S. 1931 · 117th Congress

Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2021

Introduced on May 27, 2021 by Thomas R. Carper (D-DE). Latest action (Oct 6, 2021): By Senator Carper from Committee on Environment and Public Works filed written report. Report No. 117-41.

Stage
Reported by committee
Introduced
May 27, 2021
Cosponsors
0
Policy area
Transportation and Public Works
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. 3Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

An original bill to amend title 23, United States Code, to authorize funds for Federal-aid highways and highway safety construction programs, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Accidents
  • Advanced technology and technological innovations
  • Advisory bodies
  • Appalachian Regional Commission
  • Atmospheric science and weather
  • Aviation and airports
  • Congressional oversight
  • Disaster relief and insurance
  • Economic development
  • Economic performance and conditions
  • Emergency planning and evacuation
  • Energy research
  • Energy storage, supplies, demand
  • Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
  • Floods and storm protection
  • Government information and archives
  • Government lending and loan guarantees
  • Government studies and investigations
  • Government trust funds
  • Horticulture and plants
  • Indian lands and resources rights
  • Infrastructure development
  • Insects
  • Kentucky
  • Lighting, heating, cooling
  • Materials
  • Motor carriers
  • Motor vehicles
  • Natural disasters
  • Oil and gas
  • Oklahoma
  • Pedestrians and bicycling
  • Public transit
  • Public-private cooperation
  • Regional and metropolitan planning
  • Roads and highways
  • Rural conditions and development
  • State and local government operations
  • Terrorism
  • Transportation costs
  • Transportation programs funding
  • Transportation safety and security
  • Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Reported to Senate, May 27, 2021). Public domain.

Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2021

This bill reauthorizes through FY2026, revises, and establishes multiple transportation programs and activities, including those supported by the Highway Trust Fund.

This includes

  • incorporating data-driven practices and other changes to transportation planning activities;
  • modifying requirements concerning contracting methods, compliance with federal environmental laws, and additional aspects of delivering and improving processes related to transportation projects;
  • mitigating climate change through, among other efforts, programs to reduce emissions and supporting alternative fueling infrastructure; and
  • addressing transportation safety, new transportation technologies and systems, storm water management, cybersecurity, active transportation, and other miscellaneous matters.

In addition, the bill modifies eligibility criteria and other elements of a program that provides loans and other types of credit for surface transportation projects of regional and national significance.

Further, the bill makes changes to research and related activities carried out by the Department of Transportation (DOT). For example, DOT must carry out and support research on (1) user-based alternative revenue mechanisms to support the Highway Trust Fund, (2) automated vehicles and other new technologies, and (3) development of data sets to measure performance and other aspects of transportation programs.

The bill also authorizes through FY2026 funding for the Department of the Interior for road maintenance and otherwise addresses transportation programs for Indian tribes.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Thomas R. CarperD-DESponsor

No cosponsors.

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

No recorded roll call on this measure: it moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, or has not reached the floor.

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. May 26, 2021 · SenateCommittee on Environment and Public Works. Committee consideration and Mark Up Session held. Business Meeting printed. S. Hrg. 117-160.
  2. May 27, 2021Introduced in Senate
  3. May 27, 2021Committee on Environment and Public Works. Original measure reported to Senate by Senator Carper. Without written report.
  4. May 27, 2021 · SenateCommittee on Environment and Public Works. Original measure reported to Senate by Senator Carper. Without written report.
  5. May 27, 2021 · SenatePlaced on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 64.
  6. Oct 6, 2021By Senator Carper from Committee on Environment and Public Works filed written report. Report No. 117-41.
  7. Oct 6, 2021 · SenateBy Senator Carper from Committee on Environment and Public Works filed written report. Report No. 117-41.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. Trimble Navigation Limited11 reports
    $530K reported (all issues)
  2. Oregon Department of Transportation5 reports
    $150K reported (all issues)Federal contractor: OREGON DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATIONAI match · 98%
  3. Metro Transit Authority of Harris County)3 reports
    $90K reported (all issues)
  4. Earthjustice Action1 report
    $179.6K reported (all issues)

Reports filed in 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 10, 2026 · loaded Oct 10, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 10, 2026 · loaded Oct 10, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.