staff develop background information in preparation to ensure that the hearing will be as thorough and informative as possible.

Hearings can also be assembled more quickly if necessary, Harclerode said, for instance to address urgent issues in a more timely fashion.

The text of the written testimony appears on the committee’s web site following the hearing. Also, the official record remains open for additions, supplemental information, and further written testimony from any other interested stakeholders who were not part of the official witness panel.

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