The process that takes a public transportation funding bill through Congress to enactment has many distinct steps, and it isn’t always easy to see where one follows another. To aid public transit professionals in understanding this progression—including explaining how bills are enacted and why the process may seem to take a long time—Passenger Transport provides below a brief guide through the Capitol Hill legislative maze.

Where Does the Budget Process Begin?
The administration launches the legislative process for major bills such as budgets and multi-year transportation authorizations by submitting its version of the legislation to Congress, which rarely enacts the administration’s bill without making changes.

These are atypical times regarding transportation legislation. The last public transportation authorization bill, SAFETEA-LU, expired two years ago, and that has left many transportation programs receiving their current funding under the latest in a series of temporary extensions. The Senate is currently moving legislation that would authorize transportation programs for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2012 through FY 2013; the House is currently moving legislation authorizing transportation programs for the remainder of FY 2012 through FY 2018; and the administration recently proposed an authorization plan for transportation programs from FY 2013 through FY 2018 in conjunction with its request for the FY 2013 budget.

Aside from the administration’s proposals, any of the 435 members of the House or 100 Senators can launch the procedure by writing a bill on any subject and submitting it to the full chamber, which refers the legislation to a specific committee for consideration. Which committee will receive the legislation, though, is less obvious.

Which Committees Have Authorization—Over What?
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (T&I) considers authorizing legislation for transportation, which includes public transit, but the Ways and Means Committee has responsibility for public transit financing, including the Highway Trust Fund and commuter benefits. The House Appropriations Committee takes care of the apportionment of funds.

While authorization sets out how much federal money is available for the various public transportation programs, annual appropriation bills set aside the actual money. The appropriations bill that includes DOT also covers the Department of Housing and Urban Development; public transit security falls under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security, which has its own appropriations bill.

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 Senate Finance Committee is responsible for the Highway Trust Fund.

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

The Capitol Hill Process
Members of Congress introduce a large number of bills, many of which never progress beyond consideration by a committee or subcommittee. Legislators must have 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 once it has passed 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.

Following the full House and Senate debating, amending, and voting on their respective surface transportation bills, 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, not all of these steps are always necessary to complete the legislative process, according to Justin Harclerode, communications director 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 to address urgent issues in a more timely fashion.

The text of the written testimony appears on the committee’s website 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.

“While there are a lot of moving parts to the legislative process, don’t make it harder than it is,” said David C. Gillies, chief of staff/press secretary to T&I Committee member Rep. Jerry Costello (D-IL). “At its most basic level, the House produces a bill, the Senate produces a bill, the two chambers reconcile the differences, and send the final version to the president for signature. Keep it simple.”