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each mass transit authority) and other forms of 
for-hire passenger travel; 
‘(I) frequency of vehicle and transportation 
facility repairs and other interruptions of trans-
portation service; 
‘(J) safety and security for travelers, vehi-
cles, and transportation systems; 
‘(K) consequences of transportation for the 
human and natural environment; 
‘(L) the extent, connectivity, and condition 
of the transportation system, building on the 
National Transportation Atlas Database devel-
oped under subsection (g); and 
‘(M) transportation-related variables that 
influence the domestic economy and global com-
petitiveness. 
‘(6) NATIONAL
SPATIAL
DATA
INFRASTRUC-
TURE.—Building and disseminating the transpor-
tation layer of the National Spatial Data Infrastruc-
ture, including coordinating the development of 
transportation geospatial data standards, compiling 
intermodal geospatial data, and collecting geospatial 
data that is not being collected by others. 
‘(7) ISSUING GUIDELINES.—Issuing guidelines 
for the collection of information by the Department
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of Transportation required for statistics to be com-
piled under paragraph (5) in order to ensure that 
such information is accurate, reliable, relevant, and 
in a form that permits systematic analysis. The Bu-
reau shall review and report to the Secretary of 
Transportation on the sources and reliability of the 
statistics proposed by the heads of the operating ad-
ministrations of the Department to measure outputs 
and outcomes as required by the Government Per-
formance and Results Act of 1993, and the amend-
ments made by such Act, and shall carry out such 
other reviews of the sources and reliability of other 
data collected or statistical information published by 
the heads of the operating administrations of the 
Department as shall be requested by the Secretary. 
‘(8) MAKING STATISTICS ACCESSIBLE.—Making 
the statistics published under this subsection readily 
accessible. 
‘(d) INFORMATION NEEDS ASSESSMENT.—
‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Within 60 days after the 
date of the enactment of the Transportation Equity 
Act: A Legacy for Users, the Secretary shall enter 
into an arrangement with the National Research 
Council to develop and publish a National Transpor-
tation Information Needs Assessment (referred to in
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this subsection as the ‘‘Assessment’’). The Assess-
ment shall be transmitted to the Secretary and the 
Congress not later than 24 months after such ar-
rangement is entered into. 
‘(2) CONTENT.—The Assessment shall—
‘(A) identify, in priority order, transpor-
tation data that is not being collected by the 
Bureau, Department of Transportation oper-
ating administrations, or other Federal, State, 
or local entities, but is needed to improve trans-
portation decisionmaking at the Federal, State, 
and local level and to fulfill the requirements of 
subsection (c)(5); 
‘(B) recommend whether the data identi-
fied in subparagraph (A) should be collected by 
the Bureau, other parts of the Department, or 
by other Federal, State, or local entities, and 
whether any data is a higher priority than data 
currently being collected; 
‘(C) identify any data the Bureau or other 
Federal, State, and local entities is collecting 
that is not needed; 
‘(D) describe new data collection methods 
(including changes in surveys) and other 
changes the Bureau or other Federal, State,
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and local entities should implement to improve 
the standardization, accuracy, and utility of 
transportation data and statistics; and 
‘(E) estimate the cost of implementing any 
recommendations. 
‘(3) CONSULTATION.—In developing the Assess-
ment, the National Research Council shall consult 
with the Department’s Advisory Council on Trans-
portation Statistics and a representative cross-sec-
tion of transportation community stakeholders as 
well as other Federal agencies, including the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency, the Department of 
Energy, and the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development. 
‘(4) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 6 
months after the National Research Council trans-
mits the Assessment under paragraph (1), the Sec-
retary shall transmit a report to Congress that de-
scribes—
‘(A) how the Department plans to fill the 
data gaps identified under paragraph (2)(A); 
‘(B) how the Department plans to stop col-
lecting data identified under paragraph (2)(C); 
‘(C) how the Department plans to imple-
ment improved data collection methods and
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other changes identified under paragraph 
(2)(D); 
‘(D) the expected costs of implementing 
subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of this para-
graph; 
‘(E) any findings of the Assessment under 
paragraph (1) with which the Secretary dis-
agrees, and why; and 
‘(F) any proposed statutory changes need-
ed to implement the findings of the Assessment 
under paragraph (1). 
‘(e) INTERMODAL TRANSPORTATION DATA BASE.—
‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—In consultation with the 
Under Secretary for Policy, the Assistant Secre-
taries, and the heads of the operating administra-
tions of the Department of Transportation, the Di-
rector shall establish and maintain a transportation 
data base for all modes of transportation. 
‘(2) USE.—The data base shall be suitable for 
analyses carried out by the Federal Government, the 
States, and metropolitan planning organizations. 
‘(3) CONTENTS.—The data base shall include—
‘(A) information on the volumes and pat-
terns of movement of goods, including local, 
interregional, and international movement, by
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all modes of transportation and intermodal 
combinations, and by relevant classification; 
‘(B) information on the volumes and pat-
terns of movement of people, including local, 
interregional, and international movements, by 
all modes of transportation (including bicycle 
and pedestrian modes) and intermodal combina-
tions, and by relevant classification; 
‘(C) information on the location and 
connectivity of transportation facilities and 
services; and 
‘(D) a national accounting of expenditures 
and capital stocks on each mode of transpor-
tation and intermodal combination. 
‘(f) NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION LIBRARY.—
‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish 
and maintain a National Transportation Library, 
which shall contain a collection of statistical and 
other information needed for transportation decision-
making at the Federal, State, and local levels. 
‘(2) ACCESS.—The Director shall facilitate and 
promote access to the Library, with the goal of im-
proving the ability of the transportation community 
to share information and the ability of the Director
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to make statistics readily accessible under subsection 
(c)(8). 
‘(3) COORDINATION.—The Director shall work 
with other transportation libraries and other trans-
portation information providers, both public and pri-
vate, to achieve the goal specified in paragraph (2). 
‘(g) NATIONAL
TRANSPORTATION
ATLAS
DATA 
BASE.—
‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall develop 
and maintain geospatial data bases that depict—
‘(A) transportation networks; 
‘(B) flows of people, goods, vehicles, and 
craft over the networks; and 
‘(C) social, economic, and environmental 
conditions that affect or are affected by the net-
works. 
‘(2) INTERMODAL
NETWORK
ANALYSIS.—The 
data bases shall be able to support intermodal net-
work analysis. 
‘(h) 
MANDATORY
RESPONSE
AUTHORITY
FOR 
FREIGHT
DATA
COLLECTION.—Whoever, being the 
owner, official, agent, person in charge, or assistant to the 
person in charge of any corporation, company, business, 
institution, establishment, or organization of any nature 
whatsoever, neglects or refuses, when requested by the Di-
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rector or other authorized officer, employee, or contractor 
of the Bureau, to answer completely and correctly to the 
best of his or her knowledge all questions relating to the 
corporation, company, business, institution, establishment, 
or other organization, or to make available records or sta-
tistics in his or her official custody, contained in a data 
collection request prepared and submitted under the au-
thority of subsection (c)(1), shall be fined not more than 
$500; but if he or she willfully gives a false answer to 
such a question, he or she shall be fined not more than 
$10,000. 
‘(i) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GRANTS.—The 
Secretary may make grants to, or enter into cooperative 
agreements or contracts with, public and nonprofit private 
entities (including State transportation departments, met-
ropolitan planning organizations, and institutions of high-
er education) for—
‘(1) investigation of the subjects specified in 
subsection (c)(5) and research and development of 
new methods of data collection, standardization, 
management, integration, dissemination, interpreta-
tion, and analysis; 
‘(2) demonstration programs by States, local 
governments, and metropolitan planning organiza-
tions to harmonize data collection, reporting, man-
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agement, storage, and archiving to simplify data 
comparisons across jurisdictions; 
‘(3) development of electronic clearinghouses of 
transportation data and related information, as part 
of the National Transportation Library under sub-
section (f); and 
‘(4) development and improvement of methods 
for sharing geographic data, in support of the na-
tional transportation atlas data base under sub-
section (g) and the National Spatial Data Infra-
structure developed under Executive Order No. 
12906. 
‘(j) LIMITATIONS ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—
Nothing in this section shall be construed—
‘(1) to authorize the Bureau to require any 
other department or agency to collect data; or 
‘(2) to reduce the authority of any other officer 
of the Department of Transportation to collect and 
disseminate data independently. 
‘(k) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN DISCLOSURES.—
‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An officer, employee or con-
tractor of the Bureau may not—
‘(A) make any disclosure in which the data 
provided by an individual or organization under 
subsection (c) can be identified;
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‘(B) use the information provided under 
subsection (c) for a nonstatistical purpose; or 
‘(C) permit anyone other than an indi-
vidual authorized by the Director to examine 
any individual report provided under subsection 
(c). 
‘(3) INFORMING
RESPONDENT
OF
USE
OF 
DATA.—In a case in which the Bureau is authorized 
by statute to collect data or information for a non-
statistical purpose, the Director shall clearly distin-
guish the collection of the data or information, by 
rule and on the collection instrument, so as to in-
form a respondent that is requested or required to 
supply the data or information of the nonstatistical 
purpose. 
‘(l) TRANSPORTATION
STATISTICS
ANNUAL
RE-
PORT.—The Director shall transmit to the President and 
Congress a Transportation Statistics Annual Report which 
shall include information on items referred to in sub-
section (c)(5), documentation of methods used to obtain 
and ensure the quality of the statistics presented in the 
report, and recommendations for improving transportation 
statistical information. 
‘(m) DATA ACCESS.—The Director shall have access 
to transportation and transportation-related information
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in the possession of any Federal agency except informa-
tion—
‘(1) the disclosure of which to another Federal 
agency is expressly prohibited by law; or 
‘(2) the disclosure of which the agency so re-
quested determines would significantly impair the 
discharge of authorities and responsibilities which 
have been delegated to, or vested by law, in such 
agency. 
‘(n) PROCEEDS OF DATA PRODUCT SALES.—Not-
withstanding section 3302 of title 31, funds received by 
the Bureau from the sale of data products, for necessary 
expenses incurred, may be credited to the Highway Trust 
Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) for the pur-
pose of reimbursing the Bureau for the expenses. 
‘(o) ADVISORY COUNCIL ON TRANSPORTATION STA-
TISTICS.—
‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the 
Bureau of Transportation Statistics shall establish 
an Advisory Council on Transportation Statistics. 
‘(2) FUNCTION.—It shall be the function of the 
Advisory Council established under this subsection 
to—
‘(A) advise the Director of the Bureau of 
Transportation Statistics on the quality, reli-
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ability, consistency, objectivity, and relevance of 
transportation statistics and analyses collected, 
supported, or disseminated by the Bureau of 
Transportation Statistics and the Department 
of Transportation; 
‘(B) provide input to and review the report 
to Congress under subsection (d)(4); and 
‘(C) advise the Director on methods to en-
courage harmonization and interoperability of 
transportation data collected by the Bureau, the 
operating administrations of the Department of 
Transportation, States, local governments, met-
ropolitan planning organizations, and private 
sector entities. 
‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Council es-
tablished under this subsection shall be composed of 
not fewer than 9 and not more than 11 members ap-
pointed by the Director, who are not officers or em-
ployees of the United States. Each member shall 
have expertise in transportation data collection or 
analysis or application; except that 1 member shall 
have expertise in economics, 1 member shall have ex-
pertise in statistics, and 1 member shall have experi-
ence in transportation safety. At least 1 member 
shall be a senior official of a State department of
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transportation. Members shall include representation 
of a cross-section of transportation community 
stakeholders. 
‘(4) TERMS OF APPOINTMENT.—(A) Except as 
provided in subparagraph (B), members shall be ap-
pointed to staggered terms not to exceed 3 years. A 
member may be renominated for one additional 3-
year term. 
‘(B) Members serving on the Advisory Council 
on Transportation Statistics as of the date of enact-
ment of the Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy 
for Users shall serve until the end of their appointed 
terms. 
‘(5) APPLICABILITY
OF
FEDERAL
ADVISORY 
COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee 
Act shall apply to the Advisory Council established 
under this subsection, except that section 14 of such 
Act shall not apply to such Advisory Council.’. 
SEC. 5502. REPORTS OF BUREAU OF TRANSPORTATION 
STATISTICS. 
Section 111(k) of title 49, United States Code, as 
amended by section 5501 of this Act, is amended by in-
serting after paragraph (1) the following: 
‘(2) COPIES OF REPORTS.—