I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 740 
To require the Secretary of Transportation to solicit a study on climate 
resilient transportation infrastructure, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 3, 2021 
Ms. BROWNLEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Transportation to solicit a study 
on climate resilient transportation infrastructure, and for 
other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Climate Resilient 
Transportation Infrastructure Study Act’’. 
SEC. 2. CLIMATE RESILIENT TRANSPORTATION INFRA-
STRUCTURE STUDY. 
(a) CLIMATE RESILIENT TRANSPORTATION INFRA-
STRUCTURE STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor-
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tation shall enter into an agreement with the Transpor-
tation Research Board of the National Academies to con-
duct a study of the actions needed to ensure that Federal 
agencies are taking into account current and future cli-
mate conditions in planning, designing, building, oper-
ating, maintaining, investing in, and upgrading any feder-
ally funded transportation infrastructure investments. 
(b) METHODOLOGIES.—In conducting the study, the 
Transportation Research Board shall build on the meth-
odologies examined and recommended in— 
(1) the 2018 report issued the American Soci-
ety of Civil Engineers, titled ‘‘Climate-Resilient In-
frastructure: Adaptive Design and Risk Manage-
ment’’; and 
(2) the report issued by the California Climate- 
Safe Infrastructure Working Group, titled ‘‘Paying 
it Forward: The Path Toward Climate-Safe Infra-
structure in California’’. 
(c) CONTENTS OF STUDY.—The study shall include 
specific recommendations regarding the following: 
(1) Integrating scientific knowledge of projected 
climate change impacts, and other relevant data and 
information, into Federal infrastructure planning, 
design, engineering, construction, operation and 
maintenance. 
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(2) Addressing critical information gaps and 
challenges. 
(3) Financing options to help fund climate-resil-
ient infrastructure. 
(4) A platform or process to facilitate commu-
nication between climate scientists and other experts 
with infrastructure planners, engineers and other 
relevant experts. 
(5) A stakeholder process to engage with rep-
resentatives of State, local, tribal and community 
groups. 
(6) A platform for tracking Federal funding of 
climate-resilient infrastructure. 
(7) Labor and workforce needs to implement 
climate-resilient 
transportation 
infrastructure 
projects including new and emerging skills, training 
programs, competencies and recognized postsec-
ondary credentials that may be required to ade-
quately equip the workforce. 
(8) Outlining how Federal infrastructure plan-
ning, design, engineering, construction, operation, 
and maintenance impact the environment and public 
health of disproportionately exposed communities. 
For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘‘dis-
proportionately exposed communities’’ means a com-
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munity in which climate change, pollution, or envi-
ronmental destruction have exacerbated systemic ra-
cial, regional, social, environmental, and economic 
injustices by disproportionately affecting indigenous 
peoples, communities of color, migrant communities, 
deindustrialized communities, depopulated rural 
communities, the poor, low-income workers, women, 
the elderly, people experiencing homelessness, people 
with disabilities, people who are incarcerated, or 
youth. 
(d) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out the study, 
the Transportation Research Board shall determine the 
need for information related to climate resilient transpor-
tation infrastructure by considering— 
(1) the current informational and institutional 
barriers to integrating projected infrastructure risks 
posed by climate change into federal infrastructure 
planning, design, engineering, construction, oper-
ation and maintenance; 
(2) the critical information needed by engineers, 
planners and those charged with infrastructure up-
grades and maintenance to better incorporate cli-
mate change risks and impacts over the lifetime of 
projects; 
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(3) how to select an appropriate, adaptive engi-
neering design for a range of future climate sce-
narios as related to infrastructure planning and in-
vestment; 
(4) how to incentivize and incorporate systems 
thinking into engineering design to maximize the 
benefits of multiple natural functions and emissions 
reduction, as well as regional planning; 
(5) how to take account of the risks of cas-
cading infrastructure failures and develop more ho-
listic approaches to evaluating and mitigating cli-
mate risks; 
(6) how to ensure that investments in infra-
structure resilience benefit all communities, includ-
ing communities of color, low-income communities 
and tribal communities that face a disproportionate 
risk from climate change and in many cases have ex-
perienced long-standing unmet needs and under-
investment in critical infrastructure; 
(7) how to incorporate capital assessment and 
planning training and techniques, including a range 
of financing options to help local and State govern-
ments plan for and provide matching funds; 
(8) how federal agencies can track and monitor 
federally funded resilient infrastructure in a coordi-
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