II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1036 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish national purposes and 

goals for Federal surface transportation activities and programs and 

create a national surface transportation plan. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 14, 2009 

Mr. REID (for Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself and Mr. LAUTENBERG)) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish national 

purposes and goals for Federal surface transportation 

activities and programs and create a national surface 

transportation plan. 

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 ‘‘Federal Surface Trans5 portation Policy and Planning Act of 2009’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIONAL SURFACE TRANS2 PORTATION POLICY AND PLAN. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of title 49, United 

4 States Code, is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating sections 304 through 309 

6 as sections 307 through 312; 

7 (2) by redesignating sections 303 and 303a as 

8 sections 305 and 306, respectively; and 

9 (3) by inserting after section 302, the following: 

10 ‘‘§ 303. National surface transportation policy 

11 ‘‘(a) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States 

12 to develop a comprehensive national surface transpor13 tation system that advances the national interest and de14 fense, interstate and foreign commerce, the efficient and 

15 safe interstate mobility of people and goods, and the pro16 tection of the environment. The system shall be built, 

17 maintained, managed, and operated as a partnership be18 tween the Federal, State, and local governments and the 

19 private sector and shall be coordinated with the overall 

20 transportation system of the United States, including the 

21 Nation’s air, rail, pipeline, and water transportation sys22 tems. The Secretary of Transportation shall be responsible 

23 for carrying out this policy and for defining the Federal 

24 Government’s role in the system. 

25 ‘‘(b) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of the policy shall 

26 be to facilitate and advance— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the efficient connectivity of persons and 

2 goods within and between nations, regions, States, 

3 and metropolitan areas; 

4 ‘‘(2) the safety and health of the public; 

5 ‘‘(3) the security of the Nation and the public; 

6 ‘‘(4) environmental protection and enhance7 ment, including the reduction of carbon-related emis8 sions; 

9 ‘‘(5) energy conservation and security, including 

10 reducing transportation-related energy use; 

11 ‘‘(6) international and interstate freight move12 ment, trade enhancement, job creation, and eco13 nomic development; 

14 ‘‘(7) responsible land use and sustainable devel15 opment; 

16 ‘‘(8) the preservation and adequate performance 

17 of system-critical transportation assets, as defined 

18 by the Secretary; 

19 ‘‘(9) reasonable access to the national surface 

20 transportation system for all system users, including 

21 rural communities; 

22 ‘‘(10) sustainable, balanced, and adequate fi23 nancing of the national surface transportation sys24 tem; and 


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1 ‘‘(11) innovation in transportation services, in2 frastructure, and technology. 

3 ‘‘(c) GOALS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The goals of the policy 

5 shall be— 

6 ‘‘(A) to reduce national per capita motor 

7 vehicle miles traveled on an annual basis; 

8 ‘‘(B) to reduce national motor vehicle-re9 lated fatalities by 50 percent by 2030; 

10 ‘‘(C) to reduce national surface transpor11 tation-generated carbon dioxide levels by 40 

12 percent by 2030; 

13 ‘‘(D) to reduce national surface transpor14 tation delays per capita on an annual basis; 

15 ‘‘(E) to increase the percentage of system16 critical surface transportation assets, as defined 

17 by the Secretary, that are in a state of good re18 pair by 20 percent by 2030; 

19 ‘‘(F) to increase the total usage of public 

20 transportation, intercity passenger rail services, 

21 and non-motorized transportation on an annual 

22 basis; 

23 ‘‘(G) to increase the proportion of national 

24 freight transportation provided by non-highway 

25 or multimodal services by 10 percent by 2020; 


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1 ‘‘(H) to reduce passenger and freight 

2 transportation delays and congestion at inter3 national points of entry on an annual basis; 

4 ‘‘(I) to ensure adequate transportation of 

5 domestic energy supplies; and 

6 ‘‘(J) to maintain or the reduce the percent7 age of gross domestic product consumed by 

8 transportation costs. 

9 ‘‘(2) BASELINES.—Within 1 year after the date 

10 of enactment of the National Surface Transportation 

11 Policy and Planning Act of 2009, the Secretary shall 

12 develop baselines for the goals and shall determine 

13 appropriate methods of data collection to measure 

14 the attainment of the goals. 

15 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary, consistent 

16 with the plan developed under section 304 and notwith17 standing any other provision of law in effect as of the date 

18 of enactment of the National Surface Transportation Pol19 icy and Planning Act of 2009, shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) develop appropriate performance criteria 

21 and data collections systems for each Federal sur22 face transportation program in order to evaluate: 

23 ‘‘(A) whether such programs are consistent 

24 with the policy, objectives, and goals established 

25 by this section; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) how effective such programs are in 

2 contributing to the achievement of the policy, 

3 objectives, and goals established by this section; 

4 ‘‘(2) using the criteria developed under para5 graph (1), annually evaluate each such program and 

6 provide the results to the public; 

7 ‘‘(3) based on the evaluation performed under 

8 paragraph (2), make any necessary changes or im9 provements to such programs to ensure such consist10 ency and effectiveness; 

11 ‘‘(4) align the availability and award of Federal 

12 surface transportation funding to meet the policy, 

13 objectives, goals, and performance criteria estab14 lished by this section, consistent with the evaluation 

15 performed under paragraph (2); 

16 ‘‘(5) carry out this section in a manner that is 

17 consistent with sections 302, 5503, 10101, and 

18 13101 of this title and section 101 of title 23 to the 

19 extent that such sections do not conflict with the 

20 policy, objectives, and goals established by this sec21 tion; 

22 ‘‘(6) review, update, and reissue all relevant 

23 surface transportation planning requirements to en24 sure that such requirements require that regional, 

25 State, and local surface transportation planning efVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:36 May 19, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1036.IS S1036

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1 forts funded with Federal funds are consistent with 

2 the policy, objectives, and goals established by this 

3 section; and 

4 ‘‘(7) require recipients of Federal surface trans5 portation funds to annually report on the use of 

6 such funds, including a description of— 

7 ‘‘(A) which projects and priorities were 

8 funded with such funds; 

9 ‘‘(B) the rationale and method employed 

10 for apportioning such funds to the projects and 

11 priorities; and 

12 ‘‘(C) how the obligation of such funds is 

13 consistent with or advances the policy, objec14 tives, and goals established by this section. 

15 ‘‘(e) AUTHORITY.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

17 provision of law in effect as of the date of enactment 

18 of the National Surface Transportation Policy and 

19 Planning Act of 2009, the Secretary may, through 

20 a process of public notice and comment and with 

21 reasonable prior notice to the Senate Committee on 

22 Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

23 House of Representatives Committee on Transpor24 tation and Infrastructure preceding any significant 

25 change, consistent with the public interest, amend 


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1 the goals under subsection (c) or develop additional 

2 goals to effectively meet the policy and objectives set 

3 forth in this section. 

4 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may also make rec5 ommendations to those Committees for reorganizing 

6 the Department of Transportation, as necessary and 

7 consistent with the requirements of section 

8 304(b)(6), in order to achieve the policy, objectives, 

9 and goals established by this section. 

10 ‘‘§ 304. National surface transportation performance 

11 plan 

12 ‘‘(a) DEVELOPMENT.—Within 2 years after the date 

13 of enactment of the National Surface Transportation Pol14 icy and Planning Act of 2009, the Secretary of Transpor15 tation shall develop and implement a National Surface 

16 Transportation Performance Plan to achieve the policy, 

17 objectives, and goals set forth in section 303. 

18 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—The plan shall include— 

19 ‘‘(1) an assessment of the current performance 

20 of the national surface transportation system and an 

21 analysis of the system’s ability to achieve the policy, 

22 objectives, and goals set forth in section 303; 

23 ‘‘(2) an analysis of emerging and long-term pro24 jected trends that will impact the performance, 


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1 needs, and uses of the national surface transpor2 tation system; 

3 ‘‘(3) a description of the major impediments to 

4 effectively meeting the policy, objectives, and goals 

5 set forth in section 303 and recommended actions to 

6 address such impediments; 

7 ‘‘(4) a comprehensive strategy and investment 

8 plan to meet the policy, objectives, and goals set 

9 forth in section 303; 

10 ‘‘(5) initiatives to improve transportation mod11 eling, research, data collection, and analysis; and 

12 ‘‘(6) a plan for any reorganization of the De13 partment of Transportation or its agencies necessary 

14 to meet the policy, objectives, and goals set forth in 

15 section 303. 

16 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—In developing the plan re17 quired by subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) consult with local, State, and tribal gov19 ernments, public and private transportation pro20 viders and carriers, non-profit organizations rep21 resenting transportation employees, appropriate for22 eign governments, and other interested parties; and 

23 ‘‘(2) provide public notice and hearings and so24 licit public comments on the plan. 


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1 ‘‘(d) SUBMITTAL.—The Secretary shall submit the 

2 completed plan to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

3 Science, and Transportation and the House of Represent4 atives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. 

5 ‘‘(e) PROGRESS REPORTS.—The Secretary shall sub6 mit biennial progress reports on the implementation of the 

7 plan beginning 2 years after the date of submittal of the 

8 plan under subsection (d) to the Committees. The progress 

9 report shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) describe progress made toward fully imple11 menting the plan and achieving the policies, objec12 tives, and goals established under section 303; 

13 ‘‘(2) describe challenges and obstacles to full 

14 implementation; 

15 ‘‘(3) describe updates to the plan necessary to 

16 reflect changed circumstances or new developments; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(4) make policy and legislative recommenda19 tions the Secretary believes are necessary and appro20 priate to fully implement the plan. 

21 ‘‘(f) DATA.—The Secretary shall have the authority 

22 to conduct studies, gather information, and require the 

23 production of data necessary to develop or update this 

24 plan, consistent with Federal privacy standards. 


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1 ‘‘(g) FUNDING.—The Secretary may use such sums 

2 as may be necessary from any funds provided to the De3 partment of Transportation for surface transportation 

4 programs for the purpose of completing and updating the 

5 plan and developing and issuing the progress reports pur6 suant to this section.’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

8 (1) Section 302(a) of title 49, United States 

9 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘10101 and 13101’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘303, 10101, and 13101’’. 

11 (2) Section 308, as redesignated, of title 49, 

12 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘sec13 tions 301–304’’ and inserting ‘‘sections 301 through 

14 307’’. 

15 (3) The table of contents for chapter 3 of title 

16 49, United States Code, is amended— 

17 (A) by redesignating the items relating to 

18 sections 303 through 309 as relating to sections 

19 305 through 312; and 

20 (B) by inserting after the item relating to 

21 section 302 the following: 

‘‘303. National surface transportation policy. 

‘‘304. National surface transportation performance plan.’’. 

Æ 


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