‘‘(I) The amount of critical facilities near 
the crossing, including emergency response 
services, hospitals, schools, chemical and power 
plants (including nuclear), military bases and 
installations, and other similar facilities as de-
termined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) SECONDARY CONSIDERATIONS.—In award-
ing grants under the Program, the Secretary shall 
consider the following secondary factors: 
‘‘(A) Improvement in air quality, including 
reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. 
‘‘(B) Decrease in train noise. 
‘‘(C) Increase in economic development. 
‘‘(D) Improvements to commuter and 
intercity passenger rail service and on-time per-
formance. 
‘‘(E) Improvements to the rail freight net-
work. 
‘‘(F) Socioeconomic status of the commu-
nity where the project is located. 
‘‘(G) The applicant’s history of dem-
onstrating financial commitment to and funding 
similar projects. 
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‘‘(3) 
PROHIBITED
CONSIDERATIONS.—In 
awarding grants under this section, the Secretary 
may not— 
‘‘(A) limit the amount of grants or assist-
ance any 1 State can receive; 
‘‘(B) require a minimum amount of grants 
or assistance to go to rural areas; or 
‘‘(C) take into consideration the amount of 
new non-Federal revenue a grant applicant has 
raised. 
‘‘(f) COMPETITIVE PROCESS AND EVALUATION OF 
ELIGIBLE PROJECTS OTHER THAN LARGE PROJECTS.— 
‘‘(1) COMPETITIVE PROCESS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 
‘‘(i) for the first fiscal year for which 
funds are made available for obligation 
under the Program, not later than 60 days 
after the date on which the template under 
subparagraph (B)(i) is developed, and in 
subsequent fiscal years, not later than 60 
days after the date on which amounts are 
made available for obligation under the 
Program, solicit grant applications for eli-
gible projects other than large projects; 
and 
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‘‘(ii) not later than 120 days after the 
date on which the solicitation under clause 
(i) expires, conduct evaluations under 
paragraph (3). 
‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out 
subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(i) develop a template for applicants 
to use to summarize project needs and 
benefits, including benefits described in 
paragraph (3)(B)(i); and 
‘‘(ii) enable applicants to use data 
from the national crossing inventory under 
section 20160 of title 49 to populate tem-
plates described in clause (i), as applicable. 
‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity shall 
submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 
in such manner, and containing such information as 
the Secretary may require. 
‘‘(3) EVALUATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Prior to providing a 
grant under this subsection, the Secretary 
shall— 
‘‘(i) conduct an evaluation of each 
project for which an application is received 
under this subsection; and 
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‘‘(ii) assign a quality rating to the 
project on the basis of the evaluation 
under clause (i). 
‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out an 
evaluation under subparagraph (A), the Sec-
retary shall— 
‘‘(i) consider information on project 
benefits submitted by the applicant using 
the template developed under paragraph 
(1)(B)(i), including how and to what ex-
tent the project will address the factors 
listed in subsection (e)(1); and 
‘‘(ii) consider whether and the extent 
to which the benefits, including the bene-
fits described in clause (i), are more likely 
than not to outweigh the total project 
costs. 
‘‘(g) COMPETITIVE PROCESS, EVALUATION, AND AN-
NUAL REPORT FOR LARGE PROJECTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish an annual date by which an eligible entity sub-
mitting an application for a large project shall sub-
mit to the Secretary such information as the Sec-
retary may require, including information described 
in paragraph (2), in order for a large project to be 
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considered for a recommendation by the Secretary 
for funding in the next annual report under para-
graph (6). 
‘‘(2) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—The informa-
tion referred to in paragraph (1) includes— 
‘‘(A) all necessary information required for 
the Secretary to evaluate the large project; and 
‘‘(B) information sufficient for the Sec-
retary to determine that— 
‘‘(i) the large project meets the appli-
cable requirements under this section; and 
‘‘(ii) there is a reasonable likelihood 
that the large project will continue to meet 
the requirements under this section. 
‘‘(3) DETERMINATION; NOTICE.—On making a 
determination that information submitted to the 
Secretary under paragraph (1) is sufficient, the Sec-
retary shall provide a written notice of that deter-
mination to— 
‘‘(A) the entity that submitted the applica-
tion; 
‘‘(B) the Committee on Environment and 
Public Works of the Senate; and 
‘‘(C) the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives. 
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‘‘(4) EVALUATION.—The Secretary may rec-
ommend a large project for funding in the annual 
report under paragraph (6) only if the Secretary 
evaluates the proposed project and determines that 
the project is justified because the project— 
‘‘(A) addresses a need to eliminate the 
grade crossing as determined by the Secretary, 
consistent with the goals of the Program under 
subsection (b)(2); 
‘‘(B) will generate significant benefits 
based upon the factors listed in subsection 
(e)(1), as determined by the Secretary; 
‘‘(C) is cost effective based on an analysis 
of whether the benefits described in subpara-
graph (B) are expected to outweigh the project 
costs; and 
‘‘(D) is supported by other Federal or non- 
Federal financial commitments or revenues ade-
quate to fund construction of the project. 
‘‘(5) RATINGS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
create a data driven ranking to evaluate, rate, 
and rank large projects. The Secretary shall de-
velop a methodology that— 
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rating in subparagraph (A) when awarding 
grants under this section. The Secretary shall 
give at least 50 percent weight to the ‘safety 
score’ calculated under subparagraph (A)(ii). 
‘‘(C) 
PRIORITIZATION.—The 
Secretary 
shall prioritize funding for those projects scor-
ing highest under subparagraph (B). To be con-
sidered justified and receive a recommendation 
for funding in the annual report under para-
graph (6), a project shall receive a ‘satisfactory’ 
rating for each rating required under subpara-
graph (A). The Secretary shall determine and 
publish what is considered a ‘satisfactory’ rat-
ing for the purposes of this subparagraph. 
‘‘(D) POSTING
OF
RATINGS.—Not later 
than 30 days after announcing an intent to 
award funds under this section, the Secretary 
shall post on the Department of Transpor-
tation’s website the overall ranking and scores, 
including the score for each metric quantified 
under paragraph (5)(A), for each eligible large 
application that submitted an application. 
‘‘(6) ANNUAL
REPORT
ON
FUNDING
REC-
OMMENDATIONS FOR LARGE PROJECTS.— 
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‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than the 
first Monday in February of each year, the Sec-
retary shall submit to the Committees on 
Transportation and Infrastructure and Appro-
priations of the House of Representatives and 
the Committees on Environment and Public 
Works and Appropriations of the Senate a re-
port that includes— 
‘‘(i) a list of large projects that have 
requested a recommendation for funding 
under a new grant agreement from funds 
anticipated to be available to carry out this 
subsection in the next fiscal year; 
‘‘(ii) the evaluation under paragraph 
(4) and ratings under paragraph (5) for 
each project referred to in subsection (i); 
and 
‘‘(iii) the grant amounts that the Sec-
retary recommends providing to large 
projects in the next fiscal year, including— 
‘‘(I) scheduled payments under 
previously signed multiyear grant 
agreements under subsection (i); 
‘‘(II) payments for new grant 
agreements, 
including 
single-year 
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grant agreements and multiyear grant 
agreements; 
‘‘(III) 
a 
description 
of 
how 
amounts anticipated to be available 
for the Program or the President’s 
budget request for that fiscal year will 
be distributed; and 
‘‘(IV) for each project for which 
the Secretary recommends a new 
multiyear grant agreement under sub-
section (i), the proposed payout sched-
ule for the project. 
‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary shall 
not recommend in an annual report under this 
paragraph a new multiyear grant agreement 
unless the Secretary determines that the project 
can be completed using funds that are antici-
pated to be available in future fiscal years. 
‘‘(C) 
CONSIDERATIONS.—In 
selecting 
projects to recommend for funding in the an-
nual report under this paragraph, the Secretary 
shall— 
‘‘(i) consider the amount of funds 
available 
in 
future 
fiscal 
years 
for 
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multiyear grant agreements as described in 
subparagraph (B); and 
‘‘(ii) assume the availability of funds 
in future fiscal years for multiyear grant 
agreements that extend beyond the period 
of authorization based on the amount 
made available for large projects under the 
Program in the last fiscal year of the pe-
riod of authorization. 
‘‘(h) ELIGIBLE PROJECT COSTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—A grant received for a 
project under the Program may be used for— 
‘‘(A) development phase activities, includ-
ing planning, feasibility analysis, revenue fore-
casting, environmental review, preliminary engi-
neering 
and 
design 
work, 
and 
other 
preconstruction activities; and 
‘‘(B) construction, reconstruction, rehabili-
tation, acquisition of real property (including 
land related to the project and improvements to 
the land), environmental mitigation, construc-
tion contingencies, acquisition of equipment, 
and operational improvements directly related 
to improving system performance. 
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‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not 
limit eligible projects from consideration for funding 
for planning, engineering, environmental, construc-
tion, and design elements of the same project in the 
same application. 
‘‘(i) MULTIYEAR GRANT AGREEMENTS FOR LARGE 
PROJECTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—A large project that re-
ceives a grant under the Program in an amount of 
not less than $100,000,000 may be carried out 
through a multiyear grant agreement in accordance 
with this subsection. 
‘‘(2) 
REQUIREMENTS.—A 
multiyear 
grant 
agreement for a large project described in paragraph 
(1) shall— 
‘‘(A) establish the terms of participation by 
the Federal Government in the project; 
‘‘(B) establish the maximum amount of 
Federal financial assistance for the project in 
accordance with paragraphs (1) and (2) of sub-
section (c); 
‘‘(C) establish a payout schedule for the 
project that provides for disbursement of the 
full grant amount by not later than 4 fiscal 
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years after the fiscal year in which the initial 
amount is provided; 
‘‘(D) determine the period of time for com-
pleting the project, even if that period extends 
beyond the period of an authorization; and 
‘‘(E) attempt to improve timely and effi-
cient management of the project, consistent 
with all applicable Federal laws (including regu-
lations). 
‘‘(3) SPECIAL FINANCIAL RULES.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—A multiyear grant 
agreement under this subsection— 
‘‘(i) shall obligate an amount of avail-
able budget authority specified in law; and 
‘‘(ii) may include a commitment, con-
tingent on amounts to be specified in law 
in advance for commitments under this 
paragraph, 
to 
obligate 
an 
additional 
amount from future available budget au-
thority specified in law. 
‘‘(B) STATEMENT
OF
CONTINGENT
COM-
MITMENT.—The agreement shall state that the 
contingent commitment is not an obligation of 
the Federal Government. 
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‘‘(C) INTEREST
AND
OTHER
FINANCING 
COSTS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Interest and other 
financing costs of carrying out a part of 
the project within a reasonable time shall 
be considered a cost of carrying out the 
project under a multiyear grant agreement, 
except that eligible costs may not be more 
than the cost of the most favorable financ-
ing terms reasonably available for the 
project at the time of borrowing. 
‘‘(ii) CERTIFICATION.—The applicant 
shall certify to the Secretary that the ap-
plicant has shown reasonable diligence in 
seeking the most favorable financing 
terms. 
‘‘(4) 
ADVANCE
PAYMENT.—Notwithstanding 
any other provision of law, an entity carrying out a 
large project under a multiyear grant agreement— 
‘‘(A) may use funds made available to the 
entity under this title for eligible project costs 
of the large project until the amount specified 
in the multiyear grant agreement for the 
project for that fiscal year becomes available for 
obligation; and 
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‘‘(B) if the entity uses funds as described 
in subparagraph (A), the funds used shall be 
reimbursed from the amount made available 
under the multiyear grant agreement for the 
project. 
‘‘(j) UNDERTAKING PARTS
OF PROJECTS
IN AD-
VANCE UNDER LETTERS OF NO PREJUDICE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may pay to 
an applicant all eligible project costs under the Pro-
gram, including costs for an activity for an eligible 
project incurred prior to the date on which the 
project receives funding under the Program if— 
‘‘(A) before the applicant carries out the 
activity, the Secretary approves through a letter 
to the applicant the activity in the same man-
ner as the Secretary approves other activities as 
eligible under the Program; 
‘‘(B) a record of decision, a finding of no 
significant impact, or a categorical exclusion 
under the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) has been issued 
for the eligible project; and 
‘‘(C) the activity is carried out without 
Federal assistance and in accordance with all 
applicable procedures and requirements. 
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‘‘(2) 
INTEREST
AND
OTHER
FINANCING 
COSTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para-
graph (1), the cost of carrying out an activity 
for an eligible project includes the amount of 
interest and other financing costs, including 
any interest earned and payable on bonds, to 
the extent interest and other financing costs are 
expended in carrying out the activity for the eli-
gible project, except that interest and other fi-
nancing costs may not be more than the cost of 
the most favorable financing terms reasonably 
available for the eligible project at the time of 
borrowing. 
‘‘(B) CERTIFICATION.—The applicant shall 
certify to the Secretary that the applicant has 
shown reasonable diligence in seeking the most 
favorable financing terms under subparagraph 
(A). 
‘‘(3) NO OBLIGATION OR INFLUENCE ON REC-
OMMENDATIONS.—An approval by the Secretary 
under paragraph (1)(A) shall not— 
‘‘(A) constitute an obligation of the Fed-
eral Government; or 
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‘‘(B) alter or influence any evaluation 
under subsections (f)(3)(A)(i) or (g)(4) or any 
recommendation by the Secretary for funding 
under the Program. 
‘‘(k) CONGRESSIONAL
NOTIFICATION.—Not later 
than 30 days before making a grant under the Program, 
the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Transpor-
tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of 
the Senate a written notification of the proposed grant 
that includes— 
‘‘(1) an evaluation and justification for the eli-
gible project; and 
‘‘(2) the amount of the proposed grant. 
‘‘(l) REPORTS.— 
‘‘(1) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than August 
1 of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall make avail-
able on the website of the Department of Transpor-
tation an annual report that lists each eligible 
project for which a grant has been provided under 
the Program during the fiscal year. 
‘‘(2) GAO ASSESSMENT
AND
REPORT.—Not 
later than 3 years after the date of enactment of 
this section, the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall— 
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‘‘(A) conduct an assessment of the admin-
istrative establishment, solicitation, selection, 
and justification process with respect to the 
funding of grants under the Program; and 
‘‘(B) submit to the Committee on Trans-
portation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Environ-
ment and Public Works of the Senate a report 
that describes— 
‘‘(i) the adequacy and fairness of the 
process under which each eligible project 
that received a grant under the Program 
was selected; and 
‘‘(ii) the justification and criteria used 
for the selection of each eligible project.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
for chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 130 the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘131. Railway-highway crossing separation program.’’. 
Æ 
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