I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 775 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 3, 2007 

Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

AN ACT 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Infrastruc3 ture Improvement Act of 2007’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) ACQUISITION.—The term ‘‘acquisition’’ in7 cludes any necessary activities for siting a facility, 

8 equipment, structures, or rolling stock by purchase, 

9 lease-purchase, trade, or donation. 

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

11 means the National Commission on the Infrastruc12 ture of the United States established by section 3(a). 

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

14 means— 

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

16 new infrastructure; 

17 (B) the expansion of existing infrastruc18 ture; 

19 (C) the reconstruction of an infrastructure 

20 project at an existing site; and 

21 (D) the installation of initial or replace22 ment infrastructure equipment. 

23 (4) INFRASTRUCTURE.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘infrastruc25 ture’’ means a nonmilitary structure or facility, 

26 and any equipment and any nonstructural eleVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:30 Sep 08, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S775.RFH S775

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1 ments associated with such a structure or facil2 ity. 

3 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘infrastruc4 ture’’ includes— 

5 (i) a surface transportation facility 

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

7 transportation facility, and freight and 

8 passenger rail), as the Commission, in con9 sultation with the National Surface Trans10 portation Policy and Revenue Study Com11 mission established by section 1909(b)(1) 

12 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Effi13 cient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy 

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

15 1471), determines to be appropriate; 

16 (ii) a mass transit facility; 

17 (iii) an airport or airway facility; 

18 (iv) a resource recovery facility; 

19 (v) a water supply and distribution 

20 system; 

21 (vi) a wastewater collection, convey22 ance, or treatment system, and related fa23 cilities; 


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1 (vii) a stormwater treatment system 

2 to manage, reduce, treat, or reuse munic3 ipal stormwater; 

4 (viii) waterways, locks, dams, and as5 sociated facilities; 

6 (ix) a levee and any related flood 

7 damage reduction facility; 

8 (x) a dock or port; and 

9 (xi) a solid waste disposal facility. 

10 (5) NONSTRUCTURAL ELEMENTS.—The term 

11 ‘‘nonstructural elements’’ includes — 

12 (A) any feature that preserves and restores 

13 a natural process, a landform (including a 

14 floodplain), a natural vegetated stream side 

15 buffer, wetland, or any other topographical fea16 ture that can slow, filter, and naturally store 

17 storm water runoff and flood waters; 

18 (B) any natural design technique that per19 colates, filters, stores, evaporates, and detains 

20 water close to the source of the water; and 

21 (C) any feature that minimizes or dis22 connects impervious surfaces to slow runoff or 

23 allow precipitation to percolate. 

24 (6) 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 and as intended. 

3 (7) REHABILITATION.—The term ‘‘rehabilita4 tion’’ means an action to extend the useful life or 

5 improve the effectiveness of existing infrastructure, 

6 including— 

7 (A) the correction of a deficiency; 

8 (B) the modernization or replacement of 

9 equipment; 

10 (C) the modernization of, or replacement 

11 of parts for, rolling stock relating to infrastruc12 ture; 

13 (D) the use of nonstructural elements; and 

14 (E) the removal of infrastructure that is 

15 deteriorated or no longer useful. 

16 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com18 mission to be known as the ‘‘National Commission on the 

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

20 infrastructure of the United States— 

21 (1) meets current and future demand; 

22 (2) facilitates economic growth; 

23 (3) is maintained in a manner that ensures 

24 public safety; and 


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1 (4) is developed or modified in a sustainable 

2 manner. 

3 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

4 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be 

5 composed of 8 members, of whom— 

6 (A) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

7 President; 

8 (B) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

9 Speaker of the House of Representatives; 

10 (C) 1 member shall be appointed by the 

11 minority leader of the House of Representa12 tives; 

13 (D) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

14 majority leader of the Senate; and 

15 (E) 1 member shall be appointed by the 

16 minority leader of the Senate. 

17 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Each member of the 

18 Commission shall— 

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

20 fields of economics, public administration, civil 

21 engineering, public works, construction, and re22 lated design professions, planning, public in23 vestment financing, environmental engineering, 

24 or water resources engineering; and 


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1 (B) represent a cross-section of geo2 graphical regions of the United States. 

3 (3) DATE OF APPOINTMENTS.—The members 

4 of the Commission shall be appointed under para5 graph (1) not later than 90 days after the enact6 ment of this Act. 

7 (c) TERM; VACANCIES.— 

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

9 the life of the Commission. 

10 (2) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commis11 sion— 

12 (A) shall not affect the powers of the Com13 mission; and 

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

15 after the date on which the vacancy occurs, in 

16 the same manner as the original appointment 

17 was made. 

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

19 the date on which all members of the Commission have 

20 been appointed, the Commission shall hold the initial 

21 meeting of the Commission. 

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

23 call of the Chairperson or the request of the majority of 

24 the Commission members. 


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

2 Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser num3 ber of members may hold hearings. 

4 (g) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The 

5 Commission shall select a Chairperson and Vice Chair6 person from among the members of the Commission. 

7 SEC. 4. DUTIES. 

8 (a) STUDY.— 

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

10 2009, the Commission shall complete a study of all 

11 matters relating to the state of the infrastructure of 

12 the United States. 

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

14 paragraph (1), the Commission shall study matters 

15 such as— 

16 (A) the capacity of infrastructure to sus17 tain current and anticipated economic develop18 ment and competitiveness, including long-term 

19 economic growth, including the potential return 

20 to the United States economy on investments in 

21 new infrastructure as opposed to investments in 

22 existing infrastructure; 

23 (B) the age and condition of public infra24 structure (including congestion and changes in 


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1 the condition of that infrastructure as com2 pared with preceding years); 

3 (C) the methods used to finance the con4 struction, acquisition, rehabilitation, and main5 tenance of infrastructure (including general ob6 ligation bonds, tax-credit bonds, revenue bonds, 

7 user fees, excise taxes, direct governmental as8 sistance, and private investment); 

9 (D) any trends or innovations in methods 

10 used to finance the construction, acquisition, re11 habilitation, and maintenance of infrastructure; 

12 (E) investment requirements, by type of 

13 infrastructure, that are necessary to maintain 

14 the current condition and performance of the 

15 infrastructure and the investment needed (ad16 justed for inflation and expressed in real dol17 lars) to improve infrastructure in the future; 

18 (F) based on the current level of expendi19 ture (calculated as a percentage of total expend20 iture and in constant dollars) by Federal, State, 

21 and local governments— 

22 (i) the projected amount of need the 

23 expenditures will meet 5, 15, 30, and 50 

24 years after the date of enactment of this 

25 Act; and 


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1 (ii) the levels of investment require2 ments, as identified under subparagraph 

3 (E); 

4 (G) any trends or innovations in infra5 structure procurement methods; 

6 (H) any trends or innovations in construc7 tion methods or materials for infrastructure; 

8 (I) the impact of local development pat9 terns on demand for Federal funding of infra10 structure; 

11 (J) the impact of deferred maintenance; 

12 and 

13 (K) the collateral impact of deteriorated 

14 infrastructure. 

15 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission shall de16 velop recommendations— 

17 (1) on a Federal infrastructure plan that will 

18 detail national infrastructure program priorities, in19 cluding alternative methods of meeting national in20 frastructure investment needs to effectuate balanced 

21 economic development; 

22 (2) on infrastructure improvements and meth23 ods of delivering and providing for infrastructure fa24 cilities; 


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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 infrastruc7 ture 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, acqui15 sition, rehabilitation, and maintenance data with re16 spect to infrastructure improvements. 

17 (c) STATEMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not 

18 later than February 15, 2010, the Commission shall sub19 mit to Congress— 

20 (1) a detailed statement of the findings and 

21 conclusions 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 Commis2 sion considers to be appropriate. 

3 SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 

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

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

6 testimony, administer such oaths, and receive such evi7 dence as the Commission considers advisable to carry out 

8 this Act. 

9 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

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

11 directly from a Federal agency such information as 

12 the Commission considers necessary to carry out this 

13 Act. 

14 (2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—On request 

15 of the Chairperson of the Commission, the head of 

16 the Federal agency shall provide the information to 

17 the Commission. 

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

19 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property. 

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

21 contracts with other entities, including contracts under 

22 which 1 or more entities, with the guidance of the Com23 mission, conduct the study required under section 4(a). 

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

25 the United States mails in the same manner and under 


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1 the same conditions as other agencies of the Federal Gov2 ernment. 

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 

10 the performance of the duties of the Commission. 

11 (b) STAFF.— 

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

13 Commission may, without regard to the civil service 

14 laws, including regulations, appoint and terminate 

15 an executive director and such other additional per16 sonnel as are necessary to enable the Commission to 

17 perform the duties of the Commission. 

18 (2) CONFIRMATION OF EXECUTIVE DIREC19 TOR.—The employment of an executive director shall 

20 be subject to confirmation by a majority of the mem21 bers of 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 02:30 Sep 08, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S775.RFH 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 com9 pensation an amount in excess of the maximum 

10 rate of pay for Executive Level IV under sec11 tion 5315 of title 5, United States Code. 

12 (c) DETAIL OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOY13 EES.— 

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

15 Government may be detailed to the Commission 

16 without reimbursement. 

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

18 Federal employee shall be without interruption or 

19 loss of civil service status or privilege. 

20 (d) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT21 TENT SERVICES.—On request of the Commission, the Sec22 retary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, 

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

24 supplies, equipment, and other support services to the 

25 Commission and staff of the Commission as are necessary 


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1 for the Commission to carry out the duties of the Commis2 sion under this Act. 

3 SEC. 7. REPORTS. 

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

5 the date of the initial meeting of the Commission, the 

6 Commission shall submit an interim report containing a 

7 detailed summary of the progress of the Commission, in8 cluding meetings and hearings conducted during the in9 terim period, to— 

10 (1) the President; 

11 (2) the Committees on Transportation and In12 frastructure and Natural Resources of the House of 

13 Representatives; and 

14 (3) the Committees on Environment and Public 

15 Works, Energy and Natural Resources, and Com16 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

17 (b) FINAL REPORT.—On termination of the Commis18 sion under section 9, the Commission shall submit a final 

19 report containing a detailed statement of the findings and 

20 conclusions of the Commission and recommendations for 

21 legislation and other policies to implement those findings 

22 and conclusions, to— 

23 (1) the President; 


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1 (2) the Committees on Transportation and In2 frastructure and Natural Resources of the House of 

3 Representatives; 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 (c) TRANSPARENCY.—A report submitted under sub8 section (a) or (b) shall be made available to the public 

9 electronically, in a user-friendly format, including on the 

10 Internet. 

11 SEC. 8. FUNDING. 

12 For each of fiscal years 2008 through 2010, upon 

13 request by the Commission— 

14 (1) using amounts made available to the Sec15 retary of Transportation from any source or account 

16 other than the Highway Trust Fund, the Secretary 

17 of Transportation shall transfer to the Commission 

18 $750,000 for use in carrying out this Act; 

19 (2) using amounts from the General Expenses 

20 account of the Corps of Engineers (other than 

21 amounts in that account made available through the 

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

23 acting through the Chief of Engineers, shall transfer 

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

25 this Act; and 


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1 (3) the Administrator of the Environmental 

2 Protection Agency shall transfer to the Commission 

3 $250,000 for use in carrying out this Act. 

4 SEC. 9. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION. 

5 The Commission shall terminate on September 30, 

6 2010. 

Passed the Senate August 2, 2007. 

Attest: NANCY ERICKSON, 

Secretary. 


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