# 119-s-3786: Balance the Highway Trust Fund Act

119-s-3786, Balance the Highway Trust Fund Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT] (R-UT); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-10).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3786
- As of: 2026-09-10
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-3786
- Congress: 119
- Title: Balance the Highway Trust Fund Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-02-05
- Sponsor: Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT] (R-UT)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-10

## Summary

**Limits highway obligation authority to the Highway Trust Fund's latest net receipts.** This bill would cap annual obligation authority for federal-aid highway and highway safety construction programs at the net highway receipts most recently estimated by the Secretary of the Treasury. - States: Obligation authority would be allocated after excluding administrative expenses and prior unobligated balances. After August 1 the Secretary would redistribute unused authority to states that can obligate more, prioritizing states with large unobligated balances. - Transportation research programs: Contract authority for research would be subject to the same obligation limits, but research funds would remain available for 4 fiscal years and would not count against obligation limits for future years. - Federal allocation process: The Secretary of Transportation would follow a multi-step formula to prorate remaining obligation authority across programs that are allocated or apportioned and would distribute certain authorized but unallocated funds to states for purposes allowed under section 133(b) of title 23, United States Code.

## Provisions PRIA read

- Four-year availability for research funds: benefit, low. If enacted, obligation authority for transportation research programs would remain available for four fiscal years. That research availability would be in addition to any obligation limits in future years. The change would take effect October 1, 2027 and would help States, research institutions, an…
- Limits on federal transit funding: cost, medium. If enacted, the bill would cap total obligations from the Mass Transit Account each year at the Treasury's latest net mass transit receipts. The cap would take effect October 1, 2027 and would apply notwithstanding other law. If enacted, this could reduce federal transit funding in some years and a…
- Cap and split highway obligations: mixed, high. If enacted, this bill would cap total Federal-aid highway and highway safety construction obligations each year at the Treasury's latest net highway receipts. The cap would start October 1, 2027. The Secretary of Transportation would withhold authority for certain administrative programs and prior…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5653: Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026
- 119-s-4952: Protecting American Taxpayers Act
- 119-s-1801: International Nuclear Energy Act of 2025
- 119-s-1249: Drone Integration and Zoning Act
- 119-s-62: America First Act
- 119-s-4280: SAFE Act

## Sources
- [119-s-3786 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/3786)

## Related
- [119-s-5653: Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5653)
- [119-s-4952: Protecting American Taxpayers Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4952)
- [119-s-1801: International Nuclear Energy Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1801)
- [119-s-1249: Drone Integration and Zoning Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1249)
- [119-s-62: America First Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-62)
- [119-s-4280: SAFE Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4280)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3786 (as of 2026-09-10).