I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5976 
To establish the United States Commission on Rebuilding America for the 
21st Century, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 6, 2008 
Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of 
California, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. FARR, Mr. FRANK of Mas-
sachusetts, Ms. DELAURO, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. EMANUEL, Mr. BECERRA, 
Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. PETRI, Mr. SHAYS, and Mr. 
WELCH of Vermont) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to 
the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources, and Fi-
nancial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To establish the United States Commission on Rebuilding 
America for the 21st Century, 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 ‘‘United States Commis-
sion on Rebuilding America for the 21st Century Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) In 1808, Albert Gallatin, while serving as 
President Thomas Jefferson’s Secretary of the 
Treasury, reported to Congress on the infrastructure 
investments needed by the young Nation. 
(2) Gallatin’s plan built on President George 
Washington’s vision of connecting the interior settle-
ments of the Nation with the markets and ports of 
the East Coast through a network of roads and ca-
nals, and provided a roadmap for infrastructure de-
velopment in the 19th century. 
(3) In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt con-
vened a conference of State and territorial gov-
ernors, members of his Cabinet and Congress, pro-
fessional organizations, private citizens, and govern-
ment agencies to plan for the United States con-
servation and infrastructure needs in the 20th cen-
tury. 
(4) The resulting plan laid the groundwork for 
many of the critical investments initiated by Presi-
dent Franklin D. Roosevelt to jumpstart the Na-
tion’s recovery from the Great Depression. 
(5) Today, as in 1808 and 1908, the United 
States is faced with significant economic, environ-
mental, and demographic challenges. 
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(6) To stave off the worst effects of global 
warming, the United States will need to reduce 
greenhouse gas emissions significantly. 
(7) The Nation’s population is projected to in-
crease to 420 million by 2050, which is nearly a 50 
percent increase from the Nation’s population size in 
2000. 
(8) By 2050, more than 70 percent of the Na-
tion’s population growth and economic growth is ex-
pected to take place in extended networks of metro-
politan regions linked by environmental systems, 
transportation networks, economies, and culture. 
(9) The National Surface Transportation Policy 
and Revenue Study Commission recently calculated 
that maintaining the Nation’s existing transpor-
tation system over the next 50 years will require 
$225 billion annually. The latest transportation au-
thorization, SAFETEA–LU, provided only $244 bil-
lion total for the 5 years ending with fiscal year 
2009. 
(10) The American Society of Civil Engineers 
has given the Nation’s public infrastructure, con-
sisting of water, sewer, and transportation systems, 
a grade of D-minus, estimating that it will cost $1.6 
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trillion over the next 5 years merely to repair the 
Nation’s existing infrastructure. 
(11) The Nation’s decaying water infrastruc-
ture and a lack of available funding to maintain and 
upgrade the Nation’s wastewater infrastructure pose 
a serious threat to water quality. More than 72,000 
miles of municipal water and sewer pipe are more 
than 80 years old, threatening the health, environ-
ment, and economy of communities large and small. 
(12) Population growth and associated develop-
ment will place the Nation’s water resources under 
increasing stress, including increased pollutant 
loads, increased potential for flooding, diminished 
drinking water supplies, loss of aquatic habitat, and 
stream scouring and erosion. Global warming will 
exacerbate existing water challenges and make other 
changes to the natural hydrology, including more ex-
treme storm events, more frequent droughts, higher 
air and water temperatures, changes in timing of 
stream flows, and sea level rise. New technologies 
and a comprehensive strategy will be needed to over-
come these challenges and ensure a safe, adequate, 
reliable, and sustainable water supply. 
(13) The Environmental Protection Agency, the 
Congressional Budget Office, and other stakeholders 
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have identified a funding gap of between $300 bil-
lion and $400 billion over the next 20 years for the 
restoration and replacement of wastewater infra-
structure, and an additional $250 billion over the 
next 30 years will be needed to replace worn-out 
drinking water pipes and associated structures. 
(14) From 1999 to 2009, the Nation’s elec-
tricity demand rose by nearly 20 percent while 
transmission capacity grew by only 3.5 percent. To 
accommodate increased demand, and to accommo-
date increased electrical supply from renewable 
sources by 2050, electrical transmission infrastruc-
ture requires significant investment. 
(15) The Nation’s rural economy is dependant 
on transportation and communications networks to 
grow and compete in an increasingly globalized mar-
ket. 
(16) Significant under-investment in public 
lands infrastructure jeopardizes the tremendous con-
servation, environmental, and mixed use benefits 
that these lands provide the public. 
(17) Much of the Nation’s infrastructure was 
built in the last half of the 20th century and will 
reach its capacity limits early in the 21st century. 
Unless new capacity is created in roads, rails, air-
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ports, seaports, and other systems, the Nation’s eco-
nomic potential will be artificially limited. 
(18) Since 1980, the number of miles people in 
the United States drive has grown 3 times faster 
than the Nation’s population. Residents of walkable 
cities, however, drive 26 percent fewer miles per day 
than those living in the most sprawling areas. 
(19) By 2050, 89 million new or replaced 
homes as well as 190 billion square feet of new of-
fices, stores, and other nonresidential buildings will 
be constructed. 
(20) By 2050, smart growth building policies 
could reduce total transportation-related CO2 emis-
sions by 7 to 10 percent. 
(21) Development of a bold national plan to 
overcome these challenges by 2050 will allow the 
United States to respond in the most economically 
and environmentally sustainable way. 
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT. 
There is established a commission to be known as the 
‘‘United States Commission on Rebuilding America for the 
21st Century’’ (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commis-
sion’’). 
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SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 
(a) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.—The Commission 
shall be composed of 17 members as follows: 
(1) Two members, including the chairman of 
the Commission, to be appointed by the Speaker of 
the House of Representatives. 
(2) Two members to be appointed by the major-
ity leader of the Senate. 
(3) Three members to be appointed jointly by 
the minority leader of the House of Representatives 
and the minority leader of the Senate. 
(4) One member to be appointed by the Admin-
istrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. 
(5) One member to be appointed by the Sec-
retary of Transportation. 
(6) One member to be appointed by the Sec-
retary of Housing and Urban Development. 
(7) One member to be appointed by the Sec-
retary of the Interior. 
(8) One member to be appointed by the Sec-
retary of Energy. 
(9) One member to be appointed by the Presi-
dent of the Executive Committee of the Board of Di-
rectors of the National Association of Counties, in 
consultation with the other members of the Board. 
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(10) One member to be appointed by the Chair 
of the National Governors Association. 
(11) One member to be appointed by the Exec-
utive Director of the National Conference of State 
Legislatures, in consultation with the members of 
the Conference’s executive committee. 
(12) One member to be appointed by the Presi-
dent of the Board of Directors of the National Asso-
ciation of Regional Councils, in consultation with the 
other members of the Board. 
(13) One member to be appointed by the Presi-
dent of the United States Conference of Mayors, in 
consultation with the members of the Conference’s 
executive board. 
(b) DATES OF APPOINTMENTS.—The initial member 
appointed to the Commission shall be the Chairman, as 
designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives 
under subsection (a)(1). The remainder of the members 
of the Commission shall be appointed in the 30-day period 
beginning on the 30th day following the date of the ap-
pointment of the Chairman. 
(c) QUALIFICATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the Com-
mission shall be knowledgeable in— 
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(A) the fields of transportation finance, 
highway and transit programs, and transpor-
tation policy; 
(B) the fields of land use and housing pol-
icy, including community planning and design; 
(C) the fields of water supply, water infra-
structure, and water conservation policy; or 
(D) the fields of energy supply, energy in-
frastructure, and energy conservation policy. 
(2) ELIGIBILITY
OF
CERTAIN
REPRESENTA-
TIVES.—The members of the Commission— 
(A) may include representatives of State 
and local governments, public transportation 
authorities, and other appropriate governmental 
units; but 
(B) may not include any member of the 
House of Representatives, the Senate, or the 
President’s Cabinet. 
(d) TERMS.—The members of the Commission shall 
be appointed for the life of the Commission. 
(e) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Commission shall 
be filled promptly and in the manner in which the original 
appointment was made. 
(f) MEETINGS.— 
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(1) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 60 days 
after the last day of the appointment period de-
scribed in section 4(b), the Commission shall hold 
the initial meeting of the Commission. 
(2) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at 
the call of the chairman of the Commission or a ma-
jority of its members. 
(3) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 
the Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a 
lesser number of members may hold hearings. 
(g) PAY.—Members of the Commission shall serve 
without pay. 
(h) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the Com-
mission shall receive travel expenses, including per diem 
in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with applicable provi-
sions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 
States Code. 
SEC. 5. DUTIES. 
(a) REVIEW OF PUBLISHED MATERIALS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall review 
published materials on the Nation’s transportation, 
water, energy, public lands, and housing infrastruc-
ture and, based on the review, assess the challenges 
of meeting the Nation’s infrastructure needs in the 
21st century. 
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(2) REPORT
TO
CONGRESS.—Not later than 
120 days after the last day of the appointment pe-
riod described in section 4(b), the Commission shall 
submit to Congress a report on the review and as-
sessment conducted under paragraph (1) and make 
the report available to the public. 
(b) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—In order to facilitate a na-
tional dialogue on the Nation’s infrastructure needs, the 
Commission shall hold public hearings in at least 50 con-
gressional districts representing a cross-section of the geo-
graphical regions of the United States, and consult with 
other interested persons, before submitting a final report 
under subsection (c) 
(c) FINAL REPORT.— 
(1) NATIONAL VISION OF INFRASTRUCTURE IN-
VESTMENTS.—Not later than one year after the last 
day of the appointment period described in section 
4(b), the Commission shall prepare and submit to 
Congress a report that— 
(A) documents the challenges of meeting 
the Nation’s transportation, water, energy, pub-
lic lands, and housing infrastructure needs in 
the 21st century; and 
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