I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6890 

To improve the process for awarding grants under certain programs of the 

Department of Transportation to certain counties in which the majority 

of land is owned or managed by the Federal Government and to other 

units of local government and Tribal governments in those counties, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 22, 2023 

Ms. MALOY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To improve the process for awarding grants under certain 

programs of the Department of Transportation to certain 

counties in which the majority of land is owned or managed by the Federal Government and to other units 

of local government and Tribal governments in those 

counties, 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 ‘‘More Opportunities 

5 for Rural Economies from DOT Grants Act’’ or the 

6 ‘‘MORE DOT Grants Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) HIGH-DENSITY PUBLIC LAND COUNTY.— 

4 The term ‘‘High-Density Public Land County’’ 

5 means a county (or equivalent jurisdiction) of a 

6 State or territory of the United States— 

7 (A) that has a population of not more than 

8 100,000 people, according to the most recent 

9 annual estimates of population by the Bureau 

10 of the Census; and 

11 (B) in which more than 50 percent of the 

12 land is owned or managed by the Federal Gov13 ernment. 

14 (2) QUALIFYING GRANT PROGRAM.—The term 

15 ‘‘qualifying grant program’’ means— 

16 (A) the Better Utilizing Investments to Le17 verage Development (BUILD) Transportation 

18 discretionary grant program of the Department 

19 of Transportation; 

20 (B) the Infrastructure for Rebuilding 

21 America (INFRA) grant program of the De22 partment of Transportation; 

23 (C) the public transportation innovation 

24 grant program established under section 5312 

25 of title 49, United States Code; 


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1 (D) the public transportation safety pro2 gram established under section 5329 of title 49, 

3 United States Code; 

4 (E) the Federal lands access program 

5 under section 204 of title 23, United States 

6 Code; 

7 (F) the airport improvement program es8 tablished under subchapter I of chapter 471 of 

9 title 49, United States Code; 

10 (G) the consolidated rail infrastructure and 

11 safety improvements program under section 

12 22907 of title 49, United States Code; and 

13 (H) any other discretionary grant program 

14 of the Department of Transportation under 

15 which grants are awarded to— 

16 (i) counties; 

17 (ii) other units of local government; or 

18 (iii) Tribal governments. 

19 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

20 the Secretary of Transportation. 

21 (4) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘Tribal 

22 government’’ means the recognized governing body 

23 of any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, 

24 pueblo, village, community, component band, or com25 ponent reservation, individually identified (including 


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1 parenthetically) in the list published most recently as 

2 of the date of enactment of this Act pursuant to sec3 tion 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe 

4 List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131). 

5 SEC. 3. GRANTS. 

6 (a) REDUCTION IN LOCAL MATCHING REQUIRE7 MENTS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

8 with respect to a High-Density Public Land County and 

9 any unit of local government or Tribal government within 

10 a High-Density Public Land County, any requirement for 

11 local matching funds under a qualifying grant program 

12 shall be reduced by 50 percent. 

13 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—On request of a High14 Density Public Land County or any unit of local govern15 ment or Tribal government within a High-Density Public 

16 Land County, the Secretary shall provide additional tech17 nical assistance to the High-Density Public Land County, 

18 unit of local government, or Tribal government before and 

19 during the annual application period for each qualifying 

20 grant program. 

21 (c) PRIORITY.— 

22 (1) APPLICATION APPROVAL.—In approving ap23 plications for a qualifying grant program, the Sec24 retary shall give priority to an application from a 

25 High-Density Public Land County, unit of local govVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Jan 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6890.IH H6890

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1 ernment within a High-Density Public Land County, 

2 or Tribal government within a High-Density Public 

3 Land County that has not received support under 

4 the qualifying grant program during the 10-year pe5 riod preceding the date of the application. 

6 (2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND OTHER SUP7 PORT.—In carrying out subsections (b) and (e), the 

8 Secretary may give priority to a Tribal government 

9 within a High-Density Public Land County. 

10 (d) SPECIAL CONSIDERATION.—In approving appli11 cations for a qualifying grant program, the Secretary— 

12 (1) shall give special consideration to an appli13 cation from a High-Density Public Land County or 

14 unit of local government within a High-Density Pub15 lic Land County with respect to any rural set-aside 

16 designated for the applicable qualifying grant pro17 gram by an Act of Congress; and 

18 (2) may give special consideration to an appli19 cation from a Tribal government within a High-Den20 sity Public Land County with respect to a rural set21 aside described in paragraph (1). 

22 (e) OTHER SUPPORT.—The Secretary may provide 

23 additional support, as the Secretary determines to be ap24 propriate, for a High-Density Public Land County or a 

25 unit of local government or Tribal government within a 


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1 High-Density Public Land County, including by consid2 ering and, if appropriate, offering flexibility with respect 

3 to any requirement of, or barrier to applying for or receiv4 ing assistance under, a qualifying grant program if the 

5 requirement or barrier relates to— 

6 (1) scoring criteria relating to numerical size 

7 and impact, such as the number of jobs created or 

8 the number of people served, which disadvantage 

9 small and isolated communities; 

10 (2) any requirement that an applicant for a 

11 qualifying grant program partner with other institu12 tions, such as community colleges or foundations, 

13 which may not operate in the jurisdiction of the 

14 High-Density Public Land County, unit of local gov15 ernment, or Tribal government seeking assistance 

16 under the qualifying grant program; 

17 (3) any financial or cash-on-hand requirement 

18 that a High-Density Public Land County or a unit 

19 of local government or Tribal government within a 

20 High-Density Public Land County cannot meet for 

21 reasons other than any financial constraints to 

22 which the High-Density Public Land County, unit of 

23 local government, or Tribal government is subject; or 

24 (4) an overly complicated or overly technical ap25 plication for a qualifying grant program that deters 


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1 High-Density Public Land Counties or units of local 

2 government or Tribal governments within High-Den3 sity Public Land Counties from applying for the 

4 qualifying grant program. 

Æ 


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