I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2595 

To establish a Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic 

Success Initiative, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 15, 2021 

Mr. PENCE (for himself and Mr. CUELLAR) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To establish a Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation 

for Economic Success Initiative, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Rural Opportunities 

5 to Use Transportation for Economic Success Act’’ or the 

6 ‘‘ROUTES Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. RURAL OPPORTUNITIES TO USE TRANSPORTATION 

8 FOR ECONOMIC SUCCESS INITIATIVE. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 

10 shall establish the Rural Opportunities to Use TransporVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2595.IH H2595

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1 tation for Economic Success Initiative (hereinafter re2 ferred to as the ‘‘ROUTES Office’’), to— 

3 (1) improve analysis of rural projects applying 

4 for Department of Transportation discretionary 

5 grants, including ensuring that project costs, local 

6 resources, and the larger benefits to the American 

7 people and the economy are appropriately consid8 ered; and 

9 (2) provide rural communities with technical as10 sistance for meeting the Nation’s transportation in11 frastructure investment need in a financially sustain12 able manner. 

13 (b) OBJECTIVES.—The ROUTES Office shall— 

14 (1) collect input from knowledgeable entities 

15 and the public on the benefits of rural transpor16 tation projects, the technical and financial assistance 

17 required for constructing and operating rural trans18 portation infrastructure and services, and barriers 

19 and opportunities to funding such rural transpor20 tation projects; 

21 (2) evaluate data on rural transportation chal22 lenges and determining methods to align the Depart23 ment of Transportation’s discretionary funding and 

24 financing opportunities with the needs of rural comVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2595.IH H2595

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1 munities for meeting National transportation goals; 

2 and 

3 (3) educate rural communities about applicable 

4 Department of Transportation discretionary grants, 

5 developing effective methods to evaluate rural 

6 projects in discretionary grant programs, and com7 municating those methods through program guid8 ance. 

9 (c) ROUTES COUNCIL.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

11 the ROUTES Council (hereinafter referred to as the 

12 ‘‘Council’’) to— 

13 (A) organize, guide, and lead the 

14 ROUTES Office; and 

15 (B) coordinate rural-related funding pro16 grams and assistance among the modal admin17 istrations. 

18 (2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall be 

20 composed of the following officers of the De21 partment of Transportation, or their designees: 

22 (i) The Under Secretary of Transpor23 tation for Policy. 

24 (ii) The General Counsel. 


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1 (iii) The Chief Financial Officer and 

2 Assistant Secretary for Budget and Pro3 grams. 

4 (iv) The Assistant Secretary for Re5 search and Technology. 

6 (v) The Administrators of the— 

7 (I) Federal Aviation Administra8 tion; 

9 (II) Federal Highway Adminis10 tration; 

11 (III) Federal Railroad Adminis12 tration; and 

13 (IV) Federal Transit Administra14 tion. 

15 (vi) The Chief Infrastructure Funding 

16 Officer. 

17 (vii) The Assistant Secretary of Gov18 ernment Affairs. 

19 (viii) The Director of the Office of 

20 Public Affairs. 

21 (B) CHAIR.—The Under Secretary of 

22 Transportation for Policy shall be the Chair of 

23 the Council. 

24 (C) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—The Sec25 retary of Transportation or the Chair of the 


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1 Council may designate additional members to 

2 serve on the Council. 

3 (3) ADDITIONAL MODAL INPUT.—To address 

4 issues related to safety and transport of rural com5 modities, the Council shall consult with the Adminis6 trators (or their designees) of the— 

7 (A) Maritime Administration; 

8 (B) Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway De9 velopment Corporation; and 

10 (C) National Highway Traffic Safety Ad11 ministration. 

12 (4) DUTIES.—Members of the Council shall— 

13 (A) participate in all meetings and relevant 

14 Council activities and be prepared to share in15 formation relevant to rural transportation infra16 structure projects and issues; 

17 (B) provide guidance and leadership on 

18 rural transportation infrastructure issues and 

19 represent the work of the Council and Depart20 ment of Transportation on such issues to exter21 nal stakeholders; and 

22 (C) recommend initiatives to the Chair of 

23 the Council to consider, establish, and staff any 

24 resulting activities or working groups. 


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1 (5) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet bi2 monthly. 

3 (6) WORK PRODUCTS AND DELIVERABLES.— 

4 The Council may develop work products or deliver5 ables to meet its goals, including— 

6 (A) an annual report to Congress describ7 ing Council activities for the past year and ex8 pected activities for the coming year; 

9 (B) any recommendations to enhance the 

10 effectiveness of Department of Transportation 

11 discretionary grant programs regarding rural 

12 infrastructure issues; and 

13 (C) other guides and reports for relevant 

14 groups and the public. 

Æ 


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