I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2859 

To establish the Restoring Neighborhoods and Strengthening Communities 

Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 26, 2021 

Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To establish the Restoring Neighborhoods and Strengthening 

Communities Program, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Restoring Neighbor5 hoods and Strengthening Communities Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RESTORING NEIGHBORHOODS AND STRENGTH7 ENING COMMUNITIES PROGRAM. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION GRANT.—The term 

2 ‘‘capital construction grant’’ means a capital con3 struction grant under subsection (e). 

4 (2) COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, EDUCATION, 

5 AND CAPACITY BUILDING GRANT.—The term ‘‘com6 munity engagement, education, and capacity build7 ing grant’’ means a community engagement, edu8 cation, and capacity building grant under subsection 

9 (c). 

10 (3) COMMUNITY LAND TRUST.—The term 

11 ‘‘community land trust’’ means a nonprofit organiza12 tion established or with the responsibility, as appli13 cable— 

14 (A) to develop the real estate created by 

15 the removal or capping of an infrastructural 

16 barrier; and 

17 (B) to carry out anti-displacement or com18 munity development strategies, including— 

19 (i) affordable housing preservation 

20 and development; 

21 (ii) homeownership and property im22 provement programs; 

23 (iii) the development or rehabilitation 

24 of park space or recreation facilities; and 


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1 (iv) community revitalization and eco2 nomic development projects. 

3 (4) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY.— 

4 The term ‘‘environmental justice community’’ means 

5 a community with significant representation of com6 munities of color, low-income communities, or Tribal 

7 and indigenous populations that experiences, or is at 

8 risk of experiencing, higher or more adverse human 

9 health or environmental effects, as compared to 

10 other communities. 

11 (5) INFRASTRUCTURAL BARRIER.—The term 

12 ‘‘infrastructural barrier’’ means a highway (includ13 ing a limited access highway), a railway, a viaduct, 

14 a principal arterial facility, or any other transpor15 tation facility for which the high speeds, grade sepa16 ration, or other design factors contribute to negative 

17 health impacts on adjacent communities or create an 

18 obstacle to connectivity, including— 

19 (A) obstacles to walking, biking, and mo20 bility; 

21 (B) diminished access to destinations 

22 across the infrastructural barrier; or 

23 (C) barriers to the economic development 

24 of the surrounding neighborhood. 


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1 (6) PLANNING AND FEASIBILITY STUDY

2 GRANT.—The term ‘‘planning and feasibility study 

3 grant’’ means a planning and feasibility study grant 

4 under subsection (e). 

5 (7) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

6 the program established under subsection (b). 

7 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

8 the Secretary of Transportation. 

9 (9) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘Tribal 

10 government’’ means the recognized governing body 

11 of any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, 

12 pueblo, village, community, component band, or com13 ponent reservation, individually identified (including 

14 parenthetically) in the list published most recently as 

15 of the date of enactment of this Act pursuant to sec16 tion 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe 

17 List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131). 

18 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

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

20 a program to help communities— 

21 (A) identify infrastructural barriers within 

22 the community that— 

23 (i) create obstacles to mobility or eco24 nomic development; or 


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1 (ii) expose the community to high lev2 els of particulate matter, noise pollution, 

3 and other public health and safety risks; 

4 (B) study the feasibility of improving, and 

5 develop plans to improve, community 

6 connectivity, including through— 

7 (i) removal or retrofit of an 

8 infrastructural barrier; or 

9 (ii) construction or adaptive reuse of 

10 facilities to mitigate the obstacle created 

11 by the infrastructural barrier by enhancing 

12 connectivity across the infrastructural bar13 rier; 

14 (C) plan the redevelopment of any land 

15 made available by the removal or retrofit of the 

16 infrastructural barrier, with a focus on improve17 ments that will benefit the populations im18 pacted by or previously displaced by the 

19 infrastructural barrier; 

20 (D) access funding to carry out the activi21 ties described in subparagraphs (B) and (C); 

22 and 

23 (E) require the equity of any activities car24 ried out under the program, including by gar25 nering community engagement, avoiding disVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:48 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2859.IH H2859

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1 placement, and ensuring local participation in 

2 jobs created through those activities. 

3 (2) TYPES OF GRANTS.—Under the program, 

4 the Secretary shall award the following types of 

5 grants: 

6 (A) Community engagement, education, 

7 and capacity building grants. 

8 (B) Planning and feasibility study grants. 

9 (C) Capital construction grants. 

10 (3) MULTIPLE GRANTS PERMITTED.—An eligi11 ble entity may apply for and receive funding from 

12 more than 1 type of grant described in paragraph 

13 (2). 

14 (c) COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, EDUCATION, AND

15 CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS.— 

16 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The Secretary may 

17 award a community engagement, education, and ca18 pacity building grant to carry out community en19 gagement, education, and capacity building activities 

20 described in paragraph (2) to— 

21 (A) a unit of local government, a metro22 politan planning organization, or a group of 

23 local governments; 

24 (B) a Tribal government or a consortium 

25 of Tribal governments; 


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1 (C) a political subdivision of a State or 

2 local government; 

3 (D) a special purpose district or a public 

4 authority with a transportation function; and 

5 (E) a nonprofit organization. 

6 (2) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—A community en7 gagement and capacity building activity referred to 

8 in paragraph (1) includes an activity— 

9 (A) to educate community members about 

10 opportunities to affect transportation and eco11 nomic development planning and investment de12 cisions; 

13 (B) to build organizational or community 

14 capacity to engage in transportation and eco15 nomic development planning; 

16 (C) to identify community needs and de17 sires for community improvements; 

18 (D) to develop community-driven solutions 

19 to local challenges; 

20 (E) to conduct assessments of equity, mo21 bility and access, environmental justice, afford22 ability, economic opportunity, health outcomes, 

23 and other local goals; 

24 (F) to form a Community Advisory Board 

25 in accordance with subsection (f); and 


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1 (G) to engage community members in sce2 nario planning. 

3 (3) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

4 the cost of an activity carried out with funds from 

5 a community engagement, education, and capacity 

6 building grant may be up to 100 percent, at the dis7 cretion of the eligible entity. 

8 (4) LIMITATION.—Of the amounts made avail9 able to carry out this section each fiscal year, the 

10 Secretary may use not more than 20 percent to 

11 award community engagement, education, and ca12 pacity building grants. 

13 (d) PLANNING AND FEASIBILITY STUDY GRANTS.— 

14 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

16 award a planning and feasibility study grant to 

17 carry out planning activities described in para18 graph (2) to— 

19 (i) a State or group of States; 

20 (ii) a unit of local government, a met21 ropolitan planning organization, or a group 

22 of local governments; 

23 (iii) a Tribal government or a consor24 tium of Tribal governments; 


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1 (iv) a political subdivision of a State 

2 or local government; 

3 (v) a special purpose district or a pub4 lic authority with a transportation func5 tion; 

6 (vi) a multi-State or multijuris7 dictional group of public entities; and 

8 (vii) a nonprofit organization. 

9 (B) PARTNERSHIPS.—In the case of an eli10 gible entity that is not the owner of the 

11 infrastructural barrier that is the subject of the 

12 planning and feasibility study grant, the eligible 

13 entity shall demonstrate the existence of a part14 nership with the owner of the infrastructural 

15 barrier. 

16 (2) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—A planning activity 

17 referred to in paragraph (1)(A) includes— 

18 (A) development of designs and artistic 

19 renderings to facilitate community engagement; 

20 (B) traffic studies, nonmotorized accessi21 bility analyses, equity needs analyses, and col22 lection of other relevant data; 

23 (C) planning studies to evaluate the feasi24 bility of removing or retrofitting an 

25 infrastructural barrier, or the construction or 


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1 constructive reuse of facilities to mitigate the 

2 obstacle created by the infrastructural barrier 

3 by enhancing connectivity across the 

4 infrastructural barrier; 

5 (D) public engagement activities to provide 

6 opportunities for public input into a plan to re7 move, convert, or mitigate an infrastructural 

8 barrier; 

9 (E) environmental review, consultation, or 

10 other action required under any Federal envi11 ronmental law relating to the review or ap12 proval of a project to remove, retrofit, or miti13 gate an existing infrastructural barrier; 

14 (F) establishment of a community land 

15 trust; and 

16 (G) other transportation planning activities 

17 required in advance of a project to remove, ret18 rofit or mitigate an existing infrastructural bar19 rier, as determined by the Secretary. 

20 (3) PRIORITY.—In selecting eligible entities to 

21 receive a planning and feasibility study grant, the 

22 Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that 

23 seek to carry out a traffic study that includes con24 sideration of— 

25 (A) safety; 


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1 (B) health impacts; 

2 (C) levels of single-occupancy vehicular 

3 travel; 

4 (D) access to jobs and services; and 

5 (E) levels of traffic stress. 

6 (4) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara8 graph (B), the Federal share of the cost of an 

9 activity carried out with funds from a planning 

10 and feasibility study grant shall be not more 

11 than 80 percent. 

12 (B) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive 

13 the non-Federal share requirement under sub14 paragraph (A) if the Secretary determines that 

15 the recipient of a grant cannot meet the re16 quirement due to financial hardship. 

17 (e) CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION GRANTS.— 

18 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The Secretary may 

19 award a capital construction grant to the owner of 

20 an infrastructural barrier to carry out a project de21 scribed in paragraph (3) for which all necessary fea22 sibility studies and other planning activities have 

23 been completed. 

24 (2) PARTNERSHIPS.—For the purpose of sub25 mitting an application for a capital construction 


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1 grant, an owner of an infrastructural barrier may, if 

2 applicable, partner with— 

3 (A) a State or group of States; 

4 (B) a unit of local government, a metro5 politan planning organization, or a group of 

6 local governments; 

7 (C) a Tribal government or a consortium 

8 of Tribal governments; 

9 (D) a political subdivision of a State or 

10 local government; 

11 (E) a special purpose district or a public 

12 authority with a transportation function; 

13 (F) a multi-State or multijurisdictional 

14 group of public entities; or 

15 (G) a nonprofit organization. 

16 (3) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—A project eligible to be 

18 carried out with a capital construction grant in19 cludes— 

20 (i) the removal of an infrastructural 

21 barrier; 

22 (ii) the retrofit of an infrastructural 

23 barrier in a way that enhances community 

24 connectivity and is sensitive to the context 

25 of the surrounding community, including 


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1 retrofits to a highway to cap the facility or 

2 replace the facility with an at-grade arte3 rial roadway; 

4 (iii) the construction or adaptive reuse 

5 of facilities that improve connectivity 

6 across the infrastructural barrier; 

7 (iv) the replacement of an 

8 infrastructural barrier with a new use or 

9 facility that has been identified by mem10 bers of the community; and 

11 (v) the construction of other transpor12 tation improvements that address the mo13 bility needs of the community. 

14 (B) EXCLUSION.—Funds from a capital 

15 construction grant shall not be used on a 

16 project that increases net capacity for vehicular 

17 travel. 

18 (4) PRIORITY FOR CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION

19 GRANTS.—In selecting eligible entities to receive a 

20 capital construction grant, the Secretary shall give 

21 priority to eligible entities that— 

22 (A) provide the majority of project benefits 

23 to 1 or more environmental justice commu24 nities; 


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1 (B) have entered into a community bene2 fits agreement with representatives of the com3 munity; 

4 (C) have formed a Community Advisory 

5 Board under subsection (f); 

6 (D) have demonstrated a plan for improv7 ing transit services, mobility for pedestrians 

8 and bicyclists, or enhancing safety features for 

9 nonmotorists (as that term is used in the Fatal10 ity Analysis Reporting System of the National 

11 Highway Traffic Safety Administration); 

12 (E) have demonstrated a plan for reducing 

13 greenhouse gas emissions or improving air qual14 ity; or 

15 (F) have demonstrated a plan for— 

16 (i) employing residents in the area im17 pacted by the activity or project through 

18 targeted hiring programs; and 

19 (ii) contracting and subcontracting 

20 with disadvantaged business enterprises. 

21 (5) REQUIREMENTS.— 

22 (A) COMMUNITY SUPPORT.—In order to 

23 receive a capital construction grant, the owner 

24 of the applicable infrastructural barrier shall 

25 demonstrate that the project is supported by 


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1 the community in the immediate vicinity of the 

2 project. 

3 (B) ANTI-DISPLACEMENT POLICY OR COM4 MUNITY LAND TRUST REQUIRED.—In order to 

5 receive a capital construction grant, the owner 

6 of the applicable infrastructural barrier shall 

7 demonstrate that the project serves a commu8 nity in which an anti-displacement policy or a 

9 community land trust is in effect. 

10 (C) BUY AMERICA.—A capital construction 

11 grant may not be used to carry out an eligible 

12 project unless the project complies with section 

13 313 of title 23, United States Code. 

14 (6) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

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

16 subparagraphs (B) and (C), the Federal share 

17 of the cost of a project carried out with a cap18 ital construction grant may be not more than 

19 80 percent. 

20 (B) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive 

21 the non-Federal share requirement under sub22 paragraph (A) if the Secretary determines that 

23 the recipient of a grant cannot meet the re24 quirement due to financial hardship. 


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1 (C) MAXIMUM FEDERAL INVOLVEMENT.— 

2 Federal assistance other than a capital con3 struction grant may be used to satisfy the non4 Federal share of the cost of a project for which 

5 the grant is awarded. 

6 (f) COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—To help achieve inclusive 

8 economic development benefits, an eligible entity 

9 may form a community advisory board, which 

10 shall— 

11 (A) facilitate community engagement with 

12 respect to the activity or project proposed to be 

13 carried out; and 

14 (B) track progress with respect to commit15 ments of the eligible entity to inclusive employ16 ment, contracting, and economic development 

17 under the activity or project. 

18 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—If an eligible entity forms a 

19 community advisory board under paragraph (1), the 

20 community advisory board shall be composed of rep21 resentatives of— 

22 (A) residents in the immediate vicinity of 

23 the project; 

24 (B) owners of businesses that serve the 

25 community; 


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1 (C) labor organizations that represent 

2 workers that serve the community; and 

3 (D) State and local government. 

4 (3) COLLECTION OF DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMA5 TION.— 

6 (A) COLLECTION.—The Secretary shall 

7 provide for the collection of demographic infor8 mation of the membership of community advi9 sory boards formed under paragraph (1). 

10 (B) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The Sec11 retary shall establish appropriate procedures— 

12 (i) to protect the personally identi13 fying information submitted under sub14 paragraph (A); and 

15 (ii) to ensure that any information 

16 collected under this paragraph is not in17 cluded when an application for a grant 

18 under this section is examined. 

19 (C) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Sec20 retary shall, on a biennial basis, submit to Con21 gress a report that— 

22 (i) evaluates the information collected 

23 under this paragraph; and 

24 (ii) includes recommendations— 


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1 (I) to improve the diversity of 

2 community advisory boards formed 

3 under paragraph (1); and 

4 (II) to improve data collection 

5 under this paragraph. 

6 (g) STUDY ON INFRASTRUCTURAL BARRIERS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct 

8 a study— 

9 (A) to identify communities across the 

10 United States that have infrastructural bar11 riers; and 

12 (B) to measure the environmental, public 

13 health, and economic harm done to the commu14 nities identified under subparagraph (A) as a 

15 result of those infrastructural barriers. 

16 (2) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the study 

17 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consult 

18 with— 

19 (A) State departments of transportation; 

20 (B) units of local government, Tribal gov21 ernments, and metropolitan planning organiza22 tions that represent jurisdictions impacted by 

23 infrastructural barriers; and 

24 (C) special purpose districts and public au25 thorities with a transportation function. 


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1 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

2 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

3 submit to Congress and make publicly available a re4 port describing the results of the study conducted 

5 under paragraph (1). 

6 (4) MAP.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

7 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall estab8 lish an online tool to map infrastructural barriers 

9 identified in the study conducted under paragraph 

10 (1). 

11 (h) DAVIS-BACON.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

13 provision of law, all laborers and mechanics em14 ployed by contractors or subcontractors on projects 

15 carried out in whole or in part using a grant under 

16 the program shall be paid wages at rates not less 

17 than those prevailing on projects of a similar char18 acter in the locality as determined by the Secretary 

19 of Labor in accordance with subchapter IV of chap20 ter 31 of title 40, United States Code (commonly 

21 known as the ‘‘Davis-Bacon Act’’). 

22 (2) AUTHORITY.—With respect to the labor 

23 standards specified in paragraph (1), the Secretary 

24 of Labor shall have the authority and functions set 

25 forth in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 


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1 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) and section 3145 of 

2 title 40, United States Code. 

3 (i) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—For each fiscal year, 

4 the Secretary may use not more than 2 percent of the 

5 amounts made available for the program for the costs of 

6 administering the program. 

7 (j) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

8 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

9 the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the 

10 Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infra11 structure of the House of Representatives a report that— 

12 (1) assesses the impacts and benefits of high13 way removals on congestion, mobility, and safety in 

14 the project vicinity, and the extent to which those 

15 impacts differ from projected impacts; 

16 (2) includes recommendations for how traffic 

17 forecasting should— 

18 (A) consider nonmotorized travel demand; 

19 and 

20 (B) track and be updated in response to 

21 observed travel behavior responses to changes in 

22 transportation capacity and land use; and 

23 (3) includes recommendations for how environ24 mental reviews for projects funded under the Fed25 eral-aid highway program should consider, identify, 


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1 and quantify, during project development, any di2 minished access, including nonmotorized access, that 

3 will result from the project. 

4 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

6 appropriated to carry out the program 

7 $3,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 

8 through 2026. 

9 (2) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITIES.— 

10 Of the amounts made available under paragraph (1) 

11 for each fiscal year, not less than 40 percent shall 

12 be directed towards environmental justice commu13 nities. 

Æ 


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