I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7869 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a national bridge 

replacement and improvement program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 30, 2020 

Mr. EMMER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a 

national bridge replacement and improvement program, 

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 ‘‘National Bridge Re5 placement and Improvement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NATIONAL BRIDGE REPLACEMENT AND IMPROVE7 MENT PROGRAM. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

9 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Trans10 portation shall establish a national bridge replacement and 


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1 improvement program (in this section referred to as the 

2 ‘‘Program’’) to assist safety improvements for high-risk 

3 intersections and interchanges. 

4 (b) GRANT AUTHORITY.—In carrying out the Pro5 gram, the Secretary may make grants on a competitive 

6 basis to covered entities. 

7 (c) PROJECT REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary may 

8 only make a grant under the Program to assist a project 

9 that— 

10 (1) is a bridge on a Federal-aid highway that 

11 is eligible for funding under title 23, United States 

12 Code; and 

13 (2) will— 

14 (A) restore or increase the structural ca15 pacity of the bridge; 

16 (B) correct a major safety defect of the 

17 bridge; or 

18 (C) replace an existing bridge with a new 

19 bridge that— 

20 (i) is in the same general traffic cor21 ridor as the bridge being replaced, as de22 termined by the Secretary; and 

23 (ii) meets the requirements of sub24 paragraph (A) or (B). 


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1 (d) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible for a grant under 

2 the Program, a covered entity shall submit to the Sec3 retary an application in such form, at such time, and con4 taining such information as the Secretary determines is 

5 appropriate. 

6 (e) LIMITATION.—The aggregate amount provided to 

7 a covered entity in a fiscal year through grants under the 

8 Program may not exceed 5 percent of the amount made 

9 available for all grants under the Program in that fiscal 

10 year. 

11 (f) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW.—At least 90 days be12 fore establishing the Program under subsection (a), the 

13 Secretary shall submit to Congress a report detailing the 

14 selection process the Secretary shall use in making grants 

15 under the Program. 

16 (g) COVERED ENTITY DEFINED.—In this section, the 

17 term ‘‘covered entity’’ means any of the following: 

18 (1) A State government entity. 

19 (2) A local government entity. 

20 (3) A territory of the United States. 

21 (4) A Tribal government. 

22 (5) A metropolitan planning organization. 

23 (6) Any entity composed of 2 or more entities 

24 described in paragraphs (1) through (5). 

25 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

2 appropriated out of the Highway Trust Fund (other 

3 than the Mass Transit Account) to carry out the 

4 Program $1,000,000,000 for each fiscal year. 

5 (2) APPLICABILITY OF TITLE 23, UNITED

6 STATES CODE.—Funds authorized to be appro7 priated by paragraph (1) shall— 

8 (A) be available for obligation in the same 

9 manner as if those funds were apportioned 

10 under chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, 

11 except that the Federal share of the cost of a 

12 project or activity carried out using such funds 

13 shall be 80 percent; and 

14 (B) remain available until expended and 

15 not be transferable. 

Æ 


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