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‘‘(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 
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-
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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.—Mak-
ing 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 
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
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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, 
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 As-
sessment, the National Research Council shall con-
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sult with the Department’s Advisory Council on 
Transportation Statistics and a representative cross-
section 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 
collecting data identified under paragraph 
(2)(C); 
‘‘(C) how the Department plans to imple-
ment improved data collection methods and 
other changes identified under paragraph 
(2)(D); 
‘‘(D) the expected costs of implementing 
subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of this para-
graph;
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‘‘(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 in-
clude—
‘‘(A) information on the volumes and pat-
terns of movement of goods, including local, 
interregional, and international movement, by 
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,
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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 
to make statistics readily accessible under subsection 
(c)(8). 
‘‘(3) COORDINATION.—The Director shall work 
with other transportation libraries and other trans-