I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 947 

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish and collect a fee 

based on the fair market value of articles imported into the United 

States and articles exported from the United States in commerce and 

to use amounts collected from the fee to make grants to carry out 

certain transportation projects in the transportation trade corridors for 

which the fee is collected, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 10, 2009 

Mr. CALVERT (for himself and Mr. JACKSON of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means 

and Foreign Affairs, 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 direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish and 

collect a fee based on the fair market value of articles 

imported into the United States and articles exported 

from the United States in commerce and to use amounts 

collected from the fee to make grants to carry out certain 

transportation projects in the transportation trade corridors for which the fee is collected, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Our Nation’s Trade, 

3 Infrastructure, Mobility, and Efficiency Act of 2009’’ or 

4 the ‘‘ON TIME Act of 2009’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) The growth in international trade, particu8 larly containerized trade, is placing pressure on the 

9 Nation’s transportation network and influences traf10 fic congestion in the areas surrounding the major 

11 United States-international gateways. 

12 (2) From 2000 to 2005, the value of inter13 national trade rose from approximately 

14 $2,000,000,000,000 to $2,600,000,000,000, while 

15 the number of containerized trade shipments rose 

16 over the same period from approximately 59,000,000 

17 20-foot equivalent units to 81,000,000 20-foot equiv18 alent units. 

19 (3) Existing trade agreements, in addition to 

20 potential future agreements, foreshadow an even 

21 greater increase in international trade and further 

22 increases of freight shipments congestion. 

23 (4) In addition to being a member of the World 

24 Trade Organization, the United States has agreed to 

25 11 free trade agreements and is in various stages of 

26 negotiation with 4 different countries and multi-latVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:45 Feb 12, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H947.IH H947

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1 eral organizations with regards to other potential 

2 free trade agreements. 

3 (5) Traffic congestion continues to worsen in 

4 United States cities of all sizes, causing Americans 

5 to waste 4,200,000,000 hours in traffic and to pur6 chase an extra 2,900,000,000 gallons of fuel for a 

7 congestion cost of $78,000,000,000 per year. 

8 (6) More than 200 freight bottlenecks are cost9 ing the goods movement industry $8,000,000,000 in 

10 economic losses annually and 243,000,000 hours of 

11 delay and lost productivity each year. 

12 (7) To simply maintain the current conditions 

13 and traffic levels of service of our transportation sys14 tem, all levels of Government must have invested 

15 $235,000,000,000 in 2006 and must invest 

16 $304,000,000,000 in 2015 and $472,000,000,000 in 

17 2030. 

18 (8) To improve the current conditions and traf19 fic levels of service of our transportation system to 

20 a level that benefits the Nation’s economic produc21 tivity, all levels of Government must have invested 

22 $288,000,000,000 in 2006 and must invest 

23 $368,000,000,000 in 2015 and $561,000,000,000 in 

24 2030. 

25 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to— 


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1 (1) address major transportation investment 

2 needs in national trade gateway corridors; 

3 (2) reduce freight congestion along current and 

4 future trade corridors and provide congestion miti5 gation along surface transportation routes that are 

6 or will be congested as a result of current or future 

7 growth in international trade; and 

8 (3) develop corridors that will increase freight 

9 transportation system reliability and enhance the 

10 quality of life for United States citizens. 

11 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND COLLECTION OF NATIONAL 

12 TRADE GATEWAY CORRIDOR FEE. 

13 (a) IMPORT FEE.— 

14 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days 

15 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec16 retary of Transportation shall issue regulations that 

17 establish a national trade gateway corridor fee on 

18 each article that is imported into the United States 

19 in commerce. 

20 (2) AMOUNT.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of the fee 

22 on each article that is imported into the United 

23 States in commerce shall be equal to .075 per24 cent of the value of the article that is subject 

25 to the fee or $500, whichever is less. 


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1 (B) VALUE DEFINED.—For purposes of 

2 subparagraph (A), the term ‘‘value’’ has the 

3 meaning given the term in section 402 of the 

4 Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1401a). 

5 (3) COLLECTION.—The Secretary of Transpor6 tation, in consultation with the Secretary of Home7 land Security, shall assess and collect the fee for 

8 carrying out eligible projects in the transportation 

9 trade corridors for the customs port of unloading of 

10 the article that is imported into the United States 

11 in commerce. 

12 (4) DEPOSIT.—Amounts received by the United 

13 States in the form of the fee shall be deposited in 

14 the account established by subsection (c). 

15 (b) EXPORT FEE.— 

16 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Trans17 portation, in consultation with the Secretary of 

18 Homeland Security and the Secretary of Commerce, 

19 shall issue regulations that establish a national trade 

20 gateway corridor fee on each article that is exported 

21 from the United States in commerce. 

22 (2) AMOUNT.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of the fee 

24 on each article that is exported from the United 

25 States in commerce shall be equal to .075 perVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:49 Feb 14, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H947.IH H947

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1 cent of the value of the article that is subject 

2 to the fee or $500, whichever is less. 

3 (B) VALUE DEFINED.—For purposes of 

4 subparagraph (A), the term ‘‘value’’ has the 

5 meaning given the term in section 30.7(q) of 

6 title 15, Code of Federal Regulations. 

7 (3) COLLECTION.—The Secretary of Transpor8 tation, in consultation with the Secretary of Home9 land Security and the Secretary of Commerce, shall 

10 assess and collect the fee for carrying out eligible 

11 projects in the transportation trade corridors for the 

12 customs port of loading of the article that is ex13 ported from the United States in commerce. 

14 (4) DEPOSIT.—Amounts received by the United 

15 States in the form of the fee shall be deposited in 

16 the account established by subsection (c). 

17 (c) ACCOUNT.— 

18 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

19 the Treasury a separate account for the deposit of 

20 fees under this section, which shall be known as the 

21 ‘‘National Trade Gateway Corridor Fund’’. 

22 (2) CONTENTS.—The account shall consist of 

23 amounts deposited into the account under sub24 sections (a) and (b). 


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1 (3) USE.—Amounts in the account shall be 

2 available to the Secretary of Transportation, as pro3 vided in appropriations Acts enacted after the date 

4 of the enactment of this Act, for making expendi5 tures to meet the obligations of the United States to 

6 carry out this Act. 

7 SEC. 4. APPORTIONMENT OF FUNDS. 

8 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—The Secretary of 

9 Transportation shall set aside 2 percent of the amount au10 thorized to be appropriated, from the National Trade 

11 Gateway Corridor Fund established by section 3(c), to 

12 carry out this Act for each fiscal year to pay the cost of 

13 collecting fees on imports and exports under section 3. 

14 (b) APPORTIONMENT.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—After the set-aside under 

16 subsection (a), the Secretary shall apportion 

17 amounts remaining available of the amount author18 ized to be appropriated, from the National Trade 

19 Gateway Corridor Fund established by section 3, for 

20 a fiscal year to carry out this Act to State depart21 ments of transportation in the form of grants for 

22 carrying out eligible projects in the transportation 

23 trade corridors for the customs ports of entry with 

24 respect to which fees were collected under section 3 

25 in the preceding fiscal year in the ratio that— 


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1 (A) the amount the fees collected for each 

2 customs port of entry under section 3 during 

3 the preceding fiscal year; bears to 

4 (B) the aggregate amount of fees collected 

5 for all customs ports of entry under section 3 

6 during the preceding fiscal year. 

7 (2) CORRIDOR TO MORE THAN ONE STATE.—If 

8 a transportation trade corridor is within the bound9 aries of more than one State, the Secretary shall ap10 portion the funds apportioned under paragraph (1) 

11 for carrying out eligible projects in such corridor 

12 among such States as follows: 

13 (A) Fifty percent of the apportionment in 

14 the ratio that— 

15 (i) the total lane miles of Federal-aid 

16 highways in the transportation trade cor17 ridor in each of such States; bears to 

18 (ii) the total lane miles of Federal-aid 

19 highways in the transportation trade cor20 ridor in all of such States. 

21 (B) Fifty percent of the apportionments in 

22 the ratio that— 

23 (i) the total vehicle miles traveled on 

24 lanes on Federal-aid highways in the 


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1 transportation trade corridor in each of 

2 such States; bears to 

3 (ii) the total vehicle miles traveled on 

4 lanes on Federal-aid highways in the 

5 transportation trade corridor in all of such 

6 States. 

7 (3) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—Amounts 

8 granted to a State department of transportation for 

9 carrying out an eligible project in a transportation 

10 trade corridor from amounts apportioned under this 

11 subsection shall remain available for obligation for a 

12 period of 6 years after the last day of the fiscal year 

13 for which the funds are authorized to be appro14 priated. Any amounts so apportioned that remain 

15 unobligated at the end of that period shall be allo16 cated to other States for the purpose of funding eli17 gible projects located in transportation trade cor18 ridors at the discretion of the Secretary. 

19 SEC. 5. PROJECT SELECTION AND ELIGIBILITY. 

20 (a) SELECTION PROCESS GUIDELINES.—Not later 

21 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

22 the Secretary of Transportation shall issue project selec23 tion guidelines for a State department of transportation 

24 to follow in selecting eligible projects for which grants may 

25 be made under this Act. 


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1 (b) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—The selection guide2 lines issued by the Secretary under this section shall in3 clude a requirement that a State department of transpor4 tation— 

5 (1) consult with local governments, port au6 thorities, regional planning organizations, public and 

7 private freight shippers, and providers of freight 

8 transportation services during the project selection 

9 process; 

10 (2) adhere to applicable metropolitan and state11 wide planning processes, including sections 134 and 

12 135 of title 23, United States Code, in selecting 

13 projects for which grants may be made under this 

14 Act; 

15 (3) develop and implement a selection process 

16 that is in writing and available to the public; 

17 (4) develop and implement a process for rating 

18 proposed projects for which grants may be made 

19 under this Act in accordance with the purposes of 

20 this Act; and 

21 (5) clearly identify the basis for rating projects 

22 under the ratings process the State department of 

23 transportation developed under paragraph (4). 


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1 SEC. 6. GRANT PROGRAM. 

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

3 may make a grant under this Act to a State department 

4 of transportation having jurisdiction over an area located 

5 in a transportation trade corridor. 

6 (b) SECRETARIAL APPROVAL.—A grant may only be 

7 made under this Act for an eligible project. 

8 (c) CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS.—A project to be 

9 carried out with assistance under this Act that is for a 

10 highway that is on a Federal-aid system (as defined in 

11 section 101 of title 23, United States Code) shall be con12 structed to the same standards that would apply if such 

13 project was being carried out with assistance under chap14 ter 1 of title 23, United States Code. 

15 (d) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of the 

17 cost of an eligible project for which a grant is made 

18 under this Act shall be 80 percent. 

19 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

20 share of the cost of an eligible project for which a 

21 grant is made under this Act may not be provided 

22 from Federal funds made available under any other 

23 law (including funds from the Highway Trust 

24 Fund). 

25 (e) PREVAILING RATE OF WAGE.—Section 113 of 

26 title 23, United States Code, shall apply to an eligible 


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1 project being carried out with assistance provided under 

2 this section in the same manner and to the same extent 

3 as such would apply if such project was being carried out 

4 with assistance provided under chapter 1 of such title. 

5 SEC. 7. TRANSPORTATION TRADE CORRIDORS. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Transpor7 tation, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, 

8 shall establish— 

9 (1) a transportation trade corridor for each cus10 toms port of entry, for which fees were collected 

11 under section 3 in the preceding fiscal year, in ac12 cordance with subsection (b); and 

13 (2) the boundaries of the transportation trade 

14 corridor for such port of entry. 

15 (b) CRITERIA FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF COR16 RIDORS.—A transportation trade corridor— 

17 (1) may include areas in more than one State 

18 if the States are contiguous; 

19 (2) may not extend more than 300 miles from 

20 the customs port of entry for which it is established; 

21 and 

22 (3) may only include areas that are used for 

23 motor vehicle and cargo movements related to inter24 national trade. 


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1 (c) MULTIPLE PORTS OF ENTRY.—The Secretary of 

2 Transportation may establish under this section a single 

3 transportation trade corridor for multiple ports of entry 

4 located in close proximity to one another. 

5 (d) DEADLINE FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF PROPOSED

6 CORRIDORS.—Not later than 180 days after the date of 

7 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation 

8 shall publish in the Federal Register the boundaries of the 

9 transportation trade corridors the Secretary proposes to 

10 establish under this section. 

11 (e) COMMENT PERIOD.—The Secretary of Transpor12 tation shall provide a period of 45 days for comments to 

13 be made to the Secretary by the public, and for holding 

14 such hearings as the Secretary determines are appropriate 

15 to receive comments, concerning the boundaries of the 

16 transportation trade corridors proposed by the Secretary 

17 under subsection (c). 

18 (f) DEADLINE FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF FINAL COR19 RIDORS.—Not later than one year after date of enactment 

20 of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall publish 

21 in the Federal Register the boundaries of the transpor22 tation trade corridors the Secretary is establishing under 

23 this section. 

24 (g) PERIODIC REVIEWS AND MODIFICATIONS.—Dur25 ing the 60-day period ending on September 30 before each 


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1 fiscal year after the first fiscal year for which funds are 

2 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act, the 

3 Secretary of Transportation may conduct such reviews, 

4 hold such hearings, and take such other actions as may 

5 be necessary to ensure that— 

6 (1) there is a transportation trade corridor for 

7 each customs port of entry for which fees were col8 lected under section 3 in the preceding fiscal year; 

9 and 

10 (2) the boundaries of such corridor are appro11 priate to carry out the objectives of this Act. 

12 SEC. 8. REGULATIONS. 

13 Not later than one year after date of enactment of 

14 this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall issue regu15 lations to carry out the objectives of this Act. 

16 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro18 priated from the National Trade Gateway Corridor Fund 

19 established by section 3 to carry out this Act such sums 

20 as were deposited in the Fund during the preceding fiscal 

21 year under section 3. 

22 (b) DATE AVAILABLE FOR OBLIGATION.—Authoriza23 tions from the separate account to carry out this Act shall 

24 be available for obligation on October 1 of the fiscal year 

25 for which they are authorized. 


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1 (c) GRANTS AS CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS.—A 

2 grant for a highway project under this Act that is ap3 proved by the Secretary is a contractual obligation of the 

4 Government to pay the Federal share of the cost of the 

5 project. 

6 SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

8 (1) ELIGIBLE PROJECT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

9 project’’ means— 

10 (A) a project or activity eligible for assist11 ance under chapter 1 of title 23, United States 

12 Code; and 

13 (B) a project for construction of or im14 provements to a publicly owned intermodal 

15 freight transfer facility, for providing access to 

16 such a facility, or for making operational im17 provements to such a facility (including capital 

18 investment for an intelligent transportation sys19 tem); except that a project located within the 

20 boundaries of a port terminal shall only include 

21 the surface transportation infrastructure modi22 fications necessary to facilitate direct inter23 modal interchange, transfer, and access into 

24 and out of the port. 


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1 (2) FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAY.—The term ‘‘Fed2 eral-aid highway’’ has the meaning such term has 

3 under section 101 of title 23, United States Code. 

4 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of 

5 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto 

6 Rico. 

7 (4) STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPOR8 TATION.—The term ‘‘State department of transpor9 tation’’ has the meaning such term has under sec10 tion 101 of title 23, United States Code. 

11 (5) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United 

12 States’’ means the 50 States, the District of Colum13 bia, and Puerto Rico. 

Æ 


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