II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3380 

To promote increased public transportation use, to promote increased use 

of alternative fuels in providing public transportation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 31, 2008 

Mr. REID (for Mrs. CLINTON) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To promote increased public transportation use, to promote 

increased use of alternative fuels in providing public 

transportation, 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 ‘‘Saving Energy 

5 Through Public Transportation Act of 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) In 2007, people in the United States took 

9 more than 10.3 billion trips using public transpor10 tation, the highest level in 50 years. 


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1 (2) Public transportation use in the United 

2 States is up 32 percent since 1995, a figure that is 

3 more than double the growth rate of the Nation’s 

4 population and is substantially greater than the 

5 growth rate for vehicle miles traveled on the Na6 tion’s highways for that same period. 

7 (3) Public transportation use saves fuel, re8 duces emissions, and saves money for the people of 

9 the United States. 

10 (4) The direct petroleum savings attributable to 

11 public transportation use is 1.4 billion gallons per 

12 year, and when the secondary effects of transit avail13 ability on travel are also taken into account, public 

14 transportation use saves the United States the 

15 equivalent of 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline per year 

16 (more than 11 million gallons of gasoline per day). 

17 (5) Public transportation use in the United 

18 States is estimated to reduce carbon dioxide emis19 sions by 37 million metric tons annually. 

20 (6) An individual who commutes to work using 

21 a single occupancy vehicle can reduce carbon dioxide 

22 emissions by 20 pounds per day (more than 4,800 

23 pounds per year) by switching to public transpor24 tation. 


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1 (7) Public transportation use provides an af2 fordable alternative to driving, as households that 

3 use public transportation save an average of $6,251 

4 every year. 

5 (8) Although under existing laws Federal em6 ployees in the National Capital Region receive tran7 sit benefits, transit benefits should be available to all 

8 Federal employees in the United States so that the 

9 Federal Government sets a leading example of great10 er public transportation use. 

11 (9) Public transportation stakeholders should 

12 engage and involve local communities in the edu13 cation and promotion of the importance of utilizing 

14 public transportation. 

15 (10) Increasing public transportation use is a 

16 national priority. 

17 SEC. 3. GRANTS TO IMPROVE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION 

18 SERVICES. 

19 (a) AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

20 (1) URBANIZED AREA FORMULA GRANTS.—In 

21 addition to amounts allocated under section 

22 5338(b)(2)(B) of title 49, United States Code, to 

23 carry out section 5307 of such title, there is author24 ized to be appropriated $750,000,000 for each of fis25 cal years 2008 and 2009 to carry out such section 


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1 5307. Such funds shall be apportioned, not later 

2 than 7 days after the date on which the funds are 

3 appropriated, in accordance with section 5336 (other 

4 than subsections (i)(1) and (j)) of such title but may 

5 not be combined or commingled with any other 

6 funds apportioned under such section 5336. 

7 (2) FORMULA GRANTS FOR OTHER THAN UR8 BANIZED AREAS.—In addition to amounts allocated 

9 under section 5338(b)(2)(G) of title 49, United 

10 States Code, to carry out section 5311 of such title, 

11 there is authorized to be appropriated $100,000,000 

12 for each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009 to carry out 

13 such section 5311. Such funds shall be apportioned, 

14 not later than 7 days after the date on which the 

15 funds are appropriated, in accordance with such sec16 tion 5311 but may not be combined or commingled 

17 with any other funds apportioned under such section 

18 5311. 

19 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding sections 5307 

20 and 5311 of title 49, United States Code, the Secretary 

21 of Transportation may make grants under such sections 

22 from amounts appropriated under subsection (a) only for 

23 one or more of the following: 

24 (1) If the recipient of the grant is reducing, or 

25 certifies to the Secretary within the time the SecVerDate Aug 31 2005 07:23 Aug 02, 2008 Jkt 069002 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3380.IS S3380

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1 retary prescribes that, during the term of the grant, 

2 the recipient will reduce one or more fares the re3 cipient charges for public transportation, or in the 

4 case of subsection (f) of such section 5311, intercity 

5 bus service, those operating costs of equipment and 

6 facilities being used to provide the public transpor7 tation, or in the case of subsection (f) of such sec8 tion 5311, intercity bus service, that the recipient is 

9 no longer able to pay from the revenues derived 

10 from such fare or fares as a result of such reduction. 

11 (2) If the recipient of the grant is expanding, 

12 or certifies to the Secretary within the time the Sec13 retary prescribes that, during the term of the grant, 

14 the recipient will expand public transportation serv15 ice, or in the case of subsection (f) of such section 

16 5311, intercity bus service, those operating and cap17 ital costs of equipment and facilities being used to 

18 provide the public transportation service, or in the 

19 case of subsection (f) of such section 5311, intercity 

20 bus service, that the recipient incurs as a result of 

21 the expansion of such service. 

22 (3) To avoid increases in fares for public trans23 portation, or in the case of subsection (f) of such 

24 section 5311, intercity bus service, or decreases in 

25 current public transportation service, or in the case 


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1 of subsection (f) of such section 5311, intercity bus 

2 service, that would otherwise result from an increase 

3 in costs to the public transportation or intercity bus 

4 agency for transportation-related fuel or meeting ad5 ditional transportation-related equipment or facility 

6 maintenance needs, if the recipient of the grant cer7 tifies to the Secretary within the time the Secretary 

8 prescribes that, during the term of the grant, the re9 cipient will not increase the fares that the recipient 

10 charges for public transportation, or in the case of 

11 subsection (f) of such section 5311, intercity bus 

12 service, or, will not decrease the public transpor13 tation service, or in the case of subsection (f) of 

14 such section 5311, intercity bus service, that the re15 cipient provides. 

16 (4) If the recipient of the grant is acquiring, or 

17 certifies to the Secretary within the time the Sec18 retary prescribes that, during the term of the grant, 

19 the recipient will acquire, clean fuel or alternative 

20 fuel vehicle-related equipment or facilities for the 

21 purpose of improving fuel efficiency, the costs of ac22 quiring the equipment or facilities. 

23 (5) If the recipient of the grant is establishing 

24 or expanding, or certifies to the Secretary within the 

25 time the Secretary prescribes that, during the term 


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1 of the grant, the recipient will establish or expand 

2 commuter matching services to provide commuters 

3 with information and assistance about alternatives 

4 to single occupancy vehicle use, those administrative 

5 costs in establishing or expanding such services. 

6 (c) FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwithstanding any other 

7 provision of law, the Federal share of the costs for which 

8 a grant is made under this section shall be 100 percent. 

9 (d) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—Funds appropriated 

10 under this section shall remain available for a period of 

11 2 fiscal years. 

12 SEC. 4. INCREASED FEDERAL SHARE FOR CLEAN AIR ACT 

13 COMPLIANCE. 

14 Notwithstanding section 5323(i)(1) of title 49, 

15 United States Code, a grant for a project to be assisted 

16 under chapter 53 of such title during fiscal years 2008 

17 and 2009 that involves acquiring clean fuel or alternative 

18 fuel vehicle-related equipment or facilities for the purposes 

19 of complying with or maintaining compliance with the 

20 Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) shall be for 100 

21 percent of the net project cost of the equipment or facility 

22 attributable to compliance with that Act unless the grant 

23 recipient requests a lower grant percentage. 


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1 SEC. 5. TRANSPORTATION FRINGE BENEFITS. 

2 (a) REQUIREMENT THAT AGENCIES OFFER TRANSIT

3 PASS TRANSPORTATION FRINGE BENEFITS TO THEIR

4 EMPLOYEES NATIONWIDE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3049(a)(1) of the 

6 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation 

7 Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (5 U.S.C. 7905 

8 note; 119 Stat. 1711) is amended— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘Effective’’ and all that 

10 follows through ‘‘each covered agency’’ and in11 serting ‘‘Each agency’’; and 

12 (B) by inserting ‘‘at a location in an ur13 banized area of the United States that is served 

14 by fixed route public transportation’’ before 

15 ‘‘shall be offered’’. 

16 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

17 3049(a) of such Act (5 U.S.C. 7905 note; 119 Stat. 

18 1711) is amended— 

19 (A) in paragraph (3)— 

20 (i) by striking subparagraph (A); and 

21 (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

22 (B) through (F) as subparagraphs (A) 

23 through (E), respectively; and 

24 (B) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘a cov25 ered agency’’ and inserting ‘‘an agency’’. 


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1 (b) BENEFITS DESCRIBED.—Section 3049(a)(2) of 

2 such Act (5 U.S.C. 7905 note; 119 Stat. 1711) is amended 

3 by striking the period at the end and inserting the fol4 lowing: ‘‘, except that the maximum level of such benefits 

5 shall be the maximum amount which may be excluded 

6 from gross income for qualified parking as in effect for 

7 a month under section 132(f)(2)(B) of the Internal Rev8 enue Code of 1986.’’. 

9 (c) GUIDANCE.—Section 3049(a) of such Act (5 

10 U.S.C. 7905 note; 119 Stat. 1711) is amended by adding 

11 at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(5) GUIDANCE.— 

13 ‘‘(A) ISSUANCE.—Not later than 60 days 

14 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 

15 the Secretary of Transportation shall issue 

16 guidance on nationwide implementation of the 

17 transit pass transportation fringe benefits pro18 gram under this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(B) UNIFORM APPLICATION.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The guidance to 

21 be issued under subparagraph (A) shall 

22 contain a uniform application for use by all 

23 Federal employees applying for benefits 

24 from an agency under the program. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—As 

2 part of such an application, an employee 

3 shall provide, at a minimum, the employ4 ee’s home and work addresses, a break5 down of the employee’s commuting costs, 

6 and a certification of the employee’s eligi7 bility for benefits under the program. 

8 ‘‘(iii) WARNING AGAINST FALSE

9 STATEMENTS.—Such an application shall 

10 contain a warning against making false 

11 statements in the application. 

12 ‘‘(C) INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION RE13 QUIREMENTS.—The guidance to be issued 

14 under subparagraph (A) shall contain inde15 pendent verification requirements to ensure 

16 that, with respect to an employee of an agen17 cy— 

18 ‘‘(i) the eligibility of the employee for 

19 benefits under the program is verified by 

20 an official of the agency; 

21 ‘‘(ii) employee commuting costs are 

22 verified by an official of the agency; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) records of the agency are 

24 checked to ensure that the employee is not 

25 receiving parking benefits from the agency. 


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1 ‘‘(D) PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION RE2 QUIREMENTS.—The guidance to be issued 

3 under subparagraph (A) shall contain program 

4 implementation requirements applicable to each 

5 agency to ensure that— 

6 ‘‘(i) benefits provided by the agency 

7 under the program are adjusted in cases of 

8 employee travel, leave, or change of ad9 dress; 

10 ‘‘(ii) removal from the program is in11 cluded in the procedures of the agency re12 lating to an employee separating from em13 ployment with the agency; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) benefits provided by the agency 

15 under the program are made available 

16 using an electronic format (rather than 

17 using paper fare media) where such a for18 mat is available for use. 

19 ‘‘(E) ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES.— 

20 The guidance to be issued under subparagraph 

21 (A) shall contain a uniform administrative pol22 icy on enforcement and penalties. Such policy 

23 shall be implemented by each agency to ensure 

24 compliance with program requirements, to pre25 vent fraud and abuse, and, as appropriate, to 


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1 penalize employees who have abused or misused 

2 the benefits provided under the program. 

3 ‘‘(F) PERIODIC REVIEWS.—The guidance 

4 to be issued under subparagraph (A) shall re5 quire each agency, not later than September 1 

6 of the first fiscal year beginning after the date 

7 of enactment of this paragraph, and every 3 

8 years thereafter, to develop and submit to the 

9 Secretary a review of the agency’s implementa10 tion of the program. Each such review shall 

11 contain, at a minimum, the following: 

12 ‘‘(i) An assessment of the agency’s 

13 implementation of the guidance, including 

14 a summary of the audits and investiga15 tions, if any, of the program conducted by 

16 the Inspector General of the agency. 

17 ‘‘(ii) Information on the total number 

18 of employees of the agency that are partici19 pating in the program. 

20 ‘‘(iii) Information on the total number 

21 of single occupancy vehicles removed from 

22 the roadway network as a result of partici23 pation by employees of the agency in the 

24 program. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) Information on energy savings 

2 and emissions reductions, including reduc3 tions in greenhouse gas emissions, result4 ing from reductions in single occupancy ve5 hicle use by employees of the agency that 

6 are participating in the program. 

7 ‘‘(v) Information on reduced conges8 tion and improved air quality resulting 

9 from reductions in single occupancy vehicle 

10 use by employees of the agency that are 

11 participating in the program. 

12 ‘‘(vi) Recommendations to increase 

13 program participation and thereby reduce 

14 single occupancy vehicle use by Federal 

15 employees nationwide. 

16 ‘‘(6) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Not later 

17 than September 30 of the first fiscal year beginning 

18 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, and 

19 every 3 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit 

20 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc21 ture and the Committee on Oversight and Govern22 ment Reform of the House of Representatives and 

23 the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af24 fairs of the Senate a report on nationwide implemen25 tation of the transit pass transportation fringe beneVerDate Aug 31 2005 07:23 Aug 02, 2008 Jkt 069002 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3380.IS S3380

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1 fits program under this subsection, including a sum2 mary of the information submitted by agencies pur3 suant to paragraph (5)(F).’’. 

4 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as otherwise specifi5 cally provided, the amendments made by this section shall 

6 become effective on the first day of the first fiscal year 

7 beginning after the date of enactment of this Act. 

8 SEC. 6. CAPITAL COST OF CONTRACTING VANPOOL PILOT 

9 PROGRAM. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Transpor11 tation shall establish and implement a pilot program to 

12 carry out vanpool demonstration projects in not more than 

13 3 urbanized areas and not more than 2 other than urban14 ized areas. 

15 (b) PILOT PROGRAM.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

17 5323(i) of title 49, United States Code, for each 

18 project selected for participation in the pilot pro19 gram, the Secretary shall allow the non-Federal 

20 share provided by a recipient of assistance for a cap21 ital project under chapter 53 of such title to include 

22 the amounts described in paragraph (2). 

23 (2) CONDITIONS ON ACQUISITION OF VANS.— 

24 The amounts referred to in paragraph (1) are any 

25 amounts expended by a private provider of public 


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1 transportation by vanpool for the acquisition of vans 

2 to be used by such private provider in the recipient’s 

3 service area, excluding any amounts the provider 

4 may have received in Federal, State, or local govern5 ment assistance for such acquisition, if the private 

6 provider enters into a legally binding agreement with 

7 the recipient that requires the private provider to 

8 use all revenues it receives in providing public trans9 portation in such service area, in excess of its oper10 ating costs, for the purpose of acquiring vans to be 

11 used by the private provider in such service area. 

12 (c) PROGRAM TERM.—The Secretary may approve an 

13 application for a vanpool demonstration project for fiscal 

14 years 2008 through 2009. 

15 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than one year 

16 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

17 submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infra18 structure of the House of Representatives and the Com19 mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the 

20 Senate a report containing an assessment of the costs, 

21 benefits, and efficiencies of the vanpool demonstration 

22 projects. 


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1 SEC. 7. INCREASED FEDERAL SHARE FOR END-OF-LINE 

2 FIXED GUIDEWAY STATIONS. 

3 Notwithstanding section 5309(h) of title 49, United 

4 States Code, a grant for a capital project to be assisted 

5 under section 5309 of such title during fiscal years 2008 

6 and 2009 that involves the acquisition of real property for, 

7 or the design, engineering, or construction of, additional 

8 parking facilities at an end-of-line fixed guideway station 

9 or at a park-and-ride lot that serves a fixed route com10 muter bus route that is more than 20 miles in length shall 

11 be for 100 percent of the net capital cost of the project 

12 unless the grant recipient requests a lower grant percent13 age. 

14 SEC. 8. NATIONAL CONSUMER AWARENESS PROGRAM. 

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

16 shall carry out a national consumer awareness program 

17 to educate the public on the environmental, energy, and 

18 economic benefits of public transportation alternatives to 

19 the use of single occupancy vehicles. 

20 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

21 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

22 $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2009. Such sums shall remain 

23 available until expended. 


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1 SEC. 9. EXCEPTION TO ALTERNATIVE FUEL PROCUREMENT 

2 REQUIREMENT. 

3 Section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security 

4 Act of 2007 (Public Law 110–140; 42 U.S.C. 17142) is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘No Federal agency’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—Except as provided in 

8 subsection (b), no Federal agency’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) does not prohibit 

11 a Federal agency from entering into a contract to pur12 chase a generally available fuel that is not an alternative 

13 or synthetic fuel or predominantly produced from a non14 conventional petroleum source, if— 

15 ‘‘(1) the contract does not specifically require 

16 the contractor to provide an alternative or synthetic 

17 fuel or fuel from a nonconventional petroleum 

18 source; 

19 ‘‘(2) the purpose of the contract is not to obtain 

20 an alternative or synthetic fuel or fuel from a non21 conventional petroleum source; and 

22 ‘‘(3) the contract does not provide incentives for 

23 a refinery upgrade or expansion to allow a refinery 

24 to use or increase its use of fuel from a nonconven25 tional petroleum source.’’. 

Æ 


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