To require the Secretary of the Department of Transportation to conduct a study and develop a national intermodal transportation plan, and for other purposes.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Transportation Efficiency Act''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL INTERMODAL TRANSPORTATION PLANNING TASK FORCE.

    (a) Establishment of Task Force.--The President shall create a 
National Intermodal Transportation Planning Task Force (referred to in 
this Act as ``Task Force'') with the Secretary of Transportation, or 
designee, acting as chairperson and compromised of representatives of 
the Departments of Commerce, Energy, Labor, and Housing and Urban 
Development, the Environmental Protection Agency and other government 
agencies the President considers necessary to conduct the study and 
complete the Plan required by this Act.
    (b) Duties of Task Force.--The Task Force shall--
            (1) conduct a study on transportation needs, a draft of 
        which shall be completed not later than 12 months after the 
        date of enactment of this Act and the final study shall be 
        completed not later than 15 months after the date of enactment 
        of this Act;
            (2) sponsor a conference on National Transportation 
        Planning not later than 6 months after the completion of the 
        draft study;
            (3) make recommendations to the President for possible 
        invitees to the conference on National Transportation Planning 
        described in section 3;
            (4) use the study and the input of attendees of the 
        conference under section 3 to draft a National Intermodal 
        Transportation Plan (referred to in this Act as ``Plan'') not 
        later than 24 months after the date of enactment of this Act 
        and publish it in the Federal Register and place it on the 
        Department's Web site for public comment; and
            (5) transmit to Congress, and place on the Department of 
        Transportation's Web site, a National Intermodal Transportation 
        Plan not later than 24 months after the date of enactment of 
        this Act.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION STUDY.

    In developing the study established pursuant to section 1, the Task 
Force shall consider all aspects and all modes of transportation, 
public, private, and commercial, including air, rail (passenger and 
freight), road, port, waterway, bicycle, and pedestrian. The study 
shall project for the next 30 years and examine and identify for such 
period of time the following:
            (1) National transportation priorities.
            (2) The anticipated demand, steps currently being taken to 
        address anticipated demand, how successful these steps are 
        anticipated to be, the most advantageous allocation of 
        shipments of goods and travel among the various capacities of 
        various modes, connectivity of those modes, and comparative 
        costs. Comparative costs shall take into account past public 
        investments in currently existing infrastructure for each 
        transportation mode.
            (3) Deficiencies in the current and currently planned 
        transportation systems to meet current and anticipated demand 
        and the appropriate level of redundancies.
            (4) How intermodal transportation planning may help address 
        anticipated transportation demand, social impacts of 
        transportation, and the impact of the transportation sector on 
        the environment, particularly global warming.
            (5) What obstacles exist to enhance and improve intermodal 
        transportation planning to meet national priorities so that the 
        national Plan provides suggestions on policy and legislative 
        recommendations to such obstacles.
            (6) Transportation   purposes, systems operational 
        requirements and capacities, comparative long-term costs, and 
        revenue sources.
            (7) How different agencies and levels of government may be 
        better incorporated and coordinated to improve transportation 
        planning.
            (8) Obstacles to potential benefits from, and current 
        efforts in mega-region planning at the national and regional 
        level.

SEC. 4. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLANNING CONFERENCE.

    (a) In General.--The Task Force shall convene a National 
Transportation Priorities Conference (referred to in this Act as the 
``Conference'') not later than 6 months after the completion of the 
draft National Transportation Study.
    (b) Conference Mission.--The mission of the Conference shall be--
            (1) to review the draft of the study conducted pursuant to 
        section 2 and comment on the draft's findings;
            (2) to discuss ways to improve transportation planning;
            (3) to suggest short-term and long-term goals to be 
        incorporated into the Plan;
            (4) to examine and evaluate how environmental priorities 
        and economic planning are integrated into transportation 
        planning;
            (5) to identify obstacles to meeting those goals and 
        suggestion measures to reduce or eliminate those obstacles; and
            (6) to perform other tasks that the Task Force considers 
        helpful to complete the Study and the Plan.
    (c) Conference Representatives.--The Conference shall be comprised 
of representatives appointed by the President of the following:
            (1) State Departments of Transportation.
            (2) State legislatures.
            (3) Municipal leaders.
            (4) Metropolitan planning organizations.
            (5) Transportation nonprofit and advocacy groups.
            (6) Bike and pedestrian and other transportation safety 
        organizations.
            (7) Transportation trade associations.
            (8) Small and large transportation companies.
            (9) Environmental organizations.
            (10) Labor unions.
            (11) Academia.
            (12) And other groups the Task Force considers helpful in 
        achieving the conference's mission.

SEC. 5. NATIONAL INTERMODAL TRANSPORTATION PLAN.

    (a) In General.--The Plan developed under this Act shall include 
all aspects and all modes of transportation, both public and private, 
including rail, aviation, waterways, roads, ports, bicycle, and 
pedestrian and shall include the following:
            (1) Summary of the findings of the study.
            (2) Short-term and long-term goals.
            (3) A description of how each short-term goal will lead to, 
        or at least not preclude, achieving long-term goals.
            (4) Incremental steps and performance measures to achieve 
        such goals.
            (5) What public and private resources will be required to 
        implement the Plan.
            (6) Any recommended legislative changes that are necessary 
        to meet national priorities and the short-term and long-term 
        goals, including better intermodal transportation and mega-
        region planning.
            (7) An exploration of potential alternatives to what is 
        proposed in the Plan.
    (b) Long-Term Goals.--The long-term goals in the Plan shall take 
into account the following:
            (1) Accessibility, including how best to reasonably ensure 
        that the various parts of the country have access to the 
        national transportation system (road, rail routes, air routes, 
        and water routes), including how and when public subsidies or 
        regulation may be needed.
            (2) Mobility, including the ease and expense of getting 
        people and goods to their desired destination in order to meet 
        economics and societal needs.
            (3) National security, including addressing moving people 
        and goods by alternative routes and modes in the face of either 
        a natural or man-made disaster or intentional act.
            (4) Economic prosperity, including addressing how a vibrant 
        economy requires timely and cost-effective movement of goods 
        and services and how various national transportation policies 
        can positively and negatively effect local and regional 
        economies.
            (5) Social equity, including addressing the fact that 
        transportation decisions have different costs and benefits on 
        differing segments of our society and how goals may be 
        established to help minimize those differences and ensure that 
        vulnerable segments of society do not pay a disproportionate 
        percentage of the cost.
            (6) Evaluate the environmental protection, including 
        addressing the fact that transportation issues will have 
        varying impacts on the environment from its contribution to 
        green house gasses and other emissions to short-term economic 
        costs that may lead to a decision that is counter to a long-
        term environmental benefit.
            (7) Energy consumption, including addressing how to 
        minimize overall transportation sector energy needs and 
        utilizing cost-benefit analysis based upon full-cost 
        accounting.

SEC. 6. FUNDING AUTHORIZATION.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this Act.

Summary: Transportation Efficiency Act - Directs the President to create a National Intermodal Transportation Planning Task Force to: (1) study the nation's transportation needs and priorities for the next 30 years, (2) convene a conference on National Transportation Planning. And (3) draft a National Intermodal Transportation plan that includes short- and long-term goals for meeting those priorities and improving intermodal transportation planning for all modes of the national transportation system.