II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1648 

To terminate the Transportation Enhancement Program and transfer the 

funding dedicated to such program to carry out the most critical emergency transportation projects identified by the Secretary of Transportation, after consultation with State and local transportation officials. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 4, 2011 

Mr. PAUL (for himself, Mr. MCCONNELL, and Mr. COATS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To terminate the Transportation Enhancement Program and 

transfer the funding dedicated to such program to carry 

out the most critical emergency transportation projects 

identified by the Secretary of Transportation, after consultation with State and local transportation officials. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Emergency Transpor5 tation Safety Fund Act’’. 


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1 TITLE I—EMERGENCY TRANS2 PORTATION SAFETY FUND 

3 SEC. 101. ELIMINATION OF TRANSPORTATION ENHANCE4 MENT PROGRAM. 

5 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 101(a)(35) of title 23, 

6 United States Code, is repealed. 

7 (b) TRANSPORTATION ENHANCEMENT SET ASIDE.— 

8 Section 133 of title 23, United States Code, is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (8); 

10 (2) in subsection (d), by striking paragraphs 

11 (2) and (5); and 

12 (3) in subsection (e)— 

13 (A) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 

14 follows: 

15 ‘‘(3) PAYMENTS.—The Secretary shall make 

16 payments to a State of costs incurred by the State 

17 for the surface transportation program in accord18 ance with procedures to be established by the Sec19 retary.’’; and 

20 (B) by striking paragraph (5). 

21 (c) STATE ASSUMPTION OF RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

22 Section 325(a)(2) of title 23, United States Code, is 

23 amended by striking ‘‘the following projects:’’ and all that 

24 follows and inserting ‘‘projects funded under section 

25 104(h).’’. 


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1 (d) STATEWIDE TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PRIOR2 ITIES.—Section 5304(g)(4)(H) of title 49, United States 

3 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘, including transportation 

4 enhancement activities,’’. 

5 (e) STP SET-ASIDE PROGRAM RESCISSIONS.—Sec6 tion 10212(f) of SAFETEA–LU (Public Law 109–59) is 

7 amended by striking ‘‘, transportation enhancement activi8 ties,’’. 

9 SEC. 102. ESTABLISHMENT OF EMERGENCY TRANSPOR10 TATION SAFETY FUND. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Treas12 ury of the United States a trust fund to be known as the 

13 ‘‘Emergency Transportation Safety Fund’’. 

14 (b) EMERGENCY RELIEF EXPENDITURES.—Section 

15 125(c) of title 23, United States Code, is amended— 

16 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

17 paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; and 

18 (2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as redes19 ignated, the following: 

20 ‘‘(1) Amounts deposited into the Emergency 

21 Transportation Safety Fund are authorized to be ob22 ligated to carry out, in priority order, the projects on 

23 the current list compiled by the Secretary under sec24 tion 201(b)(1) of the Emergency Transportation 


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1 Safety Fund Act that meet the eligibility require2 ments set forth in subsection (a).’’. 

3 (c) FUNDING.—Section 133(d) of title 23, United 

4 States Code, is amended by inserting before paragraph (3) 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) EMERGENCY TRANSPORTATION SAFETY

7 FUND.—In each fiscal year, there shall be deposited 

8 into the Emergency Transportation Safety Fund, es9 tablished under section 102(a) of the Emergency 

10 Transportation Safety Fund Act, an amount equal 

11 to 10 percent of the funds apportioned to a State 

12 under section 104(b)(3) for such fiscal year. At the 

13 end of each fiscal year, any unobligated amounts in 

14 the Fund in excess of $500,000,000 shall be made 

15 available for the Highway Bridge Program, in ac16 cordance with section 144.’’. 

17 TITLE II—EMERGENCY TRANS18 PORTATION SAFETY PRI19 ORITY LIST 

20 SEC. 201. EMERGENCY TRANSPORTATION PRIORITIES. 

21 (a) LIST.—The Secretary of Transportation, in con22 sultation with a representative sample of State and local 

23 government transportation officials, shall compile a 

24 prioritized list of emergency transportation projects, which 


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1 will guide the allocation of funding to the States from the 

2 Emergency Transportation Safety Fund. 

3 (b) CRITERIA.—In compiling the list under sub4 section (a), the Secretary of Transportation, in addition 

5 to other criteria established by the Secretary, shall rank 

6 priorities in descending order, beginning with— 

7 (1) whether the project is part of the interstate 

8 highway system; 

9 (2) whether the project is a road or bridge that 

10 is closed for safety reasons; 

11 (3) the impact of the project on interstate com12 merce; 

13 (4) the volume of traffic affected by the project; 

14 and 

15 (5) the overall value of the project or entity. 

16 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date 

17 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor18 tation shall submit a report to Congress that includes— 

19 (1) a prioritized list of emergency transpor20 tation projects to be funded through the Emergency 

21 Transportation Safety Fund; and 

22 (2) a description of the criteria used to estab23 lish the list referred to in paragraph (1). 

24 (d) QUARTERLY UPDATES.—Not less frequently than 

25 4 times per year, the Secretary of Transportation shall— 


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1 (1) update the report submitted pursuant to 

2 subsection (c); 

3 (2) send a copy of the report to Congress; and 

4 (3) make a copy of the report available to the 

5 public through the Department of Transportation’s 

6 website. 

Æ 


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