II 

Calendar No. 284

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 281

[Report No. 108–150] 

To amend the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to make 

certain amendments with respect to Indian tribes, to provide for training 

and technical assistance to Native Americans who are interested in commercial vehicle driving careers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 4, 2003

Mr. CAMPBELL (for himself, Mr. INOUYE, and Mr. DOMENICI) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

SEPTEMBER 22, 2003

Reported by Mr. CAMPBELL, with an amendment 

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

A BILL

To amend the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to make certain amendments with respect to Indian 

tribes, to provide for training and technical assistance 

to Native Americans who are interested in commercial 

vehicle driving careers, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Indian Tribal Surface Transportation Improvement Act 

4 of 2003’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

6 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—INDIAN TRIBAL SURFACE TRANSPORTATION 

Sec. 101. Short title. 

Sec. 102. Amendments relating to Indian tribes. 

TITLE II—TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR NATIVE 

AMERICANS 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Purposes. 

Sec. 203. Definitions. 

Sec. 204. Commercial vehicle driving training program.

7 TITLE I—INDIAN TRIBAL 

8 SURFACE TRANSPORTATION 

9 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

10 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Indian Tribal Surface 

11 Transportation Act of 2003’’. 

12 SEC. 102. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO INDIAN TRIBES. 

13 (a) OBLIGATION LIMITATION.—Section 1102(c)(1) of 

14 the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (23 

15 U.S.C. 104 note; 112 Stat. 116) is amended—

16 (1) by striking ‘‘Code, and’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘Code,’’; and 

18 (2) by inserting before the semicolon the fol19 lowing: ‘‘, and for each of fiscal years 2003 and 
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1 2004, amounts authorized for Indian reservation 

2 roads under section 204 of title 23, United States 

3 Code’’. 

4 (b) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.—Section 202(d)(3) 

5 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by adding at 

6 the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(C) FEDERAL LANDS HIGHWAY PROGRAM

8 DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.—

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

10 shall establish a demonstration project 

11 under which all funds made available 

12 under this title for Indian reservation 

13 roads and for highway bridges located on 

14 Indian reservation roads as provided for in 

15 subparagraph (A) shall be made available, 

16 on the request of an affected Indian tribal 

17 government, to the Indian tribal govern18 ment for use in carrying out, in accordance 

19 with the Indian Self-Determination and 

20 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 

21 et seq.), contracts and agreements for the 

22 planning, research, engineering, and con23 struction described in that subparagraph. 

24 ‘‘(ii) EXCLUSION OF AGENCY PARTICI25 PATION.—In accordance with subpara-
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1 graph (B), all funds for Indian reservation 

2 roads and for highway bridges located on 

3 Indian reservation roads to which clause 

4 (i) applies shall be paid without regard to 

5 the organizational level at which the Fed6 eral lands highway program has previously 

7 carried out the programs, functions, serv8 ices, or activities involved. 

9 ‘‘(iii) SELECTION OF PARTICIPATING

10 TRIBES.—

11 ‘‘(I) PARTICIPANTS.—

12 ‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—For 

13 each fiscal year, the Secretary 

14 shall select 12 geographically di15 verse Indian tribes from the ap16 plicant pool described in sub17 clause (II) to participate in the 

18 demonstration project carried out 

19 under clause (i). 

20 ‘‘(bb) CONSORTIA.—Two or 

21 more Indian tribes that are oth22 erwise eligible to participate in a 

23 program or activity to which this 

24 title applies may form a consor25 tium to be considered as a single 
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1 tribe for the purpose of becoming 

2 part of the applicant pool under 

3 subclause (II). 

4 ‘‘(cc) FUNDING.—An Indian 

5 tribe participating in the pilot 

6 program under this subpara7 graph shall receive funding in an 

8 amount equal to the sum of the 

9 funding that the Indian tribe 

10 would otherwise receive in ac11 cordance with the funding for12 mula established under the other 

13 provisions of this subsection, and 

14 an additional percentage of that 

15 amount equal to the percentage 

16 of funds withheld during the ap17 plicable fiscal year for the road 

18 program management costs of 

19 the Bureau of Indian Affairs 

20 under subsection (f)(1). 

21 ‘‘(II) APPLICANT POOL.—The ap22 plicant pool described in this sub23 clause shall consist of each Indian 

24 tribe (or consortium) that—
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1 ‘‘(aa) has successfully com2 pleted the planning phase de3 scribed in subclause (III); 

4 ‘‘(bb) has requested partici5 pation in the demonstration 

6 project under this subparagraph 

7 through the adoption of a resolu8 tion or other official action by 

9 the tribal governing body; and 

10 ‘‘(cc) has demonstrated fi11 nancial stability and financial 

12 management capability in accord13 ance with subclause (III) during 

14 the 3-fiscal year period imme15 diately preceding the fiscal year 

16 for which participation under this 

17 subparagraph is being requested. 

18 ‘‘(III) CRITERIA FOR DETER19 MINING FINANCIAL STABILITY AND FI20 NANCIAL MANAGEMENT CAPACITY.—

21 For the purpose of subclause (II), evi22 dence that, during the 3-year period 

23 referred to in subclause (II)(cc), an 

24 Indian tribe had no uncorrected sig25 nificant and material audit exceptions 
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1 in the required annual audit of the In2 dian tribe’s self-determination con3 tracts or self-governance funding 

4 agreements with any Federal agency 

5 shall be conclusive evidence of the re6 quired stability and capability. 

7 ‘‘(IV) PLANNING PHASE.—

8 ‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—An In9 dian tribe (or consortium) re10 questing participation in the 

11 demonstration project under this 

12 subparagraph shall complete a 

13 planning phase that shall include 

14 legal and budgetary research and 

15 internal tribal government and 

16 organization preparation. 

17 ‘‘(bb) ELIGIBILITY.—A tribe 

18 (or consortium) described in item 

19 (aa) shall be eligible to receive a 

20 grant under this subclause to 

21 plan and negotiate participation 

22 in a project described in that 

23 item.’’. 
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1 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—Section 202 of title 23, 

2 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

3 following: 

4 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATION OF INDIAN RESERVATION

5 ROADS.—

6 ‘‘(1) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

8 other provision of law, for any fiscal year, not 

9 more than 6 percent of the contract authority 

10 amounts made available from the Highway 

11 Trust Fund to the Bureau of Indian Affairs 

12 under this title shall be used to pay the admin13 istrative expenses of the Bureau for the Indian 

14 reservation roads program (including the ad15 ministrative expenses relating to individual 

16 projects that are associated with the program). 

17 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made 

18 available to pay administrative expenses under 

19 subparagraph (A) shall be made available to an 

20 Indian tribal government, on the request of the 

21 government, to be used for the associated ad22 ministrative functions assumed by the Indian 

23 tribe under contracts and agreements entered 

24 into under the Indian Self-Determination and 
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1 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et 

2 seq.). 

3 ‘‘(2) HEALTH AND SAFETY ASSURANCES.—Not4 withstanding any other provision of law, an Indian 

5 tribe or tribal organization may commence road and 

6 bridge construction under the Transportation Equity 

7 Act for the 21st Century (Public Law 105–178) that 

8 is funded through a contract or agreement under the 

9 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

10 Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.) if the Indian tribe or 

11 tribal organization has—

12 ‘‘(A) provided assurances in the contract 

13 or agreement that the construction will meet or 

14 exceed proper health and safety standards; 

15 ‘‘(B) obtained the advance review of the 

16 plans and specifications from a licensed profes17 sional who has certified that the plans and 

18 specifications meet or exceed the proper health 

19 and safety standards; and 

20 ‘‘(C) provided a copy of the certification 

21 under subparagraph (B) to the Director of the 

22 Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

23 ‘‘(g) SAFETY INCENTIVE GRANTS.—

24 ‘‘(1) SEAT BELT SAFETY INCENTIVE GRANT

25 ELIGIBILITY.—Notwithstanding any other provision 
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1 of law, an Indian tribe that is eligible to participate 

2 in the Indian reservation roads program under sub3 section (d) shall be deemed to be a State for the 

4 purpose of being eligible for safety incentive alloca5 tions under section 157 to assist Indian communities 

6 in developing innovative programs to promote in7 creased seat belt use rates. 

8 ‘‘(2) INTOXICATED DRIVER SAFETY INCENTIVE

9 GRANT ELIGIBILITY.—Notwithstanding any other 

10 provision of law, an Indian tribe that is eligible to 

11 participate in the Indian reservation roads program 

12 under subsection (d) shall be deemed to be a State 

13 for the purpose of being eligible for safety incentive 

14 grants under section 163 to assist Indian commu15 nities in the prevention of the operation of motor ve16 hicles by intoxicated persons. 

17 ‘‘(3) FUNDING PROCEDURES AND ELIGIBILITY

18 CRITERIA.—

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in con20 sultation with Indian tribal governments, may 

21 develop funding procedures and eligibility cri22 teria applicable to Indian tribes with respect to 

23 allocations or grants described in paragraphs 

24 (1) and (2). 
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1 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall 

2 ensure that procedures or criteria developed 

3 under subparagraph (A) are published annually 

4 in the Federal Register.’’. 

5 TITLE II—TRAINING AND TECH6 NICAL ASSISTANCE FOR NA7 TIVE AMERICANS 

8 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

9 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Native American Com10 mercial Driving Training and Technical Assistance Act’’. 

11 SEC. 202. PURPOSES. 

12 The purposes of this title are—

13 (1) to foster and promote job creation and eco14 nomic opportunities for Native Americans; and 

15 (2) to provide education, technical, and training 

16 assistance to Native Americans who are interested in 

17 commercial vehicle driving careers. 

18 SEC. 203. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this title: 

20 (1) COMMERCIAL VEHICLE DRIVING.—The term 

21 ‘‘commercial vehicle driving’’ means the driving of—

22 (A) a vehicle that is a tractor-trailer truck; 

23 or 
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1 (B) any other vehicle (such as a bus or a 

2 vehicle used for the purpose of construction) the 

3 driving of which requires a commercial license. 

4 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

5 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

6 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

7 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

8 (3) NATIVE AMERICAN.—The term ‘‘Native 

9 American’’ means an individual who is a member 

10 of—

11 (A) an Indian tribe; or 

12 (B) any people or culture that is indige13 nous to the United States, as determined by the 

14 Secretary. 

15 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of Labor. 

17 SEC. 204. COMMERCIAL VEHICLE DRIVING TRAINING PRO18 GRAM. 

19 (a) GRANTS.—The Secretary may provide grants, on 

20 a competitive basis, to entities described in subsection (b) 

21 to support programs providing training and certificates 

22 leading to the licensing of Native Americans with respect 

23 to commercial vehicle driving. 

24 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

25 under subsection (a), an entity shall—
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1 (1) be a tribal college or university (as defined 

2 in section 316(b)(3) of the Higher Education Act 

3 (20 U.S.C. 1059(b)(3)); and 

4 (2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an ap5 plication at such time, in such manner, and con6 taining such information as the Secretary may re7 quire. 

8 (c) PRIORITY.—In providing grants under subsection 

9 (a), the Secretary shall give priority to grant applications 

10 that—

11 (1) propose training that exceeds proposed min12 imum standards for training tractor-trailer drivers 

13 of the Department of Transportation; 

14 (2) propose training that exceeds the entry level 

15 truck driver certification standards set by the Pro16 fessional Truck Driver Institute; and 

17 (3) propose an education partnership with a 

18 private trucking firm, trucking association, or simi19 lar entity in order to ensure the effectiveness of the 

20 grant program under this section. 

21 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec23 essary to carry out this title.
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘In3 dian Tribal Surface Transportation Improvement Act of 

4 2003’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this 

6 Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Funding for Indian reservation roads program. 

Sec. 4. Obligation ceiling. 

Sec. 5. Tribal contracting demonstration project. 

Sec. 6. Indian reservation bridge program and road program administration. 

Sec. 7. Indian reservation road planning. 

Sec. 8. Tribal-State road maintenance agreements. 

Sec. 9. Alaska Native village transportation program. 

Sec. 10. Indian reservation road safety program. 

Sec. 11. Indian reservation rural transit program. 

Sec. 12. Commercial vehicle driving training program.

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

8 Section 101(a) of title 23, United States Code, is 

9 amended—

10 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (12), (13) 

11 through (35), (36), and (37) as paragraphs (14), (16) 

12 through (38), (40), and (41), respectively; 

13 (2) by inserting after paragraph (11) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(12) INDIAN LAND.—The term ‘Indian land’ 

16 means—

17 ‘‘(A) any land located within the bound18 aries of an Indian reservation, pueblo, or 

19 rancheria; 
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1 ‘‘(B) any land not located within the 

2 boundaries of an Indian reservation, pueblo, or 

3 rancheria, the title to which is held—

4 ‘‘(i) in trust by the United States for 

5 the benefit of an Indian tribe; 

6 ‘‘(ii) by an Indian tribe, subject to re7 striction by the United States against alien8 ation; or 

9 ‘‘(iii) by a dependent Indian commu10 nity; and 

11 ‘‘(C) land conveyed as part of an original 

12 conveyance to a Native Corporation in accord13 ance with the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 

14 Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). 

15 ‘‘(13) INDIAN RESERVATION.—The term ‘Indian 

16 reservation’ includes—

17 ‘‘(A) an Indian reservation in existence as 

18 of the date of enactment of the Indian Tribal 

19 Surface Transportation Improvement Act of 

20 2003; 

21 ‘‘(B) a public domain Indian allotment; 

22 ‘‘(C) a former reservation in the State of 

23 Oklahoma; 

24 ‘‘(D) a parcel of land conveyed as part of 

25 an original conveyance to a Native Corporation 
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1 in accordance with the Alaska Native Claims 

2 Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.); and 

3 ‘‘(E) a dependent Indian community lo4 cated within the borders of the United States, re5 gardless of whether the community is located—

6 ‘‘(i) on original or acquired territory 

7 of the community; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) within or outside the boundaries 

9 of any particular State.’’; 

10 (3) by inserting after paragraph (14) (as redes11 ignated by paragraph (1)) the following: 

12 ‘‘(15) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 

13 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the In14 dian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

15 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).’’; and 

16 (4) by inserting after paragraph (38) (as redes17 ignated by paragraph (1)) the following: 

18 ‘‘(39) TRIBAL TRANSPORTATION FACILITY.—The 

19 term ‘tribal transportation facility’ means any trans20 portation-related project, facility, or physical infra21 structure for an Indian tribe that is funded under 

22 this title.’’. 
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1 SEC. 3. FUNDING FOR INDIAN RESERVATION ROADS PRO2 GRAM. 

3 Section 1101(a)(8) of the Transportation Equity Act 

4 for the 21st Century (112 Stat. 112) is amended by striking 

5 subparagraph (A) and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(A) INDIAN RESERVATION ROADS.—

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

8 (ii), for Indian reservation roads under sec9 tion 204 of that title—

10 ‘‘(I) $330,000,000 for each of fis11 cal years 2004 through 2005; 

12 ‘‘(II) $425,000,000 for each of fis13 cal years 2006 through 2007; and 

14 ‘‘(III) $550,000,000 for each of 

15 fiscal years 2008 through 2009. 

16 ‘‘(ii) MAINTENANCE.—Of the amounts 

17 made available for each fiscal year under 

18 clause (i), not less than $50,000,000 shall be 

19 used—

20 ‘‘(I) to maintain roads on Indian 

21 land; and 

22 ‘‘(II) to maintain tribal transpor23 tation facilities serving Indian commu24 nities.’’.
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1 SEC. 4. OBLIGATION CEILING. 

2 Section 1102(c)(1) of the Transportation Equity Act 

3 for the 21st Century (23 U.S.C. 104 note; 112 Stat. 116) 

4 is amended—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘distribute obligation’’ and in6 serting the following: ‘‘distribute—

7 ‘‘(A) obligation’’; 

8 (2) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the 

9 end; and 

10 (3) by adding at the end of the following: 

11 ‘‘(B) for each of fiscal years 2004 through 

12 2009, any amount of obligation authority made 

13 available for Indian reservation road bridges 

14 under section 202(d)(4), and for Indian reserva15 tion roads under section 204, of title 23, United 

16 States Code.’’. 

17 SEC. 5. TRIBAL CONTRACTING DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. 

18 Section 202(d)(3) of title 23, United States Code, is 

19 amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(C) FEDERAL LANDS HIGHWAY PROGRAM

21 DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.—

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

23 establish a demonstration project under 

24 which all funds made available under this 

25 chapter for Indian reservation roads and 

26 for highway bridges located on Indian res-
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1 ervation roads as provided for in subpara2 graph (A) shall be made available, on the 

3 request of an affected Indian tribal govern4 ment, to the Indian tribal government for 

5 use in carrying out, in accordance with the 

6 Indian Self-Determination and Education 

7 Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b et seq.), con8 tracts and agreements for the planning, re9 search, engineering, and construction de10 scribed in that subparagraph. 

11 ‘‘(ii) EXCLUSION OF AGENCY PARTICI12 PATION.—In accordance with subparagraph 

13 (B), all funds for Indian reservation roads 

14 and for highway bridges located on Indian 

15 reservation roads to which clause (i) applies 

16 shall be paid without regard to the organi17 zational level at which the Federal lands 

18 highway program has previously carried 

19 out the programs, functions, services, or ac20 tivities involved. 

21 ‘‘(iii) SELECTION OF PARTICIPATING

22 TRIBES.—

23 ‘‘(I) PARTICIPANTS.—

24 ‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—In ad25 dition to those Indian tribes or 
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1 tribal organizations already con2 tracting or compacting for any 

3 Indian reservation road function 

4 or program, for each fiscal year, 

5 the Secretary may select up to 15 

6 Indian tribes from the applicant 

7 pool described in subclause (II) to 

8 participate in the demonstration 

9 project carried out under clause 

10 (i). 

11 ‘‘(bb) CONSORTIA.—Two or 

12 more Indian tribes that are other13 wise eligible to participate in a 

14 program or activity to which this 

15 title applies may form a consor16 tium to be considered as a single 

17 Indian tribe for the purpose of be18 coming part of the applicant pool 

19 under subclause (II). 

20 ‘‘(cc) FUNDING.—An Indian 

21 tribe participating in the pilot 

22 program under this subparagraph 

23 shall receive funding in an 

24 amount equal to the sum of the 

25 funding that the Indian tribe 
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1 would otherwise receive in accord2 ance with the funding formula es3 tablished under the other provi4 sions of this subsection, and an 

5 additional percentage of that 

6 amount equal to the percentage of 

7 funds withheld during the appli8 cable fiscal year for the road pro9 gram management costs of the 

10 Bureau of Indian Affairs under 

11 subsection (f)(1). 

12 ‘‘(II) APPLICANT POOL.—The ap13 plicant pool described in this subclause 

14 shall consist of each Indian tribe (or 

15 consortium) that—

16 ‘‘(aa) has successfully com17 pleted the planning phase de18 scribed in subclause (IV); 

19 ‘‘(bb) has requested partici20 pation in the demonstration 

21 project under this subparagraph 

22 through the adoption of a resolu23 tion or other official action by the 

24 tribal governing body; and
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1 ‘‘(cc) has demonstrated fi2 nancial stability and financial 

3 management capability in accord4 ance with subclause (III) during 

5 the 3-fiscal-year period imme6 diately preceding the fiscal year 

7 for which participation under this 

8 subparagraph is being requested. 

9 ‘‘(III) CRITERIA FOR DETER10 MINING FINANCIAL STABILITY AND FI11 NANCIAL MANAGEMENT CAPACITY.—For 

12 the purpose of subclause (II), evidence 

13 that, during the 3-year period referred 

14 to in subclause (II)(cc), an Indian 

15 tribe had no uncorrected significant 

16 and material audit exceptions in the 

17 required annual audit of the Indian 

18 tribe’s self-determination contracts or 

19 self-governance funding agreements 

20 with any Federal agency shall be con21 clusive evidence of the required sta22 bility and capability. 

23 ‘‘(IV) PLANNING PHASE.—

24 ‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—An In25 dian tribe (or consortium) re-
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1 questing participation in the dem2 onstration project under this sub3 paragraph shall complete a plan4 ning phase that shall include legal 

5 and budgetary research and inter6 nal tribal government and organi7 zation preparation. 

8 ‘‘(bb) ELIGIBILITY.—A tribe 

9 (or consortium) described in item 

10 (aa) shall be eligible to receive a 

11 grant under this subclause to plan 

12 and negotiate participation in a 

13 project described in that item. 

14 ‘‘(V) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not 

15 later than September 30, 2006, the Sec16 retary shall prepare and submit to 

17 Congress a report describing the imple18 mentation of the demonstration project 

19 and any recommendations for improv20 ing the project.’’. 

21 SEC. 6. INDIAN RESERVATION BRIDGE PROGRAM AND ROAD 

22 PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(d)(4)(B) of title 23, 

24 United States Code, is amended— 
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘(B) RESERVATION.—Of the 

2 amounts’’ and all that follows through ‘‘to replace,’’ 

3 and inserting the following: 

4 ‘‘(B) FUNDING.—

5 ‘‘(i) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—Not6 withstanding any other provision of law, 

7 there is authorized to be appropriated from 

8 the Highway Trust Fund (other than the 

9 Mass Transit Account) $15,000,000 for each 

10 of fiscal years 2004 through 2009 to carry 

11 out planning, design, engineering, 

12 preconstruction, construction, and inspec13 tion of projects to replace,’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘(ii) AVAILABILITY.—Funds made 

16 available to carry out this subparagraph—

17 ‘‘(I) shall be available for obliga18 tion in the same manner as if the 

19 funds were apportioned under chapter 

20 1; and 

21 ‘‘(II) shall not be available to the 

22 Bureau of Indian Affairs to pay ad23 ministrative costs.’’. 

24 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—Section 202 of title 23, United 

25 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATION OF INDIAN RESERVATION

2 ROADS.—

3 ‘‘(1) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

5 other provision of law, for any fiscal year, not 

6 more than 6 percent of the contract authority 

7 amounts made available from the Highway 

8 Trust Fund to the Bureau of Indian Affairs 

9 under this title shall be used to pay the adminis10 trative expenses of the Bureau for the Indian res11 ervation roads program (including the adminis12 trative expenses relating to individual projects 

13 that are associated with the program). 

14 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made avail15 able to pay administrative expenses under sub16 paragraph (A) shall be made available to an In17 dian tribal government, on the request of the gov18 ernment, to be used for the associated adminis19 trative functions assumed by the Indian tribe 

20 under contracts and agreements entered into 

21 under the Indian Self-Determination and Edu22 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b et seq.). 

23 ‘‘(2) HEALTH AND SAFETY ASSURANCES.—Not24 withstanding any other provision of law, an Indian 

25 tribe or tribal organization may commence road and 
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1 bridge construction under the Transportation Equity 

2 Act for the 21st Century (Public Law 105–178) or its 

3 successor Act of Congress that is funded through a 

4 contract or agreement under the Indian Self-Deter5 mination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

6 450b et seq.) if the Indian tribe or tribal organiza7 tion—

8 ‘‘(A) provides assurances in the contract or 

9 agreement that the construction will meet or ex10 ceed applicable health and safety standards; 

11 ‘‘(B) obtains the advance review of the 

12 plans and specifications from a licensed profes13 sional that has certified that the plans and speci14 fications meet or exceed the applicable health 

15 and safety standards; and 

16 ‘‘(C) provides a copy of the certification 

17 under subparagraph (B) to the Assistant Sec18 retary for Indian Affairs.’’. 

19 SEC. 7. INDIAN RESERVATION ROAD PLANNING. 

20 Section 204(j) of title 23, United States Code, is 

21 amended in the first sentence by striking ‘‘2 percent’’ and 

22 inserting ‘‘5 percent’’. 

23 SEC. 8. TRIBAL-STATE ROAD MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS. 

24 Section 204 of title 23, United States Code, is amended 

25 by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(l) TRIBAL-STATE ROAD MAINTENANCE AGREE2 MENTS.—

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

4 provision of law, regulation, policy, or guideline, an 

5 Indian tribe and a State may enter into a road 

6 maintenance agreement under which an Indian tribe 

7 assumes the responsibilities of the State for—

8 ‘‘(A) Indian reservation roads; and 

9 ‘‘(B) roads providing access to Indian res10 ervation roads. 

11 ‘‘(2) TRIBAL-STATE AGREEMENTS.—Agreements 

12 entered into under paragraph (1)—

13 ‘‘(A) shall be negotiated between the State 

14 and the Indian tribe; and 

15 ‘‘(B) shall not require the approval of the 

16 Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL REPORT.—Effective beginning with 

18 fiscal year 2004, the Secretary shall prepare and sub19 mit to Congress an annual report that identifies—

20 ‘‘(A) the Indian tribes and States that have 

21 entered into agreements under paragraph (1); 

22 ‘‘(B) the number of miles of roads for which 

23 Indian tribes have assumed maintenance respon24 sibilities; and 
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1 ‘‘(C) the amount of funding transferred to 

2 Indian tribes for the fiscal year under agree3 ments entered into under paragraph (1).’’. 

4 SEC. 9. ALASKA NATIVE VILLAGE TRANSPORTATION PRO5 GRAM. 

6 Section 204 of title 23, United States Code (as amend7 ed by section 8), is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(m) ALASKA NATIVE VILLAGE TRANSPORTATION

10 PROGRAM.—

11 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

12 ‘‘(A) COMMISSION.—The term ‘Commission’ 

13 means the Alaska Native Transportation Com14 mission established under paragraph (4)(A). 

15 ‘‘(B) NATIVE.—The term ‘Native’ has the 

16 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Alas17 ka Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 

18 1602). 

19 ‘‘(C) NATIVE AUTHORITY.—The term ‘Na20 tive authority’ means a governing board of a Re21 gional Corporation, a regional Native nonprofit 

22 entity, a tribal government, or an alternative re23 gional entity that is designated by the Secretary 

24 as a Native regional transportation authority 

25 under paragraph (3)(A). 
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1 ‘‘(D) NATIVE VILLAGE.—The term ‘Native 

2 village’ has the meaning given the term in sec3 tion 3 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 

4 Act (43 U.S.C. 1602). 

5 ‘‘(E) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ 

6 means the Alaska Native village transportation 

7 program established under paragraph (2). 

8 ‘‘(F) REGION.—The term ‘region’ means a 

9 region in the State specified in section 11(b)(1) 

10 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 

11 U.S.C 1610(b)(1)). 

12 ‘‘(G) REGIONAL CORPORATION.—The term 

13 ‘Regional Corporation’ has the meaning given 

14 the term in section 2 of the Alaska Native 

15 Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602). 

16 ‘‘(H) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means the 

17 State of Alaska. 

18 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es19 tablish an Alaska Native village transportation pro20 gram to pay the costs of planning, design, construc21 tion, and maintenance of road and other surface 

22 transportation facilities identified in accordance with 

23 this section. 

24 ‘‘(3) ALASKA NATIVE REGIONAL TRANSPOR25 TATION AUTHORITIES.—
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1 ‘‘(A) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary shall 

2 designate a Native authority for each region. 

3 ‘‘(B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—A Native author4 ity shall, with respect to each Native village or 

5 region, as appropriate, covered by the Native au6 thority—

7 ‘‘(i) prepare—

8 ‘‘(I) a regional transportation 

9 plan for the Native village; and 

10 ‘‘(II) a comprehensive transpor11 tation plan for the region; 

12 ‘‘(ii) prioritize and select projects to be 

13 funded with amounts made available under 

14 this section for the region; 

15 ‘‘(iii) coordinate transportation plan16 ning with other regions, the State, and 

17 other governmental entities; and 

18 ‘‘(iv) ensure that transportation 

19 projects under this section are constructed 

20 and implemented. 

21 ‘‘(4) ALASKA NATIVE TRANSPORTATION COMMIS22 SION.—

23 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—As soon as prac24 ticable after the date of enactment of this sub25 section, the Secretary shall establish a commis-
31

•S 281 RS 

1 sion, to be known as the ‘Statewide Alaska Na2 tive Transportation Commission’, consisting of 1 

3 representative selected from each Native author4 ity designated by the Secretary under paragraph 

5 (3)(A). 

6 ‘‘(B) DUTIES.—The Commission shall—

7 ‘‘(i) allocate funds made available 

8 under this section among regions in accord9 ance with paragraph (5); 

10 ‘‘(ii) coordinate transportation plan11 ning among the regions, the State, and 

12 other governmental entities; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) facilitate transportation projects 

14 involving 2 or more regions. 

15 ‘‘(5) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING.—

16 ‘‘(A) FISCAL YEAR 2004.—Funds made 

17 available for the program for fiscal year 2004 

18 shall be allocated to each region by the Secretary 

19 as follows: 

20 ‘‘(i) 50 percent of the funds shall be al21 located based on the proportion that—

22 ‘‘(I) the Native population of Na23 tive villages in the region; bears to 

24 ‘‘(II) the Native population of all 

25 Native villages in the State.
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•S 281 RS 

1 ‘‘(ii) 50 percent of the funds shall be 

2 allocated as equally as practicable among 

3 all Native villages in the region. 

4 ‘‘(B) FISCAL YEAR 2005 AND SUBSEQUENT

5 FISCAL YEARS.—Funds made available for the 

6 program for fiscal year 2005 and each fiscal 

7 year thereafter shall be allocated among regions 

8 by the Commission, in accordance with a for9 mula to be developed by the Commission after 

10 taking into consideration—

11 ‘‘(i) the health, safety, and economic 

12 needs of each region for transportation in13 frastructure, as identified through the re14 gional planning process; 

15 ‘‘(ii) the relative costs of construction 

16 in each region; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) the extent to which transpor18 tation projects for each region are ready to 

19 proceed to design and construction. 

20 ‘‘(6) TRIBAL CONTRACTING.—Funds allocated 

21 among regions under this subsection may be con22 tracted or compacted in accordance with the Indian 

23 Self Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 

24 U.S.C. 450b et seq.). 
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1 ‘‘(7) MATCHING FUNDS.—Notwithstanding any 

2 other provision of law, funds made available under 

3 this subsection may be used to pay a matching share 

4 required for receipt of any other Federal funds that 

5 would further a purpose for which allocations under 

6 this section are made. 

7 ‘‘(8) MAINTENANCE.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At the request of a Na9 tive authority or Native village, the Secretary 

10 may increase an amount of funds provided 

11 under this subsection for a construction project 

12 by an additional amount equal to 100 percent of 

13 the total cost of construction of the project, as de14 termined by the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(B) USE OF RETAINED FUNDS.—An in16 crease in funds provided under subparagraph 

17 (A) for a construction project shall be retained, 

18 and used only, for future maintenance of the 

19 construction project.’’. 

20 SEC. 10. INDIAN RESERVATION ROAD SAFETY PROGRAM. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 4 of title 23, United States 

22 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 412. INDIAN RESERVATION ROAD SAFETY PROGRAM. 

24 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM.—
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•S 281 RS 

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

2 out a program to provide to eligible Indian tribes (as 

3 determined by the Secretary) competitive grants for 

4 use in establishing tribal transportation safety pro5 grams on—

6 ‘‘(A) Indian reservations; and 

7 ‘‘(B) other land under the jurisdiction of an 

8 Indian tribe. 

9 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds from a grant pro10 vided under paragraph (1) may be used to carry out 

11 a project or activity—

12 ‘‘(A) to prevent the operation of motor vehi13 cles by intoxicated individuals; 

14 ‘‘(B) to promote increased seat belt use 

15 rates; 

16 ‘‘(C) to eliminate hazardous locations and 

17 conditions on, or hazardous sections or elements 

18 of—

19 ‘‘(i) a public road; 

20 ‘‘(ii) a public surface transportation 

21 facility; 

22 ‘‘(iii) a publicly-owned bicycle or pe23 destrian pathway or trail; or 

24 ‘‘(iv) a traffic calming measure; 
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•S 281 RS 

1 ‘‘(D) to eliminate hazards relating to rail2 way-highway crossings; or 

3 ‘‘(E) to increase transportation safety by 

4 any other means, as determined by the Sec5 retary. 

6 ‘‘(b) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the cost 

7 of carrying out the program under this section shall be 100 

8 percent. 

9 ‘‘(c) FUNDING.—Notwithstanding any other provision 

10 of law, there are authorized to be appropriated from the 

11 Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Ac12 count) to carry out this section—

13 ‘‘(1) $6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 and 

14 2005; and 

15 ‘‘(2) $9,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 

16 through 2009.’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

18 chapter 4 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by 

19 inserting after the item relating to section 411 the following:

‘‘412. Indian reservation road safety program.’’.

20 SEC. 11. INDIAN RESERVATION RURAL TRANSIT PROGRAM. 

21 Section 5311 of title 49, United States Code, is amend22 ed by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(k) INDIAN RESERVATION RURAL TRANSIT PRO24 GRAM.—
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•S 281 RS 

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

2 and carry out a program to provide competitive 

3 grants to Indian tribes to establish rural transit pro4 grams on reservations or other land under the juris5 diction of the Indian tribes. 

6 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—The amount of a 

7 grant provided to an Indian tribe under subpara8 graph (A) shall be based on the need of the Indian 

9 tribe, as determined by the Secretary of Transpor10 tation. 

11 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDING.—For each of 

12 fiscal years 2004 through 2009, of the amount made 

13 available under section 5338, $15,000,000 shall be 

14 made available to carry out this subsection.’’. 

15 SEC. 12. COMMERCIAL VEHICLE DRIVING TRAINING PRO16 GRAM. 

17 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 (1) COMMERCIAL VEHICLE DRIVING.—The term 

19 ‘‘commercial vehicle driving’’ means the driving of—

20 (A) a vehicle that is a tractor-trailer truck; 

21 or 

22 (B) any other vehicle (such as a bus or a 

23 vehicle used for the purpose of construction) the 

24 driving of which requires a commercial license. 
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1 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Labor. 

3 (b) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall provide grants, on 

4 a competitive basis, to entities described in subsection (c)(1) 

5 to support programs providing training and certificates 

6 leading to the licensing of Native Americans with respect 

7 to commercial vehicle driving. 

8 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

9 under subsection (a), an entity shall—

10 (1) be a tribal college or university (as defined 

11 in section 316(b)(3) of the Higher Education Act (20 

12 U.S.C. 1059(b)(3)); and 

13 (2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an ap14 plication at such time, in such manner, and con15 taining such information as the Secretary may re16 quire. 

17 (d) PRIORITY.—In providing grants under subsection 

18 (a), the Secretary shall give priority to grant applications 

19 that—

20 (1) propose training that exceeds proposed min21 imum standards for training tractor-trailer drivers of 

22 the Department of Transportation; 

23 (2) propose training that exceeds the entry level 

24 truck driver certification standards set by the Profes25 sional Truck Driver Institute; and 
38

•S 281 RS 

1 (3) propose an education partnership with a pri2 vate trucking firm, trucking association, or similar 

3 entity in order to ensure the effectiveness of the grant 

4 program under this section. 

5 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

6 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

7 $5,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2004 through 2009.

Calendar No. 284

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 281

[Report No. 108–150] 

A BILL

To amend the Transportation Equity Act for the 

21st Century to make certain amendments with respect to Indian tribes, to provide for training and technical assistance to Native Americans who are interested in commercial vehicle driving careers, and for other purposes. 

SEPTEMBER 22, 2003

Reported with an amendment