I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3458 

To authorize appropriations to the Department of Transportation for surface 

transportation research, development, and deployment, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 

Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas (for herself, Ms. EDWARDS, Ms. 

BONAMICI, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. GRAYSON, Ms. ESTY, Mr. 

VEASEY, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. BEYER, Mr. PERLMUTTER, 

and Mr. TONKO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 

such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To authorize appropriations to the Department of Transportation for surface transportation research, development, 

and deployment, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Connected Transportation Research and Innovation Act 

6 of 2015’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—HIGHWAY TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH 

Sec. 101. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 102. Research, technology, and education. 

Sec. 103. Research and technology development and deployment. 

Sec. 104. Training and education. 

Sec. 105. Transportation research and development strategic planning. 

Sec. 106. 5.9 GHz spectrum use testing. 

Sec. 107. ITS general authorities and requirements. 

Sec. 108. Researching surface transportation system funding alternatives. 

TITLE II—MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH 

Sec. 201. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 202. University transportation centers program. 

Sec. 203. International collaboration for innovation. 

Sec. 204. Title 49 amendments. 

Sec. 205. Advanced Transportation Research and Innovation Program. 

Sec. 206. Transit research, development, demonstration, and deployment 

projects. 

Sec. 207. Transit human resources and training. 

Sec. 208. Rail research, development, testing, and training. 

Sec. 209. Rail cooperative research program. 

Sec. 210. Hazardous materials research and development. 

Sec. 211. Web-based training for emergency responders. 

Sec. 212. National cooperative freight transportation research program. 

Sec. 213. Smart cities transportation planning study. 

3 TITLE I—HIGHWAY 

4 TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH 

5 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The following amounts are au7 thorized to be appropriated out of the Highway Trust 

8 Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account): 

9 (1) HIGHWAY SAFETY RESEARCH AND DEVEL10 OPMENT.—To carry out section 403 of title 23, 

11 United States Code— 

12 (A) $152,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; 


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1 (B) $158,840,000 for fiscal year 2017; 

2 (C) $166,146,640 for fiscal year 2018; 

3 (D) $173,457,092 for fiscal year 2019; 

4 (E) $181,783,033 for fiscal year 2020; and 

5 (F) $190,145,052 for fiscal year 2021. 

6 (2) HIGHWAY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

7 PROGRAM.—To carry out section 503(b) of title 23, 

8 United States Code— 

9 (A) $130,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

10 (B) $132,594,234 for fiscal year 2017; 

11 (C) $135,188,470 for fiscal year 2018; 

12 (D) $138,070,953 for fiscal year 2019; 

13 (E) $140,832,372 for fiscal year 2020; and 

14 (F) $143,649,100 for fiscal year 2021. 

15 (3) TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION DEPLOY16 MENT PROGRAM.—To carry out section 503(c) of 

17 title 23, United States Code— 

18 (A) $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

19 (B) $71,396,896 for fiscal year 2017; 

20 (C) $72,793,792 for fiscal year 2018; 

21 (D) $74,345,898 for fiscal year 2019; 

22 (E) $75,832,816 for fiscal year 2020; and 

23 (F) $77,349,552 for fiscal year 2021. 

24 (4) TRAINING AND EDUCATION.—To carry out 

25 section 504 of title 23, United States Code— 


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1 (A) $27,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

2 (B) $27,538,803 for fiscal year 2017; 

3 (C) $28,077,605 for fiscal year 2018; 

4 (D) $28,676,275 for fiscal year 2019; 

5 (E) $29,249,801 for fiscal year 2020; and 

6 (F) $29,834,876 for fiscal year 2021. 

7 (5) INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS

8 PROGRAM.—To carry out sections 512 through 518 

9 of title 23, United States Code— 

10 (A) $158,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

11 (B) $179,254,989 for fiscal year 2017; 

12 (C) $173,509,978 for fiscal year 2018; 

13 (D) $137,015,521 for fiscal year 2019; 

14 (E) $142,415,831 for fiscal year 2020; and 

15 (F) $144,864,148 for fiscal year 2021. 

16 (b) APPLICABILITY OF TITLE 23, UNITED STATES

17 CODE.—Funds authorized to be appropriated by sub18 section (a) shall— 

19 (1) be available for obligation in the same man20 ner as if those funds were appropriated under chap21 ter 1 of title 23, United States Code, except that the 

22 Federal share of the cost of a project or activity car23 ried out using those funds shall be 80 percent, un24 less otherwise expressly provided by this Act (includVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:52 Sep 10, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3458.IH H3458

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1 ing the amendments by this Act) or otherwise deter2 mined by the Secretary; and 

3 (2) remain available until expended and not be 

4 transferable. 

5 SEC. 102. RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY, AND EDUCATION. 

6 Section 501 of title 23, United States Code, is 

7 amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(10) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

9 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

10 meaning given that term in section 101(a) of the 

11 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

12 1001(a)).’’. 

13 SEC. 103. RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT 

14 AND DEPLOYMENT. 

15 Section 503 of title 23, United States Code, is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (b)(6) by inserting ‘‘the Ad18 vanced Transportation Research program described 

19 in section 5508 of title 49, United States Code, as 

20 it relates to highway research, and’’ after ‘‘shall 

21 carry out’’; and 

22 (2) in subsection (c)(2)— 

23 (A) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 

24 subparagraph (D); and 


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1 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(C) RESEARCH.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out 

5 the program established under paragraph 

6 (1), the Secretary shall— 

7 ‘‘(I) conduct research, develop8 ment, technology transfer, and deploy9 ment activities at the Department’s 

10 research facilities, including the Tur11 ner Fairbank Highway Research Cen12 ter; and 

13 ‘‘(II) make grants to, and enter 

14 into cooperative agreements and con15 tracts with, States, other Federal 

16 agencies, institutions of higher edu17 cation, private sector entities, and 

18 nonprofit organizations for research, 

19 development, technology transfer, in20 cluding proof of concept activities, and 

21 deployment activities. 

22 ‘‘(ii) APPLICATIONS.—To receive a 

23 grant under this subsection, States, Fed24 eral agencies, institutions of higher edu25 cation, private sector entities, and nonVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:52 Sep 10, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3458.IH H3458

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1 profit organizations shall submit an appli2 cation to the Secretary. The application 

3 shall be in such form and contain such in4 formation as the Secretary may require. 

5 The Secretary shall select and award, on a 

6 competitive basis, an application based on 

7 the ability of the project to meet the goals 

8 of the program described in paragraph 

9 (1).’’. 

10 SEC. 104. TRAINING AND EDUCATION. 

11 Section 504(a) of title 23, United States Code, is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (3)(B), after ‘‘maintenance’’ 

14 by inserting ‘‘green transportation infrastructure’’; 

15 and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

17 paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(9) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the 

19 term ‘green transportation infrastructure’ includes 

20 infrastructure that— 

21 ‘‘(A) reserves and restores natural proc22 esses, landforms (such as floodplains), natural 

23 vegetated stream side buffers, wetlands, or 

24 other topographical features that can slow, fil25 ter, and naturally store stormwater runoff and 


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1 floodwaters for future water supply and re2 charge of natural aquifers; 

3 ‘‘(B) utilizes natural design techniques 

4 that infiltrate, filter, store, evaporate, and de5 tain water close to its source; 

6 ‘‘(C) minimizes the use of impervious sur7 faces in order to slow or infiltrate precipitation; 

8 ‘‘(D) minimizes lifecycle energy consump9 tion, including during construction, mainte10 nance, use by vehicles, and destruction and re11 cycling; and 

12 ‘‘(E) minimizes lifecycle air pollution.’’. 

13 SEC. 105. TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH AND DEVELOP14 MENT STRATEGIC PLANNING. 

15 Section 508(a)(1) of title 23, United States Code, is 

16 amended by inserting ‘‘, and shall be updated every 5 

17 years after its initial development’’ after ‘‘Department of 

18 Transportation’’. 

19 SEC. 106. 5.9 GHZ SPECTRUM USE TESTING. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after re21 ceiving a 5.9 GHz Unlicensed National Information Infra22 structure device, the Secretary of Transportation, in co23 operation with the Secretary of Commerce, National Tele24 communications and Information Administration, the 

25 Federal Communications Commission, other appropriate 


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1 Federal agencies, the automotive industry, the intelligent 

2 transportation industry, and the communications industry, 

3 shall conduct testing on the unlicensed device within the 

4 5.9 GHz band to examine the possibility of interference 

5 with safety-related vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infra6 structure applications. 

7 (b) CONTENTS OF THE TEST.—In conducting the 

8 test, the Secretary of Transportation shall— 

9 (1) define interference of connected vehicle safe10 ty applications; 

11 (2) identify the technology and operating pa12 rameters that must be in place to allow vehicle safe13 ty communications signals to share the 5.9 GHz 

14 band with signals from unlicensed devices without 

15 interference; 

16 (3) test the unlicensed device to determine 

17 whether it interferes with dedicated short-range 

18 communications or any other communications sys19 tems the Department of Commerce is testing for 

20 connected vehicle safety applications; 

21 (4) identify possible challenges of allowing unli22 censed devices to operate in the 5.9 GHz band con23 cerning automated vehicle systems development; and 

24 (5) evaluate any other information the Sec25 retary determines appropriate. 


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1 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after receipt 

2 of such an unlicensed 5.9 GHz device, the Secretary shall 

3 submit a report of the testing of such device to the Com4 mittee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate 

5 and the Committees on Science, Space, and Technology 

6 and Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

7 Representatives. 

8 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

9 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec10 essary for the purpose of carrying out this section. 

11 SEC. 107. ITS GENERAL AUTHORITIES AND REQUIREMENTS. 

12 Section 515(a)(1) of title 23, United States Code, is 

13 amended by inserting ‘‘, including automated vehicle sys14 tems’’ after ‘‘intelligent transportation systems’’. 

15 SEC. 108. RESEARCHING SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SYS16 TEM FUNDING ALTERNATIVES. 

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

18 shall promote the research, development, and demonstra19 tion of user-based alternative revenue mechanisms that 

20 preserve a user fee structure to maintain the long-term 

21 solvency of the Highway Trust Fund. 

22 (b) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of the research, de23 velopment, and demonstration described in subsection (a) 

24 shall be— 


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1 (1) to study uncertainties relating to the design, 

2 acceptance, and implementation of 2 or more future 

3 user-based alternative revenue mechanisms; 

4 (2) to define the functionality of those user5 based alternative revenue mechanisms; 

6 (3) to conduct or promote research activities to 

7 demonstrate and test those user-based alternative 

8 revenue mechanisms, including by conducting field 

9 trials, by partnering with individual States, groups 

10 of States, or other appropriate entities to conduct 

11 the research activities; 

12 (4) to conduct outreach to increase public 

13 awareness regarding the need for alternative funding 

14 sources for surface transportation programs and 

15 provide information on possible approaches; 

16 (5) to provide recommendations regarding 

17 adoption and implementation of those user-based al18 ternative revenue mechanisms, and to assess the 

19 technical feasibility of value pricing; and 

20 (6) to minimize the administrative cost of any 

21 potential user-based alternative revenue mechanisms. 

22 (c) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall provide grants to 

23 individual States, groups of States, or other appropriate 

24 entities to conduct research, development, and demonstra25 tion that addresses— 


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1 (1) the implementation, interoperability, and 

2 public acceptance of, and other potential hurdles to, 

3 the adoption of a user-based alternative revenue 

4 mechanism; 

5 (2) the protection of personal privacy; 

6 (3) the use of independent and private third7 party vendors to collect fees and operate the user8 based alternative revenue mechanism; 

9 (4) equity concerns, including the impacts of 

10 the user-based alternative revenue mechanism on 

11 differing income groups, various geographic areas, 

12 and the relative burdens on rural and urban drivers; 

13 (5) ease of compliance for different users of the 

14 transportation system; 

15 (6) the reliability and security of technology 

16 used to implement the user-based alternative rev17 enue mechanism; 

18 (7) the flexibility and choices of user-based al19 ternative revenue mechanisms, including the ability 

20 of users to select from various technology and pay21 ment options; 

22 (8) the cost of administering the user-based al23 ternative revenue mechanism; and 

24 (9) the ability of the administering entity to 

25 audit and enforce user compliance. 


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1 (d) ADVISORY COUNCIL.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

4 Transportation, in consultation with the Secretary of 

5 the Treasury, shall establish and lead a Surface 

6 Transportation Revenue Alternatives Advisory Coun7 cil (referred to in this subsection as the ‘‘Council’’) 

8 to inform the selection and evaluation of user-based 

9 alternative revenue mechanisms. 

10 (2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The members of the 

12 Council shall— 

13 (i) be appointed by the Secretary; and 

14 (ii) include, at a minimum— 

15 (I) representatives with experi16 ence in user-based alternative revenue 

17 mechanisms, of which— 

18 (aa) not fewer than 1 shall 

19 be from the Department of 

20 Transportation; 

21 (bb) not fewer than 1 shall 

22 be from the Department of the 

23 Treasury; and 


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1 (cc) not fewer than 2 shall 

2 be from State departments of 

3 transportation; 

4 (II) representatives from applica5 ble users of the surface transportation 

6 system; and 

7 (III) appropriate technology and 

8 public privacy experts. 

9 (B) GEOGRAPHIC CONSIDERATIONS.—The 

10 Secretary shall consider geographic diversity 

11 when selecting members under this paragraph. 

12 (3) FUNCTIONS.—Not later than 1 year after 

13 the date on which the Council is established, the 

14 Council shall, at a minimum— 

15 (A) define the functionality of 2 or more 

16 user-based alternative revenue mechanisms; 

17 (B) identify technological, administrative, 

18 institutional, privacy, and other issues that— 

19 (i) are associated with the user-based 

20 alternative revenue mechanisms; and 

21 (ii) may be researched through re22 search, development, and demonstration 

23 activities; 

24 (C) conduct public outreach to identify and 

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1 based alternative revenue mechanisms for fu2 ture evaluation through research activities; and 

3 (D) provide recommendations to the Sec4 retary on the process and criteria used for se5 lecting research activities under subsection (c). 

6 (4) EVALUATIONS.—The Council shall conduct 

7 periodic evaluations of the research, development, 

8 and demonstration activities that have received as9 sistance from the Secretary under this section. 

10 (5) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY

11 COMMITTEE ACT.—The Council shall not be subject 

12 to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

13 App.). 

14 (e) BIENNIAL REPORTS.—Not later than 2 years 

15 after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years 

16 thereafter until the completion of the research, develop17 ment, and demonstration activities under this section, the 

18 Secretary of Transportation shall submit to the Secretary 

19 of the Treasury, the Committee on Finance and the Com20 mittee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, 

21 and the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee 

22 on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the Committee 

23 on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep24 resentatives a report describing the progress of the re25 search, development, and demonstration activities. 


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1 (f) FINAL REPORT.—On the completion of the re2 search, development, and demonstration activities under 

3 this section, the Secretary of Transportation and the Sec4 retary of the Treasury, acting jointly, shall submit to the 

5 Committee on Finance and the Committee on Environ6 ment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee 

7 on Ways and Means, the Committee on Transportation 

8 and Infrastructure, and the Committee on Science, Space, 

9 and Technology of the House of Representatives a report 

10 describing the results of the research, development, and 

11 demonstration activities and any recommendations. 

12 (g) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap13 propriated to carry out this section $15,000,000 for fiscal 

14 year 2016 and $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2017 

15 through 2021. 

16 TITLE II—MULTIMODAL 

17 TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH 

18 SEC. 201. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 (a) UNIVERSITY TRANSPORTATION CENTERS PRO20 GRAM.—The following amounts are authorized to be ap21 propriated out of the Highway Trust Fund (other than 

22 the Mass Transit Account) to carry out section 5505 of 

23 title 49, United States Code: 

24 (1) $82,000,000 for fiscal year 2016. 

25 (2) $83,636,364 for fiscal year 2017. 


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1 (3) $85,272,727 for fiscal year 2018. 

2 (4) $87,090,909 for fiscal year 2019. 

3 (5) $88,832,727 for fiscal year 2020. 

4 (6) $90,609,462 for fiscal year 2021. 

5 (b) BUREAU OF TRANSPORTATION STATISTICS.—The 

6 following amounts are authorized to be appropriated out 

7 of the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit 

8 Account) to carry out chapter 63 of title 49, United States 

9 Code: 

10 (1) $29,000,000 for fiscal year 2016. 

11 (2) $29,578,714 for fiscal year 2017. 

12 (3) $30,157,428 for fiscal year 2018. 

13 (4) $30,800,444 for fiscal year 2019. 

14 (5) $31,416,453 for fiscal year 2020. 

15 (6) $32,044,862 for fiscal year 2021. 

16 (c) TRANSIT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—Sec17 tion 5338(b) through (e) of title 49, United States Code, 

18 is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(b) RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, DEMONSTRATION, 

20 AND DEPLOYMENT PROJECTS.—There are authorized to 

21 be appropriated to carry out section 5312, $26,000,000 

22 for fiscal year 2016, $27,000,000 for fiscal year 2017, 

23 $29,000,000 for fiscal year 2018, $31,000,000 for fiscal 

24 year 2019, $32,000,000 for fiscal year 2020, and 

25 $34,000,000 for fiscal year 2021. 


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1 ‘‘(c) TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM.— 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out sec3 tion 5313, $7,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 

4 through 2021. 

5 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND STANDARDS DE6 VELOPMENT.—There are authorized to be appropriated to 

7 carry out section 5314, $7,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

8 2016 through 2018 and $9,000,000 for each of fiscal 

9 years 2019 through 2021. 

10 ‘‘(e) HUMAN RESOURCES AND TRAINING.—There are 

11 authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 5322, 

12 $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2021.’’. 

13 (d) NATIONAL COOPERATIVE RAIL RESEARCH PRO14 GRAM.—There are authorized to be appropriated to carry 

15 out section 24910 of title 49, United States Code, 

16 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2021. 

17 (e) HAZARDOUS MATERIALS RESEARCH AND DEVEL18 OPMENT.—There are authorized to be appropriated to 

19 carry out section 5118(c) of title 49, United States Code, 

20 $1,000,000 from the Highway Trust Fund and 

21 $1,000,000 from the General Fund for each of fiscal years 

22 2016 through 2021. 

23 (f) ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH AND IN24 NOVATION PROGRAM.—There are authorized to be appro25 priated to carry out section 5508 of title 49, United States 


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1 Code, $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 

2 2021, of which $10,000,000 is authorized to be appro3 priated out of the Highway Trust Fund (other than the 

4 Mass Transit Account). 

5 (g) NATIONAL COOPERATIVE FREIGHT TRANSPOR6 TATION RESEARCH PROGRAM.—There are authorized to 

7 be appropriated to carry out section 5509 of title 49, 

8 United States Code, $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

9 2016 through 2021. 

10 SEC. 202. UNIVERSITY TRANSPORTATION CENTERS PRO11 GRAM. 

12 Section 5505 of title 49, United States Code, is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (b)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘or mem16 ber of a consortium’’; 

17 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘identical’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘sequential’’; and 

20 (ii) by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: ‘‘The Secretary shall first conduct 

22 a competition for national transportation 

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1 tain four month intervals between each 

2 competition.’’; 

3 (C) in paragraph (4)— 

4 (i) in subparagraph (A) by adding at 

5 the end the following: ‘‘For Centers not 

6 specializing in highways, the priorities 

7 identified in section 503 can be applied to 

8 any mode, including transit and rail.’’; and 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

10 (I) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘Fed11 eral Highway Administration’’ and in12 serting a comma; 

13 (II) by inserting ‘‘, or other 

14 modal administrations’’ after ‘‘Federal 

15 Transit Administration’’; 

16 (III) by redesignating clauses (ii) 

17 through (ix) as clauses (iii) through 

18 (x), respectively; 

19 (IV) by inserting after clause (i) 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(ii) the demonstrated ability of the 

22 recipient to address one or more of the De23 partment’s Research, Development, and 

24 Technology Strategic Plan priority areas;’’; 

25 and 


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1 (V) in clause (vi)(II), as so redes2 ignated by subclause (III) of this 

3 clause, by inserting ‘‘, including 

4 women and underrepresented minori5 ties’’ after ‘‘field’’; and 

6 (D) by adding at the end the following new 

7 paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(7) BROADENING PARTICIPATION.—In award9 ing grants under this section, consideration shall be 

10 given to minority institutions, as defined by section 

11 365 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

12 U.S.C. 1067k), or consortia that include such insti13 tutions that have demonstrated an ability in trans14 portation-related research.’’; 

15 (2) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol16 lows: 

17 ‘‘(c) GRANTS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than June 1, 

19 2017, the Secretary, in consultation as appropriate 

20 with the Administrators of the Federal Highway Ad21 ministration, the Federal Transit Administration, or 

22 other modal administrations, shall initiate a competi23 tion among institutions of higher education for 

24 grants to establish and operate university transpor25 tation centers. Any university transportation center 


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1 established prior to the competition required under 

2 this paragraph shall be eligible to compete in the 

3 competition required under this paragraph. 

4 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION CENTERS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara6 graph (B), the Secretary shall provide grants to 

7 5 recipients that the Secretary determines best 

8 meet the criteria described in subsection (b)(4). 

9 ‘‘(B) RESTRICTIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal 

11 year, a grant made available under this 

12 paragraph shall be in the amount of 

13 $3,200,000 per recipient. 

14 ‘‘(ii) FOCUSED RESEARCH.—Grant re15 cipients under this paragraph shall focus 

16 research on national transportation issues, 

17 as determined by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(C) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of 

20 receiving a grant under this paragraph, a 

21 grant recipient shall match 100 percent of 

22 the amounts made available under the 

23 grant. 

24 ‘‘(ii) SOURCES.—The matching 

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1 clude amounts made available to the recipi2 ent under section 504(b) or 505 of title 23 

3 and amounts made available to the recipi4 ent by other Federal agencies with inter5 ests in transportation. 

6 ‘‘(3) REGIONAL UNIVERSITY TRANSPORTATION

7 CENTERS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) LOCATION OF REGIONAL CENTERS.— 

9 One regional university transportation center 

10 shall be located in each of the 10 Federal re11 gions that comprise the Standard Federal Re12 gions established by the Office of Management 

13 and Budget in the document entitled ‘Standard 

14 Federal Regions’ and dated April, 1974 (cir15 cular A–105). 

16 ‘‘(B) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In con17 ducting a competition under this paragraph, the 

18 Secretary shall provide grants to 10 recipients 

19 on the basis of— 

20 ‘‘(i) the criteria described in sub21 section (b)(4); 

22 ‘‘(ii) the location of the center within 

23 the Federal region to be served; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) whether the institution (or, in 

25 the case of a consortium of institutions, 


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1 the lead institution) demonstrates that the 

2 institution has a well-established, nation3 ally recognized program in transportation 

4 research and education, as evidenced by— 

5 ‘‘(I) recent expenditures by the 

6 institution in highway or public trans7 portation research; 

8 ‘‘(II) a historical track record of 

9 awarding graduate degrees in profes10 sional fields closely related to high11 ways and public transportation; and 

12 ‘‘(III) an experienced faculty who 

13 specialize in professional fields closely 

14 related to highways and public trans15 portation. 

16 ‘‘(C) RESTRICTIONS.—For each fiscal 

17 year, a grant made available under this para18 graph shall be in the amount of $3,000,000 for 

19 each recipient. 

20 ‘‘(D) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of 

22 receiving a grant under this paragraph, a 

23 grant recipient shall match 100 percent of 

24 the amounts made available under the 

25 grant. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) SOURCES.—The matching 

2 amounts referred to in the clause (i) may 

3 include amounts made available to the re4 cipient under section 504(b) or 505 of title 

5 23 and amounts made available to the re6 cipient by other Federal agencies with in7 terests in transportation. 

8 ‘‘(E) FOCUSED RESEARCH.—The Secretary 

9 shall make a grant to 1 of the 10 regional uni10 versity transportation centers established under 

11 this paragraph for the purpose of furthering the 

12 objectives described in subsection (a)(2) in the 

13 field of comprehensive transportation safety. 

14 ‘‘(4) TIER 1 UNIVERSITY TRANSPORTATION

15 CENTERS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

17 provide grants of $1,800,000 each to not more 

18 than 20 recipients to carry out this paragraph. 

19 ‘‘(B) RESTRICTION.—A lead institution of 

20 a consortium that receives a grant under para21 graph (2) or (3) shall not be eligible to receive 

22 a grant under this paragraph. 

23 ‘‘(C) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

25 (iii), as a condition of receiving a grant 


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1 under this paragraph, a grant recipient 

2 shall match 50 percent of the amounts 

3 made available under the grant. 

4 ‘‘(ii) SOURCES.—The matching 

5 amounts referred to in clause (i) may in6 clude amounts made available to the recipi7 ent under section 504(b) or 505 of title 23 

8 and amounts made available to the recipi9 ent by other Federal agencies with inter10 ests in transportation. 

11 ‘‘(iii) EXEMPTION.—This subpara12 graph shall not apply on a demonstration 

13 of financial hardship by the applicant insti14 tution. In determining whether an appli15 cant demonstrates financial hardship, the 

16 Secretary may consider— 

17 ‘‘(I) whether the institution, or a 

18 collaborating partner, has provided a 

19 match for any Federal research fund20 ing it has received in the past 5 years; 

21 ‘‘(II) whether the institution has 

22 received any research funds from its 

23 State Department of Transportation 

24 during the past 5 years; 


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1 ‘‘(III) whether the institution 

2 houses a federally funded Local Tech3 nical Assistance Program Center; 

4 ‘‘(IV) whether the size of the in5 stitution’s endowment exceeds 

6 $50,000,000; and 

7 ‘‘(V) any other factor that the 

8 Secretary determines to be appro9 priate.’’; and 

10 (3) in subsection (d)(3) by striking ‘‘2013 and 

11 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘2016 through 2021’’. 

12 SEC. 203. INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION FOR INNOVA13 TION. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 55 of title 

15 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘§ 5507. International collaboration for innovation 

18 ‘‘In consultation with the American Association of 

19 State Highway and Transportation Officials, other public 

20 surface transportation associations, private sector stake21 holders, and the National Academy of Sciences, the Sec22 retary of Transportation shall examine opportunities to le23 verage Federal and State participation and investment in 

24 international transportation research collaborations, rec25 ommend to States best practices for collaborating with forVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:52 Sep 10, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3458.IH H3458

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1 eign countries and international entities on transportation 

2 research, clarify States’ use of Federal funds for collabo3 rating with foreign countries and international entities, 

4 and identify research topic areas suitable for international 

5 transportation research collaboration by States.’’. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec7 tions for such subchapter is amended by adding at the 

8 end the following: 

‘‘5507. International collaboration for innovation.’’. 

9 SEC. 204. TITLE 49 AMENDMENTS. 

10 Title 49, United States Code, is amended as follows: 

11 (1) Amend section 102(e)(1)— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘5’’ and inserting ‘‘6’’; 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub14 paragraph (C); 

15 (C) by striking the period at the end of 

16 subparagraph (D) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (D) by inserting at the end the following 

18 new subparagraph: 

19 ‘‘(E) an Assistant Secretary for Research 

20 and Technology who shall be appointed by the 

21 President, by and with the advice and consent 

22 of the Senate, and shall report directly to the 

23 Secretary.’’. 

24 (2) Amend section 102(g)— 

25 (A) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘Department’’ and in2 serting ‘‘Office of the Assistant Secretary 

3 for Research and Technology’’; 

4 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

5 ‘‘climate change; and’’ and inserting the 

6 following: ‘‘climate change, including 

7 multimodal activities focused on— 

8 ‘‘(i) reducing vehicle miles traveled; 

9 ‘‘(ii) reducing congestion; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) reducing construction and main11 tenance-related carbon emissions and en12 ergy consumption; and’’; and 

13 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

14 the period and inserting the following: ‘‘, 

15 including multimodal activities focused 

16 on— 

17 ‘‘(i) adaptation and systems resilience 

18 and recovery; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) efforts to improve regional scale 

20 modeling of future climate change impacts 

21 on transportation infrastructure.’’; and 

22 (B) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end 

23 the following: ‘‘The Office shall conduct out24 reach to other Federal agencies, State and local 

25 transportation agencies, and the transportation 


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1 industry to promote the solutions and provide 

2 best practices for implementation.’’. 

3 (3) Amend section 102 by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(i) CHIEF SCIENTIST.—There shall be in the Office 

6 of the Secretary a Chief Scientist who shall be appointed 

7 by the Secretary and shall be the principal science and 

8 technology advisor to the Secretary and shall perform 

9 other duties as the Secretary may direct. The Chief Sci10 entist shall be an individual who is, by reason of scientific 

11 education and experience, knowledgeable in the principles 

12 of engineering, computer science, physics, human factors, 

13 or other scientific disciplines important to the work of the 

14 Department.’’. 

15 (4) Amend section 112 to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘§ 112. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research 

17 and Technology of the Department of 

18 Transportation 

19 ‘‘(a) DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The Assist20 ant Secretary for Research and Technology shall have a 

21 Deputy Assistant Secretary who shall be appointed by the 

22 Secretary of Transportation. The Deputy Assistant Sec23 retary shall carry out duties and powers prescribed by the 

24 Assistant Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(b) POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE ASSISTANT SEC2 RETARY.—The Assistant Secretary shall carry out— 

3 ‘‘(1) powers and duties prescribed by the Sec4 retary for— 

5 ‘‘(A) coordination, facilitation, and review 

6 of the Department’s research and development 

7 programs and activities; 

8 ‘‘(B) coordination with other Federal agen9 cies of research efforts that affect the national 

10 transportation system; 

11 ‘‘(C) dissemination of findings that have 

12 transportation applications to stakeholder com13 munities; 

14 ‘‘(D) advancement, and research and devel15 opment, of innovative technologies, including in16 telligent transportation systems; 

17 ‘‘(E) comprehensive transportation statis18 tics research, analysis, and reporting; 

19 ‘‘(F) education and training in transpor20 tation and transportation-related fields; and 

21 ‘‘(G) activities of the Volpe National 

22 Transportation Center; and 

23 ‘‘(2) other powers and duties prescribed by the 

24 Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(c) AUTHORITIES.—The Assistant Secretary may 

2 enter into grants and cooperative agreements with Federal 

3 agencies, State and local government agencies, other pub4 lic entities, private organizations, and other persons— 

5 ‘‘(1) to conduct research into transportation 

6 service and infrastructure assurance; and 

7 ‘‘(2) to carry out other research activities of the 

8 Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and 

9 Technology. 

10 ‘‘(d) PROGRAM EVALUATION AND OVERSIGHT.—For 

11 each of fiscal years 2016 through 2021, the Assistant Secretary is authorized to expend not more than 11 12 ⁄2 percent 

13 of the amounts authorized to be appropriated for nec14 essary expenses for administration and operations of the 

15 Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Tech16 nology for the coordination, evaluation, and oversight of 

17 the programs administered by the Office. 

18 ‘‘(e) COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOP19 MENT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To encourage innovative 

21 solutions to multimodal transportation problems and 

22 stimulate the deployment of new technology, the As23 sistant Secretary may carry out, on a cost-shared 

24 basis, collaborative research and development with— 


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1 ‘‘(A) non-Federal entities, including State 

2 and local governments, foreign governments, in3 stitutions of higher education, corporations, in4 stitutions, partnerships, sole proprietorships, 

5 and trade associations that are incorporated or 

6 established under the laws of any State; 

7 ‘‘(B) Federal laboratories; and 

8 ‘‘(C) other Federal agencies. 

9 ‘‘(2) COOPERATION, GRANTS, CONTRACTS, AND

10 AGREEMENTS.—Notwithstanding any other provision 

11 of law, the Assistant Secretary may directly initiate 

12 contracts, grants, cooperative research and develop13 ment agreements (as defined in section 12 of the 

14 Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 

15 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a)), and other agreements to 

16 fund, and accept funds from, the Transportation Re17 search Board of the National Research Council of 

18 the National Academies, State departments of trans19 portation, cities, counties, institutions of higher edu20 cation, associations, and the agents of those entities 

21 to carry out joint transportation research and tech22 nology efforts. 

23 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara25 graph (B), the Federal share of the cost of an 


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1 activity carried out under paragraph (2), shall 

2 not exceed 50 percent. 

3 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—If the Secretary deter4 mines that the activity is of substantial public 

5 interest or benefit, the Secretary may approve 

6 a greater Federal share. 

7 ‘‘(C) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—All costs di8 rectly incurred by the non-Federal partners, in9 cluding personnel, travel, facility, and hardware 

10 development costs, shall be credited toward the 

11 non-Federal share of the cost of an activity de12 scribed in subparagraph (A).’’. 

13 SEC. 205. ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH AND IN14 NOVATION PROGRAM. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 55 of title 

16 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘§ 5508. Advanced Transportation Research and In19 novation Program 

20 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Transpor21 tation shall establish the Advanced Transportation Re22 search and Innovation Program, to be carried out by each 

23 modal administration, as appropriate, to address the long24 term barriers to development of multimodal advanced 

25 transportation technologies with the potential to meet the 


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1 Nation’s long-term safety, competitiveness, and transpor2 tation goals by supporting long-term, high-risk research 

3 and development to accelerate transformational transpor4 tation innovations. 

5 ‘‘(b) INTERAGENCY COLLABORATION.—The Sec6 retary shall collaborate, as appropriate, on advanced 

7 transportation research, development, and other activities 

8 with other Federal agencies, including the Office of 

9 Science and Technology Policy, the National Science 

10 Foundation, the Department of Energy, the National In11 stitute of Standards and Technology, the Department of 

12 Homeland Security, the National Aeronautics and Space 

13 Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

14 Administration, and the Department of Defense. The Sec15 retary shall consult with the Office of Science and Tech16 nology Policy to ensure the Department’s research invest17 ments are making the best possible contribution to the Na18 tion’s goals of public health and safety, economic pros19 perity, national security, and environmental quality. 

20 ‘‘(c) REVIEW.—The Secretary shall enter into an 

21 agreement with the National Academies to review the re22 search and activities carried out under this program assess 

23 whether they are consistent with the purposes described 

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1 resent, at a minimum, multimodal surface transportation 

2 researchers and practitioners. 

3 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the 

4 date of enactment of the Connected Transportation Re5 search and Innovation Act of 2015, and biennially there6 after, the Secretary shall provide to the Committees on 

7 Commerce, Science, and Transportation and Environment 

8 and Public Works of the Senate and the Committees on 

9 Transportation and Infrastructure and Science, Space, 

10 and Technology of the House of Representatives a report 

11 on implementation of this program and research areas 

12 that the program will support.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec14 tions for such subchapter is amended by adding at the 

15 end the following: 

‘‘5508. Advanced Transportation Research and Innovation Program.’’. 

16 SEC. 206. TRANSIT RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, DEM17 ONSTRATION, AND DEPLOYMENT PROJECTS. 

18 Section 5312 of title 49, United States Code, is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) in section (a)(1), by striking ‘‘may make 

21 grants and enter into contracts, cooperative agree22 ments, and other agreements for’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘shall carry out’’; and 

24 (2) in subsection (c)(2)— 

25 (A) in subparagraph (G), by striking ‘‘or’’; 


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1 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (H) as 

2 subparagraph (I); and 

3 (C) after subparagraph (G), by inserting 

4 the following new subparagraph: 

5 ‘‘(H) human factors; and’’. 

6 SEC. 207. TRANSIT HUMAN RESOURCES AND TRAINING. 

7 Section 5322 of title 49, United States Code, is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘may under10 take’’ and inserting ‘‘shall undertake’’; 

11 (2) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(3) PROGRAMS.—Eligible public transportation 

14 workforce development programs under this sub15 section are skills training, on-the-job training, and 

16 work based learning, including apprenticeship pro17 grams that are registered under the Act entitled ‘An 

18 Act to enable the Department of Labor to formulate 

19 and promote the furtherance of labor standards nec20 essary to safeguard the welfare of apprentices and to 

21 cooperate with the States in the promotion of such 

22 standards’, enacted August 16, 1937 (29 U.S.C. 50 

23 et seq.; popularly known as the National Apprentice24 ship Act), that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) are, to the extent possible, nationally 

2 or regionally significant in scope; 

3 ‘‘(B) replicate a successful workforce devel4 opment model adopted in multiple geographic 

5 locations; 

6 ‘‘(C) target areas with high rates of unem7 ployment; 

8 ‘‘(D) are designed to address current or 

9 projected workforce shortages; 

10 ‘‘(E) give priority to minorities, women, in11 dividuals with disabilities, veterans, low income 

12 populations and other underserved populations; 

13 ‘‘(F) are designed to provide career path14 ways that support the movement of targeted 

15 populations from initial or short-term employ16 ment opportunities to sustainable careers; and 

17 ‘‘(G) consist of other critical activities as 

18 identified by the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM OUTCOMES.—Eligible public 

20 transportation workforce development programs 

21 under this subsection shall be outcome-based and 

22 demonstrate outcomes including— 

23 ‘‘(A) increasing diversity of training par24 ticipants; 


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1 ‘‘(B) increasing job placement, job reten2 tion, wages, and achievement of certification 

3 and credentials using performance metrics es4 tablished in consultation with the Secretary of 

5 Labor and consistent with metrics used by pro6 grams under the Workforce Innovation and Op7 portunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.); and 

8 ‘‘(C) to the extent practical, evidence that 

9 the program did not preclude workers that are 

10 participating in skills training, on-the-job train11 ing, and work-based learning, including reg12 istered apprenticeships from being referred to, 

13 hired on, projects funded under this chapter 

14 without regard to the length of time of their 

15 participation in such program. 

16 ‘‘(5) COORDINATION.—Recipients of assistance 

17 under this subsection shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) identify the training needs to be im19 plemented at the local level in coordination with 

20 entities such as local employers, local transit 

21 operators, labor union organizations, Workforce 

22 Development Boards, State workforce agencies, 

23 State Apprenticeship Agencies (where applica24 ble), University Transportation Centers, Com25 munity Colleges, and community-based organiVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:52 Sep 10, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3458.IH H3458

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1 zations representing minority, disability, and 

2 low income populations; and 

3 ‘‘(B) conduct local training programs, as 

4 appropriate, in coordination with existing local 

5 training programs supported by the Depart6 ment of Transportation, the Department of 

7 Labor (including registered apprenticeship pro8 grams), and the Department of Education. 

9 ‘‘(6) RESEARCH AND PROGRAM EVALUATION.— 

10 The Secretary of Transportation shall conduct re11 search and an impact evaluation based on measur12 able outcomes of the training funded under this sub13 section. In the second, fourth, and sixth year fol14 lowing the enactment of this paragraph, the Sec15 retary shall conduct an aggregate analysis of the na16 tional impact related to workforce shortage, diver17 sity, and job placement.’’; 

18 (3) in subsection (d)(3), by inserting ‘‘, includ19 ing online curriculum,’’ after ‘‘under this sub20 section’’; 

21 (4) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub22 section (f); 

23 (5) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(e) USE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND TECHNICAL AS2 SISTANCE.—The Secretary may use up to 1 percent of the 

3 amounts made available to carry out this section to admin4 ister, oversee, and provide technical assistance for the ac5 tivities and programs developed and conducted under this 

6 section.’’; and 

7 (6) in subsection (f), as so redesignated by 

8 paragraph (4) of this section, by inserting ‘‘and the 

9 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology’’ after 

10 ‘‘Transportation and Infrastructure’’. 

11 SEC. 208. RAIL RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TESTING, AND 

12 TRAINING. 

13 Section 20108 of title 49, United States Code, is 

14 amended in subsection (a) by inserting ‘‘, including oper15 ations and technology’’ after ‘‘safety’’. 

16 SEC. 209. RAIL COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

17 Section 24910 of title 49, United States Code, is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (b)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para21 graph (12); 

22 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

23 paragraph (13) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

24 (C) by inserting the following new para25 graph at the end: 


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1 ‘‘(14) to improve the management of shared 

2 rights-of-way between passenger and freight serv3 ices.’’; and 

4 (2) in subsection (e) by striking ‘‘2010 through 

5 2013’’ and inserting ‘‘2016 through 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 210. HAZARDOUS MATERIALS RESEARCH AND DEVEL7 OPMENT. 

8 Section 5118 of title 49, United States Code, is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in section (a)— 

11 (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘may’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘shall’’; and 

13 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

14 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

15 ‘‘and’’; 

16 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

17 the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

18 (iii) by adding at the end the fol19 lowing new subparagraph: 

20 ‘‘(C) coordinate, as appropriate, with other 

21 Federal agencies, including the National Insti22 tute of Standards and Technology, the Depart23 ment of Homeland Security, and the Depart24 ment of Energy.’’; and 


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1 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub2 section: 

3 ‘‘(c) COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab5 lish and carry out a hazardous materials transport 

6 cooperative research program. 

7 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.—The 

8 Secretary shall enter into an agreement with the Na9 tional Academy of Sciences to support and carry out 

10 administrative and management activities relating to 

11 the governance of the hazardous materials transport 

12 cooperative research program. 

13 ‘‘(3) RESEARCH.—Research funded under this 

14 program may include activities related to— 

15 ‘‘(A) emergency planning and response, in16 cluding information and programs that can be 

17 readily assessed and implemented in local juris18 dictions; 

19 ‘‘(B) risk analysis and perception and data 

20 assessment; 

21 ‘‘(C) commodity flow data, including vol22 untary collaboration between shippers and first 

23 responders for secure data exchange of critical 

24 information; 

25 ‘‘(D) integration of safety and security; 


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1 ‘‘(E) cargo packaging and handling; 

2 ‘‘(F) hazmat release consequences; and 

3 ‘‘(G) materials and equipment testing. 

4 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.—In carrying 

5 out the program under this section, the National 

6 Academy of Sciences shall ensure, to the maximum 

7 extent practicable, that projects are selected on the 

8 basis of merit and open solicitation of proposals and 

9 review by panels of appropriate experts.’’. 

10 SEC. 211. WEB-BASED TRAINING FOR EMERGENCY RE11 SPONDERS. 

12 Section 5115(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

13 amended by inserting ‘‘, including online curriculum as ap14 propriate,’’ after ‘‘a current curriculum of courses’’. 

15 SEC. 212. NATIONAL COOPERATIVE FREIGHT TRANSPOR16 TATION RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 55 of title 

18 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘§ 5509. National cooperative freight transportation 

21 research program 

22 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Transpor23 tation shall establish and support a multimodal national 

24 cooperative freight transportation research program. 


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1 ‘‘(b) AGREEMENT.—The Secretary shall enter into an 

2 agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to sup3 port and carry out administrative and management activi4 ties relating to the governance of the national cooperative 

5 freight transportation research program. 

6 ‘‘(c) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The National Acad7 emy of Sciences shall select an advisory committee con8 sisting of a representative cross-section of freight stake9 holders, including the Department of Transportation, 

10 other Federal agencies, State transportation departments, 

11 local governments, nonprofit entities, academia, and the 

12 private sector. 

13 ‘‘(d) GOVERNANCE.—The national cooperative 

14 freight transportation research program established under 

15 this section shall include the following administrative and 

16 management elements: 

17 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA.—The advi18 sory committee, in consultation with interested par19 ties, shall recommend a multi-year national research 

20 agenda for the program. At a minimum, the advi21 sory committee shall consider— 

22 ‘‘(A) techniques for estimating and quanti23 fying public benefits derived from transpor24 tation projects; 


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1 ‘‘(B) methods for incorporating estimates 

2 of international trade, originating at both water 

3 and land ports, into landside transportation 

4 planning; 

5 ‘‘(C) ways to synchronize infrastructure 

6 improvements with freight transportation de7 mand, including impacts of e-commerce on 

8 freight demand, and strategies for better man9 agement; 

10 ‘‘(D) the effect of changing patterns of 

11 freight movement on transportation planning 

12 decisions relating to rest areas and implementa13 tion of truck parking solutions; 

14 ‘‘(E) new innovative technologies and tools 

15 for data collection, analysis, modeling, routing, 

16 and overall management of freight movement; 

17 ‘‘(F) ways to advance deployment of 

18 freight intelligent transportation systems, in19 cluding advanced information systems; 

20 ‘‘(G) methods for developing the outreach 

21 tools and incentives to increase the workforce; 

22 ‘‘(H) new methods and technologies for 

23 monitoring and enforcement, including data 

24 sharing and harmonization; 


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1 ‘‘(I) new methods and policies for incor2 porating freight in urban transportation and 

3 land use planning; and 

4 ‘‘(J) other research areas, including human 

5 factors research, to identify and address emerg6 ing and future research needs related to freight 

7 transportation by all modes. 

8 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.—In carrying 

9 out the program under this section, the National 

10 Academy of Sciences shall ensure, to the maximum 

11 extent practicable, that projects are selected on the 

12 basis of merit and open solicitation of proposals and 

13 review by panels of appropriate experts. 

14 ‘‘(3) DISSEMINATION OF RESEARCH FIND15 INGS.—The National Academy of Sciences shall dis16 seminate research findings to researchers, practi17 tioners, and decisionmakers, including through con18 ferences and seminars, field demonstrations, work19 shops, presentations, testimony to government offi20 cials, the Internet, publications for the general pub21 lic, and other appropriate means. 

22 ‘‘(e) FUNDING.— 

23 ‘‘(1) USE OF NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.—In addi24 tion to using funds authorized for this section, the 

25 National Academy of Sciences may seek and accept 


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1 additional funding from non-Federal sources, includ2 ing public and private entities. 

3 ‘‘(2) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—Amounts 

4 made available to carry out this section shall remain 

5 available until expended.’’. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec7 tions for such subchapter is amended by adding at the 

8 end the following: 

‘‘5509. National cooperative freight transportation research program.’’. 

9 SEC. 213. SMART CITIES TRANSPORTATION PLANNING 

10 STUDY. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary of Trans12 portation for Research and Technology shall conduct a 

13 study of digital technologies and information technologies, 

14 including shared mobility, data, transportation network 

15 companies, and on-demand transportation services— 

16 (1) to understand the degree to which cities are 

17 adopting these technologies; 

18 (2) to assess future planning, infrastructure, 

19 and investment needs; and 

20 (3) to provide best practices to plan for smart 

21 cities in which information and technology are 

22 used— 

23 (A) to reduce traffic congestion; 

24 (B) to improve city operations; 

25 (C) to grow the local economy; 


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1 (D) to improve response in times of emer2 gencies and natural disasters; 

3 (E) to improve the lives of city residents; 

4 and 

5 (F) to reduce environmental impact. 

6 (b) COMPONENTS.—The study conducted under sub7 section (a) shall— 

8 (1) identify issues that influence the ability of 

9 the United States to plan for and invest in smart 

10 cities, including barriers to collaboration and access 

11 to scientific information; and 

12 (2) review how the expanded use of digital tech13 nologies, mobile devices, and information may— 

14 (A) enhance the efficiency and effective15 ness of existing transportation networks; 

16 (B) optimize demand management serv17 ices; 

18 (C) impact low-income and other disadvan19 taged communities; 

20 (D) provide opportunities to share, collect, 

21 and use data while ensuring the privacy of indi22 viduals; 

23 (E) change current planning and invest24 ment strategies; 


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1 (F) provide opportunities for enhanced co2 ordination and planning; and 

3 (G) provide opportunities to reduce the en4 vironmental impact of transportation. 

5 (c) COORDINATION.—The study conducted under 

6 subsection (a) shall include coordination with other rel7 evant Federal agencies conducting research on smart cit8 ies, including the National Science Foundation and the 

9 National Institute of Standards and Technology, as well 

10 as relevant State and local agencies. 

11 (d) REPORTING.—Not later than 18 months after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary 

13 shall publish the results of the study required under sub14 section (a) on a public website. 

Æ 


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