PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jan 3, 2025
Make Transportation Authorities Accountable and Transparent Act
This bill directs the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Transportation to conduct an audit of public transportation spending under certain laws (including specified coronavirus relief laws) and report to Congress.
People & committees
Rep. Malliotakis, Nicole [R-NY-11] · R–NY
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Feb 28, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-01-03 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This proposal would require the Department of Transportation’s inspector general to audit federal funding provided to five transit providers selected by their reported 2019 ridership and receipt of covered federal funds. The audit would cover the five fiscal years ending before enactment, identify amounts received and how they were spent, and report the results to Congress within 180 days after enactment.
The inspector general of the Department of Transportation shall conduct an audit of funds provided to each specified transit agency under the applicable laws during the 5 fiscal years ending before the date of enactment of this Act.
The term specified transit agency means the 5 entities providing public transportation with the most unlinked passenger trips for calendar year 2019, as reported to the National Transit Database, that received Federal funds under any of the applicable laws.
The audit conducted under paragraph (1) shall include the amount of funds received under each of the applicable laws and a description of how such funds were spent.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the inspector general shall submit to Congress a report containing the results of the audit.
Section 1 would name the bill the Make Transportation Authorities Accountable and Transparent Act.
This Act may be cited as the Make Transportation Authorities Accountable and Transparent Act.
The audit would be mandatory and conducted by the Department of Transportation’s inspector general. Its funding period would be the five fiscal years ending before enactment, rather than a fixed set of calendar years.
The inspector general of the Department of Transportation shall conduct an audit of funds provided to each specified transit agency under the applicable laws during the 5 fiscal years ending before the date of enactment of this Act.
The covered providers would be the five public transportation entities with the most reported 2019 “unlinked passenger trips” that received federal funding under at least one covered law. Selection would use the National Transit Database. The bill would use the existing definition of public transportation in section 5302 of title 49.
The term specified transit agency means the 5 entities providing public transportation with the most unlinked passenger trips for calendar year 2019, as reported to the National Transit Database, that received Federal funds under any of the applicable laws.
The term public transportation has the meaning given the term in section 5302 of title 49, United States Code.
Covered funding would include funds under chapter 53 of title 49 of the United States Code and four named laws: the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020; the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act; the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021; and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
The term applicable laws means the following: (A) Chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code. (B) The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020. (C) The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. (D) The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. (E) The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
The audit would have to identify the amount received under each covered law and describe how the money was spent. The inspector general would have to send the results to Congress within 180 days after enactment.
The audit conducted under paragraph (1) shall include the amount of funds received under each of the applicable laws and a description of how such funds were spent.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the inspector general shall submit to Congress a report containing the results of the audit.
The supplied action snapshot, updated February 28, 2025, records introduction and referral to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on January 3, 2025, followed by referral to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit on January 4, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2025-02-28T21:32:51Z. 2025-01-04: Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. 2025-01-03: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. 2025-01-03: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-01-03. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; earmark disclosures and accompanying committee materials are not supplied.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow benefit, special exemption, or preferential treatment was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Feb 28, 2025. How PlainBill uses AI