The Home Heating Emergency Assistance Through Transportation Act of 2014 () or HHEATT Act of 2014 is an act that created an emergency exception to existing

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation that regulates the trucking industry in the United States. The primary mission of the FMCSA is to reduce crashes, injuries and f ...

(FMCSA) regulations. The exceptions allow truckers to drive for long hours if they are delivering home heating fuels, such as

propane Propane () is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used a ...

, to places where there is a shortage. The exemption lasts until May 31, 2014. An existing suspension was scheduled to expire on March 15, 2014. The bill was introduced into the

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during the

113th United States Congress The 113th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2013, to January 3, 2015, during the fifth and sixth years of Presidency of Barack Obama, Barack Obama's presiden ...

. On March 21, 2014, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

signed the bill into law. It became .

Background

The winter of 2013-2014 has been described as "especially cold," "exceptionally cold," and "brutal." This cold winter "made it a challenge to move home heating fuel quickly enough to meet increased demand." Existing Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations require freight truckers to "drive up to 11 hours occurring within a 14-hour period and must have at least 34 consecutive hours off every seven days." The FMCSA says these rules to make roads safer by preventing truck drivers from getting too tired.

Provisions

''This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the

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, a

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

source.'' The Home Heating Emergency Assistance Through Transportation Act of 2014 or HHEATT Act of 2014 would declare that a covered emergency exemption from federal motor carrier safety regulations issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) shall remain in effect until May 31, 2014, unless the

Secretary of Transportation A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a wh ...

(DOT) determines that the emergency for which the exemption was provided ends before that date. The bill would define "covered emergency exemption" as one issued or extended between February 5, 2014, and the date of enactment of this Act to effect regulatory relief for commercial motor vehicle operations directly assisting the delivery of propane and home heating fuels. The bill states that nothing in this Act may be construed to prohibit the FMCSA from issuing or extending a covered emergency exemption beyond May 31, 2014, under other federal law.

Procedural history

The Home Heating Emergency Assistance Through Transportation Act of 2014 was introduced into the

on February 25, 2014 by Rep. Bill Shuster (R, PA-9). The bill was referred to the

United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. History The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure was formerly known as the Committee on Public Works a ...

. On February 29, 2014, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor announced that H.R. 4076 would be considered under a suspension of the rules on March 4, 2014. The House passed the bill in a

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

on March 4, 2014. On March 13, 2014, the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

voted by unanimous consent to pass the bill. President

signed the bill into law on March 21, 2014.

Debate and discussion

According to Majority Leader Eric Cantor, the issue of household energy costs need to be addressed because "the

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predicted that 90 percent of U.S. households would see higher

home heating A central heating system provides warmth to a number of spaces within a building from one main source of heat. It is a component of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (short: HVAC) systems, which can both cool and warm interior spaces. ...

costs this year, and low income families already spend 12 percent of their household budget on energy costs." Rep. Shuster argued in favor of the bill saying that the bill "will provide relief for millions of Americans suffering from the current propane and home heating fuel emergency." According to the Congressman, an "exceptionally cold winter" increased demand on propane, "which is used for heating approximately 12 million homes in the United States." The bill was supposed to solve shortages and lower prices.

Notes/References

External links