I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2204 
To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish additional requirements 
for 
certain 
transportation 
projects 
with 
estimated 
costs 
of 
$2,500,000,000 or more, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 26, 2021 
Mr. DESAULNIER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish addi-
tional requirements for certain transportation projects 
with estimated costs of $2,500,000,000 or more, 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 ‘‘Transportation Mega-
projects Accountability and Oversight Act of 2021’’. 
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SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN TRANS-
PORTATION PROJECTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 106 of title 23, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(k) MEGAPROJECTS.— 
‘‘(1) MEGAPROJECT
DEFINED.—In this sub-
section, the term ‘megaproject’ means a project that 
has an estimated total cost of $2,500,000,000 or 
more, and such other projects as may be identified 
by the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) 
COMPREHENSIVE
RISK
MANAGEMENT 
PLAN.—A recipient of Federal financial assistance 
under this title for a megaproject shall, in order to 
be authorized for construction, submit to the Sec-
retary a comprehensive risk management plan that 
contains— 
‘‘(A) a description of the process by which 
the recipient will identify, quantify, and monitor 
the risks that might result in cost overruns, 
project delays, reduced construction quality, or 
reductions in benefits with respect to the 
megaproject; 
‘‘(B) examples of mechanisms the recipient 
will use to track risks identified pursuant to 
subparagraph (A); 
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‘‘(C) a plan to control such risks; and 
‘‘(D) such assurances as the Secretary con-
siders appropriate that the recipient will, with 
respect to the megaproject— 
‘‘(i) regularly submit to the Secretary 
updated cost estimates; and 
‘‘(ii) maintain and regularly reassess 
financial reserves for addressing known 
and unknown risks. 
‘‘(3) PEER REVIEW GROUP.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A recipient of Federal 
financial assistance under this title for a 
megaproject shall, not later than 90 days after 
the date when such megaproject is authorized 
for construction, establish a peer review group 
for such megaproject that consists of at least 5 
individuals (including at least 1 individual with 
project management experience) to give expert 
advice on the scientific, technical, and project 
management aspects of the megaproject. 
‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 
180 days after the date of the enactment 
of this subsection, the Secretary shall es-
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tablish guidelines describing how a recipi-
ent described in subparagraph (A) shall— 
‘‘(I) recruit and select members 
for a peer review group established 
under such subparagraph; and 
‘‘(II) make publicly available the 
criteria for such selection and the 
identity of members so selected. 
‘‘(ii) CONFLICT
OF
INTEREST.—No 
member of a peer review group for a 
megaproject may have a direct or indirect 
financial interest in such megaproject. 
‘‘(C) TASKS.—A peer review group estab-
lished under subparagraph (A) by a recipient of 
Federal financial assistance for a megaproject 
shall— 
‘‘(i) meet annually until completion of 
the megaproject; 
‘‘(ii) not later than 90 days after the 
date of the establishment of the peer re-
view group and not later than 90 days 
after the date of any significant change, as 
determined by the Secretary, to the scope, 
schedule, or budget of the megaproject, re-
view the scope, schedule, and budget of the 
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megaproject, including planning, engineer-
ing, financing, and any other elements de-
termined appropriate by the Secretary; and 
‘‘(iii) submit a report on the findings 
of each review under clause (ii) to the Sec-
retary, Congress, and the recipient. 
‘‘(4) TRANSPARENCY.—A recipient of Federal 
financial assistance under this title for a megaproj-
ect shall publish on the internet website of such re-
cipient— 
‘‘(A) the name, license number, and license 
type of each engineer supervising an aspect of 
the megaproject; and 
‘‘(B) the report submitted under para-
graph (3)(C)(iii), not later than 90 days after 
such submission. 
‘‘(5) COMMITTEE.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of enactment of this sub-
section, the Secretary of Transportation shall 
make 
appropriate 
arrangements 
with 
the 
Transportation Research Board (hereinafter re-
ferred to as the ‘Board’) of the National Acad-
emies under which the Board shall convene a 
transportation megaprojects committee. 
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‘‘(B) DUTIES.—The transportation mega-
projects committee convened pursuant to sub-
paragraph (A) shall— 
‘‘(i) perform a literature search and 
assessment of existing megaproject studies; 
‘‘(ii) review any relevant foreign expe-
rience and actions taken, with a particular 
focus on the United Kingdom and France; 
‘‘(iii) identify recurring or typical 
problems with megaprojects; 
‘‘(iv) outline possible approaches to 
dealing with the problems in the Federal 
and State context; and 
‘‘(v) recommend any changes in the 
Department of Transportation’s approach 
to megaproject funding and oversight, such 
as a recommendation that each project be 
required to identify a peer group to work 
with project management and report to the 
Inspector General and Congress. 
‘‘(C) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years 
after the date of enactment of this subsection, 
the committee convened pursuant to subpara-
graph (A) shall submit to the Secretary, the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc-
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ture of the House of Representatives, and the 
Committee on Environment and Public Works 
of the Senate a report containing any results, 
findings, and recommendations made by the 
committee under subparagraph (B).’’. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub-
section (a) applies with respect to projects that are author-
ized for construction on or after the date that is 1 year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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