I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3669

To establish sources of funding for certain transportation infrastructure

projects in the vicinity of the border between the United States and

Mexico that are necessary to accommodate increased traffic resulting

from the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement,

including construction of new Federal border crossing facilities, and

for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 18, 1996

Mr. FILNER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

A BILL

To establish sources of funding for certain transportation

infrastructure projects in the vicinity of the border between the United States and Mexico that are necessary

to accommodate increased traffic resulting from the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, including construction of new Federal border

crossing facilities, 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,
2

•HR 3669 IH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Border Infrastructure

3 Safety and Congestion Relief Act of 1996’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 Congress finds that—

6 (1) although the United States Customs Service

7 has collected increased duties, merchandise fees, and

8 revenues from other commerce-related activities be9 cause of the approval and implementation of the

10 North American Free Trade Agreement, these in11 creased revenues have not been accompanied by Fed12 eral funding for improving transportation facilities

13 along the international borders of the United States

14 to ensure the free and safe flow of trade destined for

15 all States and regions of the United States;

16 (2) because of NAFTA, all 4 States along the

17 United States-Mexico border will require significant

18 investments in highway infrastructure capacity and

19 motor carrier safety enforcement at a time when

20 border States face extreme difficulty in meeting cur21 rent highway funding needs;

22 (3) the full benefits of increased international

23 trade can be realized only if delays at the borders

24 are significantly reduced; and

25 (4) the increased revenues to the general fund

26 of the Treasury described in paragraph (1) should
3

•HR 3669 IH

1 be sufficient to provide Federal funding for trans2 portation improvements required to accommodate

3 NAFTA-generated traffic, in an amount above and

4 beyond regular Federal transportation funding ap5 portionments.

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

7 In this Act, the following definitions apply:

8 (1) BORDER REGION.—The term ‘‘border re9 gion’’ means the region located within 60 miles of

10 the United States border with Mexico.

11 (2) BORDER STATE.—The term ‘‘border State’’

12 means California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.

13 (3) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Bor14 der Transportation Infrastructure Fund established

15 under section 4(g).

16 (4) NAFTA.—The term ‘‘NAFTA’’ means the

17 North American Free Trade Agreement.

18 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

19 the Secretary of Transportation.

20 SEC. 4. DIRECT FEDERAL ASSISTANCE FOR BORDER CON21 STRUCTION AND CONGESTION RELIEF.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Using amounts in the Fund, the

23 Secretary shall make grants under this section to border

24 States that submit an application that demonstrates need,

25 due to increased traffic resulting from the implementation
4

•HR 3669 IH

1 of NAFTA, for assistance in carrying out transportation

2 projects that are necessary to relieve traffic congestion or

3 improve enforcement of motor carrier safety laws.

4 (b) GRANTS FOR CONNECTORS TO FEDERAL BOR5 DER CROSSING FACILITIES.—The Secretary shall make

6 grants to border States for the purposes of connecting,

7 through construction or reconstruction, the National

8 Highway System designated under section 103(b) of title

9 23, United States Code, with Federal border crossing fa10 cilities located in the United States in the border region.

11 (c) GRANTS FOR WEIGH-IN-MOTION DEVICES IN

12 MEXICO.—The Secretary shall make grants to assist bor13 der States in the purchase, installation, and maintenance

14 of weigh-in-motion devices and associated electronic equip15 ment that are to be located in Mexico if real time data

16 from the devices is provided to the nearest United States

17 port of entry and to State commercial vehicle enforcement

18 facilities that serve the port of entry.

19 (d) GRANTS FOR COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENFORCE20 MENT FACILITIES.—The Secretary shall make grants to

21 border States to construct, operate, and maintain commer22 cial vehicle enforcement facilities located in the border re23 gion.

24 (e) LIMITATIONS ON EXPENDITURES OF FUNDS.—
5

•HR 3669 IH

1 (1) COST SHARING.—A grant under this section

2 shall be used to pay the Federal share of the cost

3 of a project. The Federal share shall be 80 percent.

4 (2) ALLOCATION AMONG STATES.—

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year,

6 the Secretary shall allocate amounts remaining

7 in the Fund, after any transfers under section

8 5, among border States in accordance with an

9 equitable formula established by the Secretary

10 in accordance with subparagraphs (B) and (C).

11 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—Subject to sub12 paragraph (C), in establishing the formula, the

13 Secretary shall consider—

14 (i) the annual volume of international

15 commercial vehicle traffic at the ports of

16 entry of each border State as compared to

17 the annual volume of international com18 mercial vehicle traffic at the ports of entry

19 of all border States, based on the data pro20 vided in the most recent report submitted

21 under section 8;

22 (ii) the percentage by which inter23 national commercial vehicle traffic in each

24 border State has grown during the period

25 beginning on the date of the enactment of
6

•HR 3669 IH

1 the North American Free Trade Agree2 ment Implementation Act (Public Law

3 103–182) as compared to that percentage

4 for each other border State; and

5 (iii) the extent of border transpor6 tation improvements carried out by each

7 border State during the period beginning

8 on the date of the enactment of the North

9 American Free Trade Agreement Imple10 mentation Act (Public Law 103–182).

11 (C) MINIMUM ALLOCATION.—Each border

12 State shall receive not less than 5 percent of

13 the amounts made available to carry out this

14 section during the period of authorization under

15 subsection (i).

16 (f) ELIGIBILITY FOR REIMBURSEMENT FOR PRE17 VIOUSLY COMMENCED PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall

18 make a grant under this section to a border State that

19 reimburses the border State for a project for which con20 struction commenced after January 1, 1994, if the project

21 is otherwise eligible for assistance under this section.

22 (g) BORDER TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE

23 FUND.—

24 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in

25 the Treasury of the United States the Border Trans-
7

•HR 3669 IH

1 portation Infrastructure Fund to be used in carrying

2 out this section, consisting of such amounts as are

3 appropriated to the Fund under subsection (i).

4 (2) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.—

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara6 graph (B), upon request by the Secretary, the

7 Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from

8 the Fund to the Secretary of Transportation

9 such amounts as the Secretary of Transpor10 tation determines are necessary to make grants

11 under this section and transfers under section

12 5.

13 (B) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—An

14 amount not exceeding 1 percent of the amounts

15 in the Fund shall be available for each fiscal

16 year to pay the administrative expenses nec17 essary to carry out this section.

18 (h) APPLICABILITY OF TITLE 23.—Title 23, United

19 States Code, shall apply to grants made under this section.

20 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

21 are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund to carry

22 out this section and section 5 $125,000,000 for each of

23 fiscal years 1998 through 2001. The appropriated

24 amounts shall remain available for obligation until the end
8

•HR 3669 IH

1 of the third fiscal year following the fiscal year for which

2 the amounts are appropriated.

3 SEC. 5. CONSTRUCTION OF TRANSPORTATION INFRA4 STRUCTURE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT PUR5 POSES.

6 At the request of the Attorney General, the Secretary

7 may transfer up to $10,000,000 of the amounts from the

8 Fund for fiscal years 1998 through 2001 to the Attorney

9 General for the construction of transportation infrastruc10 ture necessary for law enforcement in border States.

11 SEC. 6. BORDER INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATIVE FINANC12 ING.

13 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are—

14 (1) to encourage the establishment and oper15 ation of State infrastructure banks in accordance

16 with section 350 of the National Highway System

17 Designation Act of 1995 (109 Stat. 618; 23 U.S.C.

18 101 note); and

19 (2) to advance transportation infrastructure

20 projects supporting international trade and com21 merce.

22 (b) FEDERAL LINE OF CREDIT.—Section 350 of the

23 National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 (109

24 Stat. 618; 23 U.S.C. 101 note) is amended—
9

•HR 3669 IH

1 (1) by redesignating subsection (l) as subsection

2 (m); and

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (k) the follow4 ing:

5 ‘‘(l) FEDERAL LINE OF CREDIT.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be

7 appropriated from the general fund of the Treasury

8 $100,000,000 to be used by the Secretary to enter

9 into agreements to make lines of credit available

10 to—

11 ‘‘(A) border States that have established

12 infrastructure banks under this section; and

13 ‘‘(B) the State of New Mexico which has

14 established a border authority that has bonding

15 capacity.

16 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—The line of credit available to

17 each participating border State shall be equal to the

18 product of—

19 ‘‘(A) the amount appropriated under para20 graph (1); and

21 ‘‘(B) the quotient obtained by dividing—

22 ‘‘(i) the contributions of the State to

23 the Highway Trust Fund during the latest

24 fiscal year for which data are available; by
10

•HR 3669 IH

1 ‘‘(ii) the total contributions of all par2 ticipating border States to the Highway

3 Trust Fund during that fiscal year.

4 ‘‘(3) USE OF LINE OF CREDIT.—The line of

5 credit under this subsection shall be available to pro6 vide Federal support in accordance with this sub7 section for funding agreements with—

8 ‘‘(A) a State infrastructure bank engaged

9 in providing credit enhancement to creditworthy

10 eligible public and private multimodal projects

11 that support international trade and commerce

12 in the border region; and

13 ‘‘(B) the New Mexico Border Authority;

14 (each referred to in this subsection as a ‘border in15 frastructure bank’).

16 ‘‘(4) LIMITATIONS.—

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A line of credit under

18 this subsection may be drawn on only—

19 ‘‘(i) with respect to a completed

20 project described in paragraph (3) that is

21 receiving credit enhancement through a

22 border infrastructure bank;

23 ‘‘(ii) when the cash balance available

24 in the border infrastructure bank is insuf-
11

•HR 3669 IH

1 ficient to pay a claim for payment relating

2 to the project; and

3 ‘‘(iii) when all subsequent revenues of

4 the project have been pledged to the border

5 infrastructure bank.

6 ‘‘(B) THIRD PARTY CREDITOR RIGHTS.—

7 No third party creditor of a public or private

8 entity carrying out a project eligible for assist9 ance from a border infrastructure bank shall

10 have any right against the Federal Government

11 with respect to a line of credit under this sub12 section, including any guarantee that the pro13 ceeds of a line of credit will be available for the

14 payment of any particular cost of the public or

15 private entity that may be financed under this

16 subsection.

17 ‘‘(5) INTEREST RATE AND REPAYMENT PE18 RIOD.—Any draw on a line of credit under this sub19 section shall—

20 ‘‘(A) accrue, beginning on the date the

21 draw is made, interest at a rate equal to the

22 current (as of the date the draw is made) mar23 ket yield on outstanding, marketable obligations

24 of the United States with maturities of 30

25 years; and
12

•HR 3669 IH

1 ‘‘(B) shall be repaid within a period of not

2 more than 30 years.

3 ‘‘(6) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE APPORTION4 MENT.—Funds made available to States to carry out

5 this subsection shall be in addition to funds appor6 tioned to States under section 104 of title 23, Unit7 ed States Code.

8 ‘‘(7) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, terms

9 ‘border State’ and ‘border region’ have the meaning

10 such terms have under section 3 of the Border In11 frastructure Safety and Congestion Relief Act of

12 1996.’’.

13 SEC. 7. RAILROAD REHABILITATION AND IMPROVEMENT

14 PROGRAM.

15 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to pro16 vide assistance for freight rail projects in border States

17 that benefit international trade and relieve highways of in18 creased traffic resulting from NAFTA.

19 (b) ISSUANCE OF OBLIGATIONS.—The Secretary

20 shall issue to the Secretary of the Treasury notes or other

21 obligations pursuant to section 512 of the Railroad Revi22 talization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C.

23 832), in such amounts, and at such times, as may be nec24 essary to—
13

•HR 3669 IH

1 (1) pay any amounts required pursuant to the

2 guarantee of the principal amount of an obligation

3 under section 511 of such Act (45 U.S.C. 831) for

4 any eligible freight rail project described in sub5 section (c) during the period that the guaranteed ob6 ligation is outstanding; and

7 (2) during the period referred to in paragraph

8 (1), meet the applicable requirements of this section

9 and sections 511 and 513 of such Act (45 U.S.C.

10 832 and 833).

11 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—Assistance provided under this

12 section shall be limited to those freight rail projects lo13 cated in the United States that provide intermodal connec14 tions that enhance cross-border traffic in the border re15 gion.

16 (d) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding any other provi17 sion of law, the aggregate unpaid principal amounts of ob18 ligations that may be guaranteed by the Secretary under

19 this section may not exceed $100,000,000 during any of

20 fiscal years 1998 through 2001.

21 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

22 are authorized to be appropriated to make loan guarantees

23 under this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years

24 1998 through 2001.
14

•HR 3669 IH

1 SEC. 8. REPORT.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall annually sub3 mit to Congress and the Governor of each border State

4 a report concerning—

5 (1) the volume and nature of international com6 mercial vehicle traffic crossing the border between

7 the United States and Mexico; and

8 (2)(A) the number of international commercial

9 vehicle inspections conducted by each border State

10 at each United States port of entry; and

11 (B) the rate of out-of-service violations of inter12 national commercial vehicles found through the in13 spections.

14 (b) INFORMATION PROVIDED BY UNITED STATES

15 CUSTOMS SERVICE.—For the purpose of preparing each

16 report under subsection (a)(1), the Commissioner of Cus17 toms shall provide to the Secretary such information de18 scribed in subsection (a)(1) as the Commissioner has

19 available.

Æ