I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 918
To direct the Secretary of Transportation to make grants to States for
the construction and maintenance of highways, to direct the Federal
Communications Commission to conduct spectrum auctions to provide
funding for the grants, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 4, 1997
Mr. KNOLLENBERG introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Commerce, and in additon to the Committees on Transpor-
tation and Infrastructure and Ways and Means, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Transportation to make grants
to States for the construction and maintenance of high-
ways, to direct the Federal Communications Commission
to conduct spectrum auctions to provide funding for the
grants, 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 ‘‘Infrastructure Im-
provement Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. SPECTRUM AUCTIONS.
(a) REQUIRED AUCTIONS.—To the extent that por-
tions of the public electromagnetic spectrum allocated for
commercial use become available for licenses and construc-
tion during the period consisting of fiscal years 1998
through 2002, the Federal Communications Commission
shall, during such period, conduct competitive bidding in
accordance with section 309(j) of the Communications Act
of 1934 for licenses and construction permits involving
such portions which result in an amount of proceeds equal
to the sum of (1) $26,000,000,000, and (2) the amount
of any offsetting collections referred to in the first sen-
tence of section 309(j)(8)(B) of such Act. To the extent
possible, the competitive bidding shall be conducted so
that proceeds required under this subsection are obtained
in equal amounts during each fiscal year during such pe-
riod.
(b) TREATMENT
OF PROCEEDS.—Notwithstanding
section 309(j)(8)(A) of the Communications Act of 1934,
the proceeds from competitive bidding conducted pursuant
to subsection (a) (less any proceeds retained pursuant to
the first sentence of section 309(j)(8)(B) of such section)
shall be deposited in the Infrastructure Improvement
Trust Fund established by section 9512 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as added by section 3 of this Act.
This subsection may not be construed to apply to any pro-
ceeds from competitive bidding conducted pursuant to
subsection (a) in excess of the sum described in subsection
(a).
SEC. 3. INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT TRUST FUND.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A of chapter 98 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to Trust Fund
Code) is amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
‘‘SEC. 
9512. 
INFRASTRUCTURE 
IMPROVEMENT 
TRUST
FUND.
‘‘(a) CREATION OF TRUST FUND.—There is estab-
lished in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund
to be known as the ‘Infrastructure Improvement Trust
Fund’, consisting of such amounts as may be appropriated
or credited to such trust fund as provided in this section
or section 9602(b).
‘‘(b) TRANSFERS TO TRUST FUND.—There are here-
by appropriated to the Infrastructure Improvement Trust
Fund amounts equivalent to the revenues received in the
Treasury from the proceeds of competitive bidding con-
ducted by the Federal Communications Commission pur-
suant to section 2(a) of the Infrastructure Improvement
Act of 1997.
‘‘(c) EXPENDITURES FROM TRUST FUND.—Amounts
in the Infrastructure Improvement Trust Fund shall be
available, as provided in the Infrastructure Improvement
Act of 1997, only for purposes of making expenditures in
accordance with section 5 of such Act.’’
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections
for such subchapter A is amended by adding at the end
the following new item:
‘‘Sec. 9512. Infrastructure Improvement Trust Fund.’’
SEC. 4. AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.
There shall be available to the Secretary of Transpor-
tation, out of the Infrastructure Improvement Trust
Fund, for each of fiscal years 1998 through 2002, the
amount transferred to the Trust Fund for such fiscal year
pursuant to section 9512 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 (plus any amount credited to the account during
the preceding fiscal year pursuant to section 9602(b) of
such Code) for carrying out section 5. Such sums shall
remain available until expended.
SEC. 5. INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT GRANTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—On October 1 of each of fiscal
years 1998 through 2002 (or as soon as possible there-
after), the Secretary of Transportation, after making the
deduction under subsection (b), shall apportion funds
made available by section 4 for such fiscal year among
the States so that the percentage apportioned to each
State is equal to the percentage of estimated tax payments
attributable to highway users in the State paid into the
Highway Trust Fund established by section 9503 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 in the latest fiscal year
for which data are available. Payments of funds appor-
tioned to a State under this subsection shall be made in
quarterly installments in the form of grants.
(b) DEDUCTION.—Whenever an apportionment of
funds is made under subsection (a) or (d), the Secretary
may make a deduction in an amount not to exceed 2 per-
cent of such funds for administering the provisions of this
section.
(c) USE OF GRANTS.—Funds apportioned to a State
under subsection (a) shall be available only for the con-
struction and maintenance of highways in the State.
(d) SUBMISSION OF PLAN.—A State shall be eligible
to receive an apportionment of funds under subsection (a)
in a fiscal year only if the State submits to the Secretary,
on or before September 1 of the preceding fiscal year, a
plan describing how the funds will be used. Amounts which
would have been apportioned to a State but for the re-
quirement of this subsection shall be reapportioned among
the States in the manner specified for apportionments
under subsection (a).
(e) APPLICABILITY OF REQUIREMENTS.—A project
carried out on a Federal-aid highway using funds appor-
tioned under subsection (a) shall be subject to the same
requirements as would have applied to the project if the
project had been carried out under title 23, United States
Code, except to the extent that the Secretary determines
that any requirement of such title is not consistent with
the objectives of this section.
(f) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share payable on
account of any project or activity carried out using funds
apportioned under subsection (a) shall be 80 percent of
the cost of the project or activity.
(g) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the terms
‘‘construction’’, ‘‘Federal-aid highway’’, and ‘‘highway’’
have the meanings given such terms by section 101(a) of
title 23, United States Code.
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