I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5437 
To ensure the rural surface transportation grant program is accessible to 
rural areas, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 13, 2023 
Mr. FINSTAD (for himself, Mr. STAUBER, Mr. GOLDEN of Maine, and Mr. 
VAN ORDEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To ensure the rural surface transportation grant program 
is accessible to rural areas, 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 ‘‘Protecting Infrastruc-
ture Investments for Rural America Act’’. 
SEC. 2. RURAL SURFACE TRANSPORTATION GRANT PRO-
GRAM. 
Section 173 of title 23, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
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(A) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘over 
200,000’’ and inserting ‘‘20,000 or less’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) SMALL
COMMUNITY.—The term ‘small 
community’ means an area that is outside an urban-
ized area and that has a population of 5,000 or 
less.’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)(2)— 
(A) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ 
at the end; 
(B) in subparagraph (C) by striking the 
period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(D) to generate economic growth and de-
velopment in rural areas to improve the quality 
of life for citizens in rural areas and small com-
munities.’’; 
(3) in subsection (e)(1)— 
(A) in subparagraph (F) by striking ‘‘or’’ 
at the end; 
(B) in subparagraph (G) by striking the 
period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(H) a highway, road, bridge, or tunnel 
project that would benefit the economic develop-
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ment or quality of life for citizens of the com-
munity in which the project takes place.’’; 
(4) by striking subsection (i); 
(5) by redesignating subsections (j), (k), (l), 
(m), (n), and (o) as subsections (i), (j), (k), (l), (m), 
and (n), respectively; 
(6) in subsection (i) (as so redesignated)— 
(A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘para-
graph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (2) or 
(3)’’; 
(B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 
paragraph (4); and 
(C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 
following: 
‘‘(3) FEDERAL SHARE FOR PROJECTS IN SMALL 
COMMUNITIES.—The Federal share of the cost of a 
project carried out in a small community with a 
grant under the program may not exceed 90 per-
cent.’’; 
(7) in subsection (j) (as so redesignated) by 
striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) PROJECTS IN SMALL COMMUNITIES.—The 
Secretary shall use not less than 5 percent of the 
amounts made available for the program for each 
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fiscal year to provide grants for eligible projects in 
a small community.’’; and 
(8) in subsection (l) (as so redesignated) by 
striking ‘‘subsection (l)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub-
section (k)(1)’’. 
Æ 
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