I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2007 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a grant program 

to assist the development of aerotropolis transportation systems, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 23, 2015 

Mr. COHEN 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 

grant program to assist the development of aerotropolis 

transportation systems, 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 ‘‘Leading and Expe5 diting Aerotropolis Development Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AEROTROPOLIS GRANT PROGRAM. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 6 months after 

8 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Trans9 portation shall establish and carry out an aerotropolis 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

2 

•HR 2007 IH

1 grant program (in this section referred to as the ‘‘pro2 gram’’) to assist the development of aerotropolis transpor3 tation systems in accordance with this section. 

4 (b) GRANT AUTHORITY.—In carrying out the pro5 gram, the Secretary is authorized to make a grant to an 

6 eligible entity to assist planning, design, environmental re7 view, or land acquisition activities for any of the following 

8 to benefit an aerotropolis transportation system: 

9 (1) A project for the development or improve10 ment of a highway or bridge. 

11 (2) A project for the development or improve12 ment of a public transportation system. 

13 (3) A project to expand the capacity of or oth14 erwise improve freight or passenger rail transpor15 tation. 

16 (4) A project for the development or improve17 ment of a port. 

18 (5) A project that improves access to a port or 

19 terminal facility. 

20 (6) A project for the development or improve21 ment of a multimodal terminal facility. 

22 (7) A project for the development or improve23 ment of an intelligent transportation system that— 

24 (A) is primarily for the benefit of freight 

25 movement; and 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

3 

•HR 2007 IH

1 (B) reduces congestion or improves safety. 

2 (c) AVAILABILITY OF GRANT FUNDING.—Grant 

3 funding awarded to a grant recipient under the program 

4 shall remain available to be obligated by the recipient dur5 ing the fiscal year in which the grant funding is disbursed 

6 and the three fiscal years following that fiscal year. Grant 

7 funding not obligated by a grant recipient during the pe8 riod provided under this subsection shall be returned to 

9 the Secretary and made available for making other grants 

10 under the program. 

11 (d) APPLICATION PROCESS.—In carrying out the 

12 program, the Secretary shall establish a process for eligi13 ble entities to apply for grants, which shall include the 

14 submission to the Secretary of an application containing 

15 the following: 

16 (1) A description of the aerotropolis transpor17 tation system to be assisted with the grant, includ18 ing— 

19 (A) the geographic scope of the system; 

20 and 

21 (B) the components that comprise the sys22 tem. 

23 (2) A description of the projects to be assisted 

24 with the grant. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

4 

•HR 2007 IH

1 (3) With respect to each of the projects de2 scribed under paragraph (2), a description of— 

3 (A) the status of the project; 

4 (B) how the project will develop the appli5 cable aerotropolis transportation system; 

6 (C) the jobs to be created by the project; 

7 (D) the costs and benefits of the project; 

8 and 

9 (E) the plans and timeline for moving the 

10 project to completion. 

11 (e) GRANT SELECTION.— 

12 (1) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making grants 

13 under the program, the Secretary shall consider, 

14 with respect to a proposed project, whether the 

15 project facilitates any of the following: 

16 (A) Improvement of the mobility of goods 

17 or passengers. 

18 (B) Enhancement of intermodal 

19 connectivity with respect to freight or passenger 

20 transportation. 

21 (C) Improvement of the condition of 

22 freight or passenger transportation infrastruc23 ture, including bringing such infrastructure into 

24 a state of good repair. 

25 (D) Reductions in congestion. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

5 

•HR 2007 IH

1 (E) Improvement of safety, including 

2 through reductions in transportation accidents, 

3 injuries, and fatalities. 

4 (F) Incorporation of new and innovative 

5 technologies into the transportation system, in6 cluding intelligent transportation systems. 

7 (G) Enhancement of national or regional 

8 economic development, growth, and competitive9 ness. 

10 (H) Non-Federal contributions to the 

11 project, including contributions from public-pri12 vate partnerships. 

13 (I) Reductions in dependence on foreign 

14 oil. 

15 (J) Reductions in air or water pollution. 

16 (2) PRIORITIES.—In making grants under the 

17 program, the Secretary shall give priority to appli18 cants that demonstrate any of the following: 

19 (A) A strategic plan for the development of 

20 an aerotropolis transportation system and fund21 ing directed to that development. 

22 (B) Existing infrastructure and services 

23 sufficient for the development of an aerotropolis 

24 transportation system. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

6 

•HR 2007 IH

1 (C) A capacity for using grant funds to ef2 ficiently and effectively develop an aerotropolis 

3 transportation system. 

4 (D) Public-private partnerships that will 

5 assist in completing proposed projects. 

6 (E) An inability to complete pre-construc7 tion activities for proposed projects without 

8 grant assistance. 

9 (f) REPORTS.—In each year in which a grant recipi10 ent receives funding under the program, that recipient 

11 shall submit to the Secretary a report that includes a de12 scription of the following: 

13 (1) The activities carried out by that recipient 

14 with grant funds in the preceding year. 

15 (2) The impact of those activities, including in 

16 comparison to the objectives for those activities. 

17 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi18 nitions apply: 

19 (1) AEROTROPOLIS TRANSPORTATION SYS20 TEM.—The term ‘‘aerotropolis transportation sys21 tem’’ means a planned and coordinated multimodal 

22 freight and passenger transportation network that, 

23 as determined by the Secretary, provides efficient, 

24 cost-effective, sustainable, and intermodal 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

7 

•HR 2007 IH

1 connectivity to a defined region of economic signifi2 cance centered around a major airport. 

3 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti4 ty’’ means any of the following: 

5 (A) A State government or political sub6 division thereof. 

7 (B) A local government or political subdivi8 sion thereof. 

9 (C) A metropolitan planning organization. 

10 (D) A regional planning organization. 

11 (E) An organization comprised of more 

12 than one entity specified in subparagraphs (A) 

13 through (D). 

Æ 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS