I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5290 
To establish a Military Community Infrastructure Program to provide grants 
for transportation infrastructure improvements in military communities, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 30, 2014 
Mr. HECK of Washington (for himself, Mr. JONES, and Mr. KILMER) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed 
Services 
A BILL 
To establish a Military Community Infrastructure Program 
to provide grants for transportation infrastructure im-
provements in military communities, and for other pur-
poses. 
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 ‘‘Creating Opportunities 
for Military Members to Use Transportation Efficiently 
Act of 2014’’ or the ‘‘COMMUTE Act of 2014’’. 
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SEC. 2. MILITARY COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 6 months after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es-
tablish a Military Community Infrastructure Program 
under which the Secretary may provide grants to eligible 
entities for transportation infrastructure improvement 
projects in military communities. 
(b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible for a grant under 
the Program, an eligible entity shall submit to the Sec-
retary an application at such time, in such form, and con-
taining such information as the Secretary may require. 
(c) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Grants awarded under the 
Program may be used for transportation infrastruc-
ture improvement projects, including— 
(A) the construction of roads; 
(B) the construction of mass transit and 
parking facilities; 
(C) the construction of, or upgrades to, pe-
destrian access and bicycle access; and 
(D) upgrades to public transportation sys-
tems. 
(2) LOCATION.—To be eligible for a grant 
under the Program, a project described in paragraph 
(1) shall be— 
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(A) related to improving access to a mili-
tary installation, as determined by the Sec-
retary; and 
(B) in a location that is— 
(i) within or abutting an urbanized 
area (as designated by the Bureau of the 
Census); and 
(ii) designated as a growth community 
by the Office of Economic Adjustment. 
(d) CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding grants under 
the Program, the Secretary shall give consideration to— 
(1) the magnitude of the problem addressed by 
the project; 
(2) the proportion of the problem addressed by 
the project that is caused by military installation 
growth since the year 2000; 
(3) the number of servicemembers and civilian 
employees of the Department of Defense affected by 
the problem addressed by the project; 
(4) the size of the community affected by the 
problem addressed by the project; 
(5) the ability of the relevant eligible entity to 
execute the project; and 
(6) the extent to which the project resolves the 
transportation problem addressed. 
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(e) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the cost 
of a project carried out using grant amounts made avail-
able under the Program may not exceed 80 percent. 
SEC. 3. TRAFFIC IMPACT STUDY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall conduct 
a traffic impact study for any urbanized area (as des-
ignated by the Bureau of the Census) that expects a sig-
nificant increase in traffic related to a military installation 
within or abutting the urbanized area. 
(b) CONTENTS.—A traffic impact study under sub-
section (a) shall determine any transportation improve-
ments needed because of an increase in the number of 
military personnel, including study of commute sheds af-
fected by installation-related traffic. 
(c) CONSULTATION.—In developing a traffic impact 
study under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult 
with— 
(1) the metropolitan planning organization or 
regional transportation planning organization with 
jurisdiction over the urbanized area; and 
(2) the commander of the appropriate military 
installation. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
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(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means— 
(A) a State or political subdivision thereof; 
(B) an owner or operator of public trans-
portation; 
(C) a local governmental authority (as 
such term is defined in section 5302 of title 49, 
United States Code); 
(D) a metropolitan planning organization; 
or 
(E) a regional transportation planning or-
ganization. 
(2) METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION 
AND REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLANNING ORGA-
NIZATION.—The terms ‘‘metropolitan planning orga-
nization’’ and ‘‘regional transportation planning or-
ganization’’ have the meanings given those terms in 
section 134(b) of title 23, United States Code. 
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Direc-
tor of the Office of Economic Adjustment. 
(4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 
the several States, the District of Columbia, and any 
territory or possession of the United States. 
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SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There is authorized to be appropriated, to carry out 
this Act, $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2015 and 
$100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2019, 
to remain available until expended. 
Æ 
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