II 

Calendar No. 319 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 775 

To establish a National Commission on the Infrastructure of the United 

States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 6, 2007 

Mr. CARPER (for himself, Mr. VOINOVICH, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. 

LIEBERMAN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. KERRY, and Mr. SCHUMER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

AUGUST 2, 2007 

Reported by Mrs. BOXER, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To establish a National Commission on the Infrastructure 

of the United States. 

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 ‘‘National Infrastruc5 ture Improvement Act of 2007’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ACQUISITION.—The term ‘‘acquisition’’ in4 cludes the addition of land, sites, equipment, struc5 tures, facilities, or rolling stock by purchase, lease6 purchase, trade, or donation. 

7 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

8 means the National Commission on the Infrastruc9 ture of the United States established by section 3(a). 

10 (3) CONSTRUCTION.—The term ‘‘construction’’ 

11 means— 

12 (A) the design, planning, and erection of 

13 new infrastructure; 

14 (B) the expansion of existing infrastruc15 ture; 

16 (C) the reconstruction of an infrastructure 

17 project at an existing site; and 

18 (D) the installation of initial or replace19 ment infrastructure equipment. 

20 (4) INFRASTRUCTURE.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘infrastruc22 ture’’ means a nonmilitary structure or facility 

23 and equipment associated with that structure or 

24 facility. 

25 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘infrastruc26 ture’’ includes— 


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1 (i) a surface transportation facility 

2 (such as a road, bridge, highway, public 

3 transportation facility, and freight and 

4 passenger rail), as the Commission, in con5 sultation with the National Surface Trans6 portation Policy and Revenue Study Com7 mission established by section 1909(b)(1) 

8 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Effi9 cient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy 

10 for Users (Public Law 109–59; 119 Stat. 

11 1471), determines to be appropriate; 

12 (ii) a mass transit facility; 

13 (iii) an airport or airway facility; 

14 (iv) a resource recovery facility; 

15 (v) a water supply and distribution 

16 system; 

17 (vi) a wastewater collection, treat18 ment, and related facility; 

19 (vii) waterways, locks, and dams; 

20 (viii) a levee and any related flood21 control facility; 

22 (ix) a dock or port; and 

23 (x) a solid waste disposal facility. 

24 (5) MAINTENANCE.—The term ‘‘maintenance’’ 

25 means any regularly scheduled activity, such as a 


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1 routine repair, intended to ensure that infrastruc2 ture continues to operate efficiently. 

3 (6) REHABILITATION.—The term ‘‘rehabilita4 tion’’ means— 

5 (A) the correction of a deficiency in exist6 ing infrastructure so as to extend the useful life 

7 or improve the effectiveness of the infrastruc8 ture; 

9 (B) the modernization or replacement of 

10 equipment of existing infrastructure; and 

11 (C) the modernization of, or replacement 

12 of parts for, rolling stock relating to infrastruc13 ture. 

14 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com16 mission to be known as the ‘‘National Commission on the 

17 Infrastructure of the United States’’ to ensure that the 

18 infrastructure of the United States— 

19 (1) meets current and future demand; and 

20 (2) facilitates economic growth. 

21 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

22 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be 

23 composed of 8 members, of whom— 

24 (A) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

25 President; 


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1 (B) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

2 Speaker of the House of Representatives; 

3 (C) 1 member shall be appointed by the 

4 minority leader of the House of Representa5 tives; 

6 (D) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

7 majority leader of the Senate; and 

8 (E) 1 member shall be appointed by the 

9 minority leader of the Senate. 

10 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Each member of the 

11 Commission shall have experience in 1 or more of 

12 the fields of economics, public administration, civil 

13 engineering, public works, construction, and related 

14 design professions, planning, or public investment fi15 nancing. 

16 (3) DATE OF APPOINTMENTS.—The members 

17 of the Commission shall be appointed under para18 graph (1) not later than 90 days after the enact19 ment of this Act. 

20 (c) TERM; VACANCIES.— 

21 (1) TERM.—A member shall be appointed for 

22 the life of the Commission. 

23 (2) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commis24 sion— 


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1 (A) shall not affect the powers of the Com2 mission; and 

3 (B) shall be filled, not later than 30 days 

4 after the date on which the vacancy occurs, in 

5 the same manner as the original appointment 

6 was made. 

7 (d) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days after 

8 the date on which all members of the Commission have 

9 been appointed, the Commission shall hold the initial 

10 meeting of the Commission. 

11 (e) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the 

12 call of the Chairperson or the majority of the Commission 

13 members. 

14 (f) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 

15 Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser num16 ber of members may hold hearings. 

17 (g) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The 

18 Commission shall select a Chairperson and Vice Chair19 person from among the members of the Commission. 

20 SEC. 4. DUTIES. 

21 (a) STUDY.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than February 15, 

23 2009, the Commission, in consultation with the advi24 sory group established by paragraph (3)(A), shall 


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1 complete a study of all matters relating to the state 

2 of the infrastructure of the United States. 

3 (2) MATTERS TO BE STUDIED.—In carrying out 

4 paragraph (1), the Commission shall study matters 

5 such as— 

6 (A) the capacity of infrastructure improve7 ments to sustain current and anticipated eco8 nomic development and competitiveness, includ9 ing long-term economic growth, including the 

10 potential return to the United States economy 

11 on investments in new infrastructure as op12 posed to investments in existing infrastructure; 

13 (B) the age and condition of public infra14 structure (including congestion and changes in 

15 the condition of that infrastructure as com16 pared with preceding years); 

17 (C) the methods used to finance the con18 struction, acquisition, rehabilitation, and main19 tenance of public works improvements (includ20 ing general obligation bonds, tax-credit bonds, 

21 revenue bonds, user fees, excise taxes, direct 

22 governmental assistance, and private invest23 ment), including the effect of different finance 

24 structures on the efficiency of infrastructure; 


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1 (D) any trends or innovations in methods 

2 used to finance that construction, acquisition, 

3 rehabilitation, and maintenance; 

4 (E) investment requirements, by type of 

5 facility, that are necessary to maintain the cur6 rent condition and performance of those facili7 ties and the investment needed (as adjusted for 

8 inflation and expressed in real dollars) to im9 prove those facilities in the future; 

10 (F)(i) the projected share of Federal, 

11 State, local, and other government levels of in12 vestment requirements as identified in subpara13 graph (E); and 

14 (ii) the projected expenditure on infra15 structure facility improvements described in 

16 subparagraph (E) by each level of government; 

17 (G) estimates of the return to the economy 

18 from public works investment; 

19 (H) any trends or innovations in infra20 structure procurement methods; 

21 (I) any trends or innovations in construc22 tion methods or materials; and 

23 (J) the impact of various land use and eco24 nomic development strategies on infrastructure 

25 needs and investment decisions, including the 


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1 effect of metropolitan growth patterns on infra2 structure costs and deferred maintenance. 

3 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission shall de4 velop recommendations— 

5 (1) on a Federal infrastructure plan that will 

6 detail national infrastructure program priorities, in7 cluding alternative methods of meeting national in8 frastructure investment needs to effectuate balanced 

9 growth and economic development; 

10 (2) on public works improvements and methods 

11 of delivering and providing for public work facilities; 

12 (3) for analysis or criteria and procedures that 

13 may be used by Federal agencies and State and local 

14 governments in— 

15 (A) inventorying existing and needed pub16 lic works improvements; 

17 (B) assessing the condition of public works 

18 improvements; and 

19 (C) developing uniform criteria and proce20 dures for use in conducting those inventories 

21 and assessments; and 

22 (4) for proposed guidelines for the uniform re23 porting, by Federal agencies, of construction, acqui24 sition, rehabilitation, and maintenance data with re25 spect to infrastructure improvements. 


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1 (c) STATEMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not 

2 later than February 15, 2010, the Commission shall sub3 mit to Congress— 

4 (1) a detailed statement of the findings and 

5 conclusions of the Commission; and 

6 (2) the recommendations of the Commission 

7 under subsection (b), including recommendations for 

8 such legislation and administrative actions for 5-, 

9 15-, 30-, and 50-year time periods as the Commis10 sion considers to be appropriate. 

11 SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 

12 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission shall hold such 

13 hearings, meet and act at such times and places, take such 

14 testimony, administer such oaths, and receive such evi15 dence as the Commission considers advisable to carry out 

16 this Act. 

17 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may secure 

19 directly from a Federal agency such information as 

20 the Commission considers necessary to carry out this 

21 Act. 

22 (2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—On request 

23 of the Chairperson of the Commission, the head of 

24 the Federal agency shall provide the information to 

25 the Commission. 


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1 (c) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, and 

2 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property. 

3 (d) CONTRACTS.—The Commission may enter into 

4 contracts with other entities, including contracts under 

5 which 1 or more entities, with the guidance of the Com6 mission, conduct the study required under section 4(a). 

7 (e) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 

8 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

9 the same conditions as other agencies of the Federal Gov10 ernment. 

11 SEC. 6. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

12 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—A member of the 

13 Commission shall serve without pay, but shall be allowed 

14 a per diem allowance for travel expenses, at rates author15 ized for an employee of an agency under subchapter I of 

16 chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from 

17 the home or regular place of business of the member in 

18 the performance of the duties of the Commission. 

19 (b) STAFF.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the 

21 Commission may, without regard to the civil service 

22 laws, including regulations, appoint and terminate 

23 an executive director and such other additional per24 sonnel as are necessary to enable the Commission to 

25 perform the duties of the Commission. 


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1 (2) CONFIRMATION OF EXECUTIVE DIREC2 TOR.—The employment of an executive director shall 

3 be subject to confirmation by a majority of the mem4 bers of the Commission. 

5 (3) COMPENSATION.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

7 subparagraph (B), the Chairperson of the Com8 mission may fix the compensation of the execu9 tive director and other personnel without regard 

10 to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter 

11 III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, 

12 relating to classification of positions and Gen13 eral Schedule pay rates. 

14 (B) MAXIMUM RATE OF PAY.—In no event 

15 shall any employee of the Commission (other 

16 than the executive director) receive as com17 pensation an amount in excess of the maximum 

18 rate of pay for Executive Level IV under sec19 tion 5315 of title 5, United States Code. 

20 (c) DETAIL OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOY21 EES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—An employee of the Federal 

23 Government may be detailed to the Commission 

24 without reimbursement. 


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1 (2) CIVIL SERVICE STATUS.—The detail of a 

2 Federal employee shall be without interruption or 

3 loss of civil service status or privilege. 

4 (d) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT5 TENT SERVICES.—On request of the Commission, the Sec6 retary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, 

7 shall provide, on a reimbursable basis, such office space, 

8 supplies, equipment, and other support services to the 

9 Commission and staff of the Commission as are necessary 

10 for the Commission to carry out the duties of the Commis11 sion under this Act. 

12 SEC. 7. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE REVIEW. 

13 Not later than 90 days after the date on which the 

14 report under section 4(c) is submitted to Congress by the 

15 Commission, the Congressional Budget Office shall review 

16 the report and submit a report on the results of the review 

17 to the Committee on Environment and Public Works and 

18 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

19 of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and 

20 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives. 

21 SEC. 8. FUNDING. 

22 For each of fiscal years 2008 through 2010, on re23 quest of the Commission— 


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1 (1) the Secretary of Transportation shall trans2 fer to the Commission $750,000 to carry out this 

3 Act; and 

4 (2) each of the Secretary of the Army, acting 

5 through the Chief of Engineers, and the Adminis6 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall 

7 transfer to the Commission $375,000 to carry out 

8 this Act. 

9 SEC. 9. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION. 

10 The Commission shall terminate on September 30, 

11 2010. 

12 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

13 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Infrastructure 

14 Improvement Act of 2007’’. 

15 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

17 (1) ACQUISITION.—The term ‘‘acquisition’’ in18 cludes any necessary activities for siting a facility, 

19 equipment, structures, or rolling stock by purchase, 

20 lease-purchase, trade, or donation. 

21 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

22 means the National Commission on the Infrastructure 

23 of the United States established by section 3(a). 

24 (3) CONSTRUCTION.—The term ‘‘construction’’ 

25 means— 


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1 (A) the design, planning, and erection of 

2 new infrastructure; 

3 (B) the expansion of existing infrastructure; 

4 (C) the reconstruction of an infrastructure 

5 project at an existing site; and 

6 (D) the installation of initial or replace7 ment infrastructure equipment. 

8 (4) INFRASTRUCTURE.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘infrastruc10 ture’’ means a nonmilitary structure or facility, 

11 and any equipment and any nonstructural ele12 ments associated with such a structure or facil13 ity. 

14 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘infrastruc15 ture’’ includes— 

16 (i) a surface transportation facility 

17 (such as a road, bridge, highway, public 

18 transportation facility, and freight and pas19 senger rail), as the Commission, in con20 sultation with the National Surface Trans21 portation Policy and Revenue Study Com22 mission established by section 1909(b)(1) of 

23 the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 

24 Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for 


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1 Users (Public Law 109–59; 119 Stat. 1471), 

2 determines to be appropriate; 

3 (ii) a mass transit facility; 

4 (iii) an airport or airway facility; 

5 (iv) a resource recovery facility; 

6 (v) a water supply and distribution 

7 system; 

8 (vi) a wastewater collection, convey9 ance, or treatment system, and related fa10 cilities; 

11 (vii) a stormwater treatment system to 

12 manage, reduce, treat, or reuse municipal 

13 stormwater; 

14 (viii) waterways, locks, dams, and as15 sociated facilities; 

16 (ix) a levee and any related flood dam17 age reduction facility; 

18 (x) a dock or port; and 

19 (xi) a solid waste disposal facility. 

20 (5) NONSTRUCTURAL ELEMENTS.—The term 

21 ‘‘nonstructural elements’’ includes — 

22 (A) any feature that preserves and restores 

23 a natural process, a landform (including a flood24 plain), a natural vegetated stream side buffer, 

25 wetland, or any other topographical feature that 


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1 can slow, filter, and naturally store storm water 

2 runoff and flood waters; 

3 (B) any natural design technique that per4 colates, filters, stores, evaporates, and detains 

5 water close to the source of the water; and 

6 (C) any feature that minimizes or dis7 connects impervious surfaces to slow runoff or 

8 allow precipitation to percolate. 

9 (6) MAINTENANCE.—The term ‘‘maintenance’’ 

10 means any regularly scheduled activity, such as a 

11 routine repair, intended to ensure that infrastructure 

12 continues to operate efficiently and as intended. 

13 (7) REHABILITATION.—The term ‘‘rehabilita14 tion’’ means an action to extend the useful life or im15 prove the effectiveness of existing infrastructure, in16 cluding— 

17 (A) the correction of a deficiency; 

18 (B) the modernization or replacement of 

19 equipment; 

20 (C) the modernization of, or replacement of 

21 parts for, rolling stock relating to infrastructure; 

22 (D) the use of nonstructural elements; and 

23 (E) the removal of infrastructure that is de24 teriorated or no longer useful. 


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1 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a commis3 sion to be known as the ‘‘National Commission on the Infra4 structure of the United States’’ to ensure that the infrastruc5 ture of the United States— 

6 (1) meets current and future demand; 

7 (2) facilitates economic growth; 

8 (3) is maintained in a manner that ensures pub9 lic safety; and 

10 (4) is developed or modified in a sustainable 

11 manner. 

12 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

13 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be 

14 composed of 8 members, of whom— 

15 (A) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

16 President; 

17 (B) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

18 Speaker of the House of Representatives; 

19 (C) 1 member shall be appointed by the mi20 nority leader of the House of Representatives; 

21 (D) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

22 majority leader of the Senate; and 

23 (E) 1 member shall be appointed by the mi24 nority leader of the Senate. 

25 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Each member of the Com26 mission shall— 


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1 (A) have experience in 1 or more of the 

2 fields of economics, public administration, civil 

3 engineering, public works, construction, and re4 lated design professions, planning, public invest5 ment financing, environmental engineering, or 

6 water resources engineering; and 

7 (B) represent a cross-section of geographical 

8 regions of the United States. 

9 (3) DATE OF APPOINTMENTS.—The members of 

10 the Commission shall be appointed under paragraph 

11 (1) not later than 90 days after the enactment of this 

12 Act. 

13 (c) TERM; VACANCIES.— 

14 (1) TERM.—A member shall be appointed for the 

15 life of the Commission. 

16 (2) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commis17 sion— 

18 (A) shall not affect the powers of the Com19 mission; and 

20 (B) shall be filled, not later than 30 days 

21 after the date on which the vacancy occurs, in 

22 the same manner as the original appointment 

23 was made. 

24 (d) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days after 

25 the date on which all members of the Commission have been 


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1 appointed, the Commission shall hold the initial meeting 

2 of the Commission. 

3 (e) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the call 

4 of the Chairperson or the request of the majority of the Com5 mission members. 

6 (f) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the Com7 mission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of 

8 members may hold hearings. 

9 (g) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The 

10 Commission shall select a Chairperson and Vice Chair11 person from among the members of the Commission. 

12 SEC. 4. DUTIES. 

13 (a) STUDY.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than February 15, 

15 2009, the Commission shall complete a study of all 

16 matters relating to the state of the infrastructure of 

17 the United States. 

18 (2) MATTERS TO BE STUDIED.—In carrying out 

19 paragraph (1), the Commission shall study matters 

20 such as— 

21 (A) the capacity of infrastructure to sustain 

22 current and anticipated economic development 

23 and competitiveness, including long-term eco24 nomic growth, including the potential return to 

25 the United States economy on investments in 


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1 new infrastructure as opposed to investments in 

2 existing infrastructure; 

3 (B) the age and condition of public infra4 structure (including congestion and changes in 

5 the condition of that infrastructure as compared 

6 with preceding years); 

7 (C) the methods used to finance the con8 struction, acquisition, rehabilitation, and main9 tenance of infrastructure (including general obli10 gation bonds, tax-credit bonds, revenue bonds, 

11 user fees, excise taxes, direct governmental assist12 ance, and private investment); 

13 (D) any trends or innovations in methods 

14 used to finance the construction, acquisition, re15 habilitation, and maintenance of infrastructure; 

16 (E) investment requirements, by type of in17 frastructure, that are necessary to maintain the 

18 current condition and performance of the infra19 structure and the investment needed (adjusted for 

20 inflation and expressed in real dollars) to im21 prove infrastructure in the future; 

22 (F) based on the current level of expenditure 

23 (calculated as a percentage of total expenditure 

24 and in constant dollars) by Federal, State, and 

25 local governments— 


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1 (i) the projected amount of need the ex2 penditures will meet 5, 15, 30, and 50 years 

3 after the date of enactment of this Act; and 

4 (ii) the levels of investment require5 ments, as identified under subparagraph 

6 (E); 

7 (G) any trends or innovations in infra8 structure procurement methods; 

9 (H) any trends or innovations in construc10 tion methods or materials for infrastructure; 

11 (I) the impact of local development patterns 

12 on demand for Federal funding of infrastructure; 

13 (J) the impact of deferred maintenance; and 

14 (K) the collateral impact of deteriorated in15 frastructure. 

16 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission shall de17 velop recommendations— 

18 (1) on a Federal infrastructure plan that will 

19 detail national infrastructure program priorities, in20 cluding alternative methods of meeting national in21 frastructure investment needs to effectuate balanced 

22 economic development; 

23 (2) on infrastructure improvements and methods 

24 of delivering and providing for infrastructure facili25 ties; 


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1 (3) for analysis or criteria and procedures that 

2 may be used by Federal agencies and State and local 

3 governments in— 

4 (A) inventorying existing and needed infra5 structure improvements; 

6 (B) assessing the condition of infrastructure 

7 improvements; 

8 (C) developing uniform criteria and proce9 dures for use in conducting the inventories and 

10 assessments; and 

11 (D) maintaining publicly accessible data; 

12 and 

13 (4) for proposed guidelines for the uniform re14 porting, by Federal agencies, of construction, acquisi15 tion, rehabilitation, and maintenance data with re16 spect to infrastructure improvements. 

17 (c) STATEMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later 

18 than February 15, 2010, the Commission shall submit to 

19 Congress— 

20 (1) a detailed statement of the findings and con21 clusions of the Commission; and 

22 (2) the recommendations of the Commission 

23 under subsection (b), including recommendations for 

24 such legislation and administrative actions for 5-, 


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1 15-, 30-, and 50-year time periods as the Commission 

2 considers to be appropriate. 

3 SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 

4 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission shall hold such hear5 ings, meet and act at such times and places, take such testi6 mony, administer such oaths, and receive such evidence as 

7 the Commission considers advisable to carry out this Act. 

8 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may secure 

10 directly from a Federal agency such information as 

11 the Commission considers necessary to carry out this 

12 Act. 

13 (2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—On request of 

14 the Chairperson of the Commission, the head of the 

15 Federal agency shall provide the information to the 

16 Commission. 

17 (c) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, and dis18 pose of gifts or donations of services or property. 

19 (d) CONTRACTS.—The Commission may enter into 

20 contracts with other entities, including contracts under 

21 which 1 or more entities, with the guidance of the Commis22 sion, conduct the study required under section 4(a). 

23 (e) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use the 

24 United States mails in the same manner and under the 


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1 same conditions as other agencies of the Federal Govern2 ment. 

3 SEC. 6. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

4 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—A member of the 

5 Commission shall serve without pay, but shall be allowed 

6 a per diem allowance for travel expenses, at rates author7 ized for an employee of an agency under subchapter I of 

8 chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from 

9 the home or regular place of business of the member in the 

10 performance of the duties of the Commission. 

11 (b) STAFF.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the Com13 mission may, without regard to the civil service laws, 

14 including regulations, appoint and terminate an exec15 utive director and such other additional personnel as 

16 are necessary to enable the Commission to perform the 

17 duties of the Commission. 

18 (2) CONFIRMATION OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.— 

19 The employment of an executive director shall be sub20 ject to confirmation by a majority of the members of 

21 the Commission. 

22 (3) COMPENSATION.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

24 subparagraph (B), the Chairperson of the Com25 mission may fix the compensation of the execuVerDate Aug 31 2005 06:23 Aug 03, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S775.RS S775

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1 tive director and other personnel without regard 

2 to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter 

3 III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, 

4 relating to classification of positions and Gen5 eral Schedule pay rates. 

6 (B) MAXIMUM RATE OF PAY.—In no event 

7 shall any employee of the Commission (other 

8 than the executive director) receive as compensa9 tion an amount in excess of the maximum rate 

10 of pay for Executive Level IV under section 5315 

11 of title 5, United States Code. 

12 (c) DETAIL OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—An employee of the Federal 

14 Government may be detailed to the Commission with15 out reimbursement. 

16 (2) CIVIL SERVICE STATUS.—The detail of a 

17 Federal employee shall be without interruption or loss 

18 of civil service status or privilege. 

19 (d) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT20 TENT SERVICES.—On request of the Commission, the Sec21 retary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, 

22 shall provide, on a reimbursable basis, such office space, 

23 supplies, equipment, and other support services to the Com24 mission and staff of the Commission as are necessary for 


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1 the Commission to carry out the duties of the Commission 

2 under this Act. 

3 SEC. 7. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE REVIEW. 

4 Not later than 90 days after the date on which the re5 port under section 4(c) is submitted to Congress by the 

6 Commission, the Congressional Budget Office shall review 

7 the report and submit a report on the results of the review 

8 to— 

9 (1) the Committees on Environment and Public 

10 Works, Energy and Natural Resources, and Com11 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate; 

12 and 

13 (2) the Committees on Transportation and Infra14 structure and Natural Resources of the House of Rep15 resentatives. 

16 SEC. 8. REPORTS. 

17 (a) INTERIM REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after 

18 the date of the initial meeting of the Commission, the Com19 mission shall submit an interim report containing a de20 tailed summary of the progress of the Commission, includ21 ing meetings and hearings conducted during the interim pe22 riod, to— 

23 (1) the President; 


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•S 775 RS

1 (2) the Committees on Transportation and Infra2 structure and Natural Resources of the House of Rep3 resentatives; and 

4 (3) the Committees on Environment and Public 

5 Works, Energy and Natural Resources, and Com6 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

7 (b) FINAL REPORT.—On termination of the Commis8 sion under section 10, the Commission shall submit a final 

9 report containing a detailed statement of the findings and 

10 conclusions of the Commission and recommendations for 

11 legislation and other policies to implement those findings 

12 and conclusions, to— 

13 (1) the President; 

14 (2) the Committees on Transportation and Infra15 structure and Natural Resources of the House of Rep16 resentatives; and 

17 (3) the Committees on Environment and Public 

18 Works, Energy and Natural Resources, and Com19 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

20 (c) TRANSPARENCY.—A report submitted under sub21 section (a) or (b) shall be made available to the public elec22 tronically, in a user-friendly format, including on the 

23 Internet. 


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•S 775 RS

1 SEC. 9. FUNDING. 

2 For each of fiscal years 2008 through 2010, upon re3 quest by the Commission— 

4 (1) using amounts made available to the Sec5 retary of Transportation from any source or account 

6 other than the Highway Trust Fund, the Secretary of 

7 Transportation shall transfer to the Commission 

8 $750,000 for use in carrying out this Act; 

9 (2) using amounts from the General Expenses 

10 account of the Corps of Engineers (other than 

11 amounts in that account made available through the 

12 Department of Defense), the Secretary of the Army, 

13 acting through the Chief of Engineers, shall transfer 

14 to the Commission $250,000 for use in carrying out 

15 this Act; and 

16 (3) the Administrator of the Environmental Pro17 tection Agency shall transfer to the Commission 

18 $250,000 for use in carrying out this Act. 

19 SEC. 10. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION. 

20 The Commission shall terminate on September 30, 

21 2010. 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS
Calendar No. 319 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 775 

A BILL 

To establish a National Commission on the 

Infrastructure of the United States. 

AUGUST 2, 2007 

Reported with an amendment 


hmoore on PRODPC68 with HMBILLS