I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7587 
To direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue a notice of proposed 
rulemaking with respect to categorical exclusions of the Maritime Admin-
istration, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 7, 2024 
Mrs. PELTOLA (for herself and Mr. ROUZER) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc-
ture, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a pe-
riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con-
sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue a notice 
of proposed rulemaking with respect to categorical exclu-
sions of the Maritime Administration, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Port Optimization for 
Responsible Transportation Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. MARITIME ADMINISTRATION. 
(a) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSIONS.— 
(1) RECIPROCAL USE OF CATEGORICAL EXCLU-
SIONS.—Not later than 6 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor-
tation shall issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to 
establish that the Maritime Administrator shall ap-
prove any action qualifying as a categorical exclusion 
established by the Federal Highway Administration, 
the Federal Transit Administration, or the Federal 
Railroad Administration, as outlined in part 771 of 
title 23, Code of Federal Regulations, when the ap-
plicable requirements of that categorical exclusion 
have been met. 
(2) NEW CATEGORICAL EXCLUSIONS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 6 
months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary shall publish a notice of proposed 
rulemaking to propose new Maritime Adminis-
tration categorical exclusions for port authority 
projects that require the approval of the Sec-
retary under the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 
(B) EXPANDING LIST.—The Maritime Ad-
ministration’s list of categorical exclusions shall 
be expanded with the goal of having a list that 
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allows the Maritime Administration to issue 
categorical exclusions that maritime port au-
thorities would typically use, independently of 
the lists of other Department of Transportation 
modal agencies, including categorical exclu-
sions— 
(i) corresponding to project types that 
have typically been granted a Finding of 
No Significant Impact in past Maritime 
Administration-granted projects and could 
feasibly be categorical exclusions; and 
(ii) that the Secretary determines 
would be useful to maritime port authori-
ties in the course of Federal grant-funded 
projects. 
(3) PROCESS
FOR
REGULAR
UPDATES.—The 
Secretary shall include in the rule required by para-
graph (2) a process by which the Maritime Adminis-
tration will update the list of categorical exclusions 
every 4 years to reflect lessons learned in grant ad-
ministration and project construction that lead to 
new efficiencies in the requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 
et seq.). 
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(b) APPLICATION TIMELINES.—Section 54301(a)(5) 
of title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(C) DELAYED NOTICE OF FUNDING OP-
PORTUNITY.—If an amendment is made to a 
published solicitation for grant applications 
such that an applicant would need the informa-
tion contained in the amendment to draft an 
application, other than an amendment of the 
amount of grant funding available, the Sec-
retary shall extend the application deadline by 
the number of days between the initial solicita-
tion and the amendment.’’. 
(c) 
PROJECT
BUDGET
REVIEWS.—Section 
54301(a)(9) of title 46, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(2) in subparagraph (C) by striking the period 
at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(D) grant contracts are approved effi-
ciently by the Secretary, minimizing delays for 
minor adjustments to project scopes and budg-
ets due to inflationary effects on projects.’’. 
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(d) STAFFING
AND GRANT TIMELINES.—Section 
54301(a)(11) of title 46, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(C) ADMINISTRATIVE
AND
OVERSIGHT 
REPORT.—Not later than 365 days after the 
date of the enactment of this subparagraph, 
and each year thereafter, the Secretary shall 
submit to Congress a report on the average 
length of grant obligation timelines and the na-
ture of any staffing shortages relevant to ad-
ministering this program.’’. 
SEC. 3. FEDERAL PERMITTING IMPROVEMENT STEERING 
COUNCIL. 
Section 41001(6)(A)(i)(II) of the FAST Act (42 
U.S.C. 4370m(6)(A)(i)(II)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, ex-
cept for projects sponsored by a port authority’’ after 
‘‘$200,000,000’’. 
SEC. 4. BUILD AMERICA BUY AMERICA. 
(a) LIMITED WAIVERS.—Section 54301(a)(11) of 
title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(C) CERTIFICATION
OF
DOMESTIC
SUP-
PLY.—If the Secretary denies an application for 
a waiver under the procedures outlined in sec-
tion 8301 of title 41, the Secretary shall pro-
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vide to the applicant a written certification 
that— 
‘‘(i) the steel, iron, or manufactured 
goods, as applicable (referred to in this 
subparagraph as the ‘item’), is produced in 
the United States in a sufficient and rea-
sonably available amount; 
‘‘(ii) the item produced in the United 
States is of a satisfactory quality; and 
‘‘(iii) includes a list of known manu-
facturers in the United States from which 
the item can be obtained.’’. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that, to build the necessary domestic manufacturing 
capabilities, port authorities should be permitted to make 
group or pooled purchases of equipment, also known as 
‘‘piggybacking’’, in which the post-award use of a contrac-
tual document allows multiple port authorities to purchase 
the same supplies or equipment through the original con-
tractual document. 
Æ 
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