‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not 
apply to funds used for operation or maintenance of 
an intelligent transportation system in existence on 
the date of enactment of the Transportation Equity 
Act for the 21st Century. 
‘‘SEC. 5207. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a 
comprehensive program of research, development, and 
operational tests of intelligent vehicles and intelligent in-
frastructure systems, as well as research into barriers to 
their deployment, and other similar activities that are nec-
essary to carry out this subtitle. 
‘‘(b) PRIORITY AREAS.—Under the program, the Sec-
retary shall give higher priority to funding projects that—
‘‘(1) reduce congestion in metropolitan regions; 
‘‘(2) improve mobility and efficiency by address-
ing traffic management, incident management, tran-
sit management, toll collection, traveler information, 
or highway operations systems; 
‘‘(3) improve safety by focusing on crash-avoid-
ance and integration of in-vehicle crash protection 
technologies with other onboard safety systems, in-
cluding the interaction of air bags and safety belts; 
‘‘(4) improve security by focusing on responding 
to security-related emergencies, and preventing such
emergencies, through tracking the movement of 
goods; 
‘‘(5) incorporate human factors research, in-
cluding the science of the driving process; 
‘‘(6) improve deployment of proven technologies 
by addressing nontechnical barriers to the deploy-
ment of intelligent transportation system tech-
nologies, including institutional barriers such as 
fragmented authority at the local level, privacy con-
siderations, and rigid procurement rules, and the 
best ways to develop partnerships to successfully de-
ploy intelligent transportation system technologies; 
‘‘(7) facilitate the integration of intelligent in-
frastructure, vehicle, and control technologies, in-
cluding magnetic guidance control systems or other 
materials or magnetics research; 
‘‘(8) incorporate research on the impact of envi-
ronmental, weather, and natural conditions on intel-
ligent transportation systems, including the effects 
of cold climates; or 
‘‘(9) facilitate high-performance transportation 
systems, through methods such as congestion pric-
ing, real-time facility management, rapid emergency 
response, and just-in-time transit.
‘‘(c) OPERATIONAL TESTS.—Operational tests shall 
be used to evaluate promising technologies that have not 
yet been demonstrated. Operational tests conducted under 
this section shall be designed for the collection of data to 
permit objective evaluation of the results of the tests, deri-
vation of cost-benefit information that is useful to others 
contemplating deployment of similar systems, and develop-
ment and implementation of standards. 
‘‘(d) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the 
cost of operational tests and demonstrations under sub-
section (a) shall not exceed 80 percent. 
‘‘SEC. 5208. USE OF FUNDS. 
‘‘(a) CONGESTION REDUCTION.—At least 1⁄3 of funds 
spent under section 5207 for intelligent transportation 
systems research and development shall be used to re-
search, develop, and operationally test technologies whose 
primary purpose is to reduce congestion. 
‘‘(b) OUTREACH AND PUBLIC RELATIONS LIMITA-
TION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year, not 
more than $5,000,000 of the funds made available 
to carry out this subtitle shall be used for intelligent 
transportation system outreach, public relations, dis-
plays, scholarships, tours, and brochures.
‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY.—Paragraph (1) shall not 
apply to intelligent transportation system training or 
the publication or distribution of research findings, 
technical guidance, or similar documents. 
‘‘(c) 
INFRASTRUCTURE
DEVELOPMENT.—Funds 
made available to carry out this subtitle for operational 
tests—
‘‘(1) shall be used primarily for the development 
of intelligent transportation system infrastructure; 
and 
‘‘(2) to the maximum extent practicable, shall 
not be used for the construction of physical highway 
and transit infrastructure unless the construction is 
incidental and critically necessary to the implemen-
tation of an intelligent transportation system 
project. 
‘‘(d) USE OF INNOVATIVE FINANCING.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may use up 
to 25 percent of the funds made available to carry 
out this subtitle to make available loans, lines of 
credit, and loan guarantees for projects that are eli-
gible for assistance under this subtitle and that have 
significant intelligent transportation system ele-
ments.
‘‘(2) CONSISTENCY WITH OTHER LAW.—Credit 
assistance described in paragraph (1) shall be made 
available in a manner consistent with the Transpor-
tation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 
1998. 
‘‘SEC. 5209. PROGRAM EVALUATION. 
‘‘The Secretary shall enter into an arrangement with 
the National Academy of Sciences, or another independent 
institution, to evaluate the Department of Transpor-
tation’s intelligent transportation system program. The 
evaluation shall assess, at a minimum—
‘‘(1) how well the intelligent transportation sys-
tem program has achieved its goals as set forth in 
the 2000 5-year plan referred to in section 
5204(a)(1), including—
‘‘(A) 
expediting 
integrated 
intelligent 
transportation system deployment in metropoli-
tan and rural areas for both passenger and 
freight transportation; 
‘‘(B) ensuring that Federal, State, and 
local transportation officials consider intelligent 
transportation systems in the transportation 
planning process and have adequate knowledge 
to do so;
‘‘(C) improving regional cooperation and 
operations planning for effective intelligent 
transportation system deployment; 
‘‘(D) promoting the innovative use of pri-
vate resources; and 
‘‘(E) developing a workforce capable of de-
ploying, operating, and maintaining intelligent 
transportation systems; and 
‘‘(2) in areas where the intelligent transpor-
tation system program has not met its goals, assess 
the barriers to meeting those goals, and make rec-
ommendations for how those barriers may be over-
come. 
‘‘SEC. 5210. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this subtitle, the following definitions apply: 
‘‘(1) INTELLIGENT
TRANSPORTATION
INFRA-
STRUCTURE.—The term ‘intelligent transportation 
infrastructure’ means fully integrated public sector 
intelligent transportation system components, as de-
fined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) 
INTELLIGENT
TRANSPORTATION
SYS-
TEM.—The term ‘intelligent transportation system’ 
means electronics, communications, or information 
processing used singly or in combination to improve
the efficiency or safety of a surface transportation 
system. 
‘‘(3) NATIONAL
ARCHITECTURE.—The term 
‘national architecture’ means the common frame-
work for interoperability adopted by the Secretary 
that defines—
‘‘(A) the functions associated with intel-
ligent transportation system user services; 
‘‘(B) the physical entities or subsystems 
within which the functions reside; 
‘‘(C) the data interfaces and information 
flows between physical subsystems; and 
‘‘(D) the communications requirements as-
sociated with the information flows. 
‘‘(4) NATIONAL ITS PROGRAM PLAN.—The term 
‘National ITS Program Plan’ means the plan update 
required under section 5204(a). 
‘‘(5) STANDARD.—The term ‘standard’ means a 
document that—
‘‘(A) contains technical specifications or 
other precise criteria for intelligent transpor-
tation systems that are to be used consistently 
as rules, guidelines, or definitions of character-
istics so as to ensure that materials, products,
processes, and services are fit for their pur-
poses; and 
‘‘(B) may support the national architecture 
and promote—
‘‘(i) the widespread use and adoption 
of intelligent transportation system tech-
nology as a component of the surface 
transportation systems of the United 
States; and 
‘‘(ii) interoperability among intelligent 
transportation system technologies imple-
mented throughout the States. 
‘‘(6) STATE.—The term ‘State’ has the mean-
ing given the term under section 101 of title 23, 
United States Code.’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The items 
relating to subtitle C of title V in the table of contents 
of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century are 
amended to read as follows:
‘‘Subtitle C—Intelligent Transportation Systems 
‘‘Sec. 5201. Short title. 
‘‘Sec. 5202. Goals and purposes. 
‘‘Sec. 5203. General authorities and requirements. 
‘‘Sec. 5204. National ITS Program Plan. 
‘‘Sec. 5205. Information strategy. 
‘‘Sec. 5206. National architecture and standards. 
‘‘Sec. 5207. Research and development. 
‘‘Sec. 5208. Use of funds. 
‘‘Sec. 5209. Program evaluation. 
‘‘Sec. 5210. Definitions.’’.
(c) REPEAL.—The Intermodal Surface Transpor-
tation Efficiency Act of 1991 is amended by striking part 
B of title VI (23 U.S.C. 307 note; 105 Stat. 2189). 
SEC. 109. NATIONAL MULTIMODAL TRENDS POLICY RE-
SEARCH PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish and 
carry out a National Multimodal Trends Policy Research 
Program that systematically addresses critical short-term, 
medium-term, and long-term social science issues affecting 
and affected by the transportation system. 
(b) CONTENTS.—The program to be carried out 
under this section shall include—
(1) research on—
(A) the critical factors and major trends 
affecting the success and performance of the 
Nation’s transportation system, as well as how 
such information can be incorporated into na-
tional, State, and local decisionmaking; 
(B) the short-term, medium-term, and es-
pecially long-term economic, demographic, and 
social trends that are affecting and are affected 
by the transportation system, including topics 
such as—
(i) 
economic 
trends, 
including 
globalization and it effects on the transpor-
tation of people and goods, rapidly chang-
ing information technology, the growing 
importance of metropolitan economies, di-
versification of employment sites, innova-
tions in goods movement, and larger capac-
ity and faster goods movement; 
(ii) demographic trends, including 
population growth, increasing minority 
populations, increasing urbanization, and 
the aging of the population; and 
(iii) social trends and issues, including 
increasing income disparity and its impli-
cation for mobility and access to jobs, serv-
ices and health care, the unique needs of 
rural populations, and the link between 
human factors and driver behavior; 
(C) improvements in evaluation methodolo-
gies and performance measures, and the evalua-
tion of project and transportation system per-
formance relative to the goals set forth in sec-
tion 102; 
(D) how institutional factors within and 
among the public and private sectors affect the 
development and successful deployment of new 
technologies;
(E) links between public health and the 
transportation system; and 
(F) other critical issues identified by the 
Advisory Board established under subsection 
(e); and 
(2) research on and the development of policy 
analysis tools and methods. 
(c) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 120 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall enter 
into an arrangement with the National Academy of 
Sciences to establish an advisory board under subsection 
(e) and, except as provided in subsection (e), to support, 
administer, and manage the program. 
(d) STRATEGIC PLAN.—Not later than 2 years after 
entering into the arrangement under subsection (c) and 
upon each update thereafter, the National Academy of 
Sciences shall transmit the strategic plan developed by the 
advisory board under subsection (e) to the Secretary, to 
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and 
the Committee on Science of the House of Representa-
tives, and to the Committee on Environment and Public 
Works of the Senate. 
(e) ADVISORY BOARD.—
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The National Academy 
of Sciences shall establish an independent advisory 
board. 
(2) MEMBERSHIP.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—A majority of members 
of the advisory board shall be experts in—
(i) transportation social science re-
search; or 
(ii) other social science fields with im-
portant or potentially important relation-
ships to transportation, selected after con-
sultation with the Consortium of Social 
Science Associations. 
Members selected under this subparagraph 
shall, to the extent practicable, be evenly di-
vided between experts described in clause (i) 
and experts described in clause (ii). 
(B) ADDITIONAL
MEMBERS.—Additional 
members of the advisory board shall be evenly 
balanced among representatives of Federal, 
State, and local transportation agencies, other 
agencies with appropriate expertise, metropoli-
tan planning organizations, transit operating 
agencies, and environmental and other non-
profit organizations.
(3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The advisory board 
shall be responsible for—
(A) the development of a strategic plan 
which shall specify at a minimum the goals, re-
search priorities, and fiscal needs of the pro-
gram, and which shall be updated periodically; 
(B) overseeing the awarding of grants and 
contracts to carry out the research strategy; 
(C) the development of the annual request 
for proposals and the solicitation of proposals 
through open competition with peer review; and 
(D) the development of project selection 
criteria, through an open and public consulta-
tion process with stakeholders. 
(4) EVALUATION
OF
RESEARCH.—Research 
contracts and grants under this section shall require 
peer review of the research results. 
(5) ELIGIBLE RESEARCH.—At least 75 percent 
of funds made available for research under this sec-
tion shall support research directed to the priorities 
in the strategic plan, and up to 25 percent of such 
funds may support appropriate sponsor directed re-
search. 
(f) DISSEMINATION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS.—The 
National Academy of Sciences and the Department of
Transportation shall disseminate research findings under 
this section to researchers, practitioners, and decision-
makers, through conferences and seminars, field dem-
onstrations, workshops, training programs, presentations, 
testimony to government officials, the Internet, and publi-
cations for the general public. 
TITLE II—MISCELLANEOUS 
SEC. 201. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary of Transportation to carry out sections 5312, 5313, 
5314, 5315, and 5322 of title 49, United States Code, 
and section 202 of this Act, relating to research and devel-
opment, $75,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2004 
through 2009. 
SEC. 202. TRANSIT RESEARCH. 
(a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 5 of title 23, United 
States Code, as amended by this Act, is further amended 
by adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 510. Innovative Practices and Technologies Dem-
onstration and Deployment Program 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish an Innovative Practices and Technologies Demonstra-
tion and Deployment Program. 
‘‘(b) PROGRAM GOALS.—The goals of the program 
are to—
‘‘(1) demonstrate promising new transit prac-
tices and technologies, including new business mod-
els for managing and operating transit systems, that 
may increase ridership, increase accessibility, reduce 
cost, improve customer satisfaction, and improve 
safety; 
‘‘(2) evaluate, refine, and document the per-
formance, benefits, and costs of innovative practices 
and technologies; and 
‘‘(3) effectively disseminate information to ac-
celerate deployment of innovative practices and tech-
nologies. 
‘‘(c) GRANTS, COOPERATIVE
AGREEMENTS, AND 
CONTRACTS.—The Secretary may make grants to, or 
enter into cooperative agreements or contracts with, tran-
sit agencies, States, other Federal agencies, universities 
and colleges, private sector entities, and nonprofit organi-
zations to pay the Federal share of the cost of demonstra-
tion and deployment projects concerning innovative prac-
tices and technologies. 
‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.—To receive a grant, cooperative 
agreement, or contract under this section, an entity de-
scribed in subsection (c) shall submit an application to the 
Secretary. The application shall be in such form and con-
tain such information as the Secretary may require. The
Secretary shall select and approve the applications based 
on the following criteria: 
‘‘(1) Whether the project meets the goals of the 
program. 
‘‘(2) Merit review. 
‘‘(3) The likelihood that the project will result 
in more widespread deployment of the practice or 
technology being proposed. 
‘‘(4) Preference shall be given to an application 
that represents a public-private partnership. 
‘‘(e) TECHNOLOGY AND INFORMATION TRANSFER.—
The Secretary shall ensure that information about innova-
tive practices and technologies supported under this sec-
tion is made available to transit agencies, State and local 
transportation departments, and other interested parties. 
Information disseminated under this subsection shall in-
clude both the costs and benefits of deploying an innova-
tive practice or technology, and shall document—
‘‘(1) best practices for adopting successful prac-
tices or technologies; and 
‘‘(2) the transferability of these practices and 
technologies. 
‘‘(f) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the 
cost of a project under this section shall be determined 
by the Secretary.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis of 
chapter 5 of title 23, United States Code, as amended by 
this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new item:
‘‘510. Innovative Practices and Technologies Demonstration and Deployment 
Program.’’.
SEC. 203. TRANSPORTATION, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—As part of the National Climate 
Change Technology Initiative and the Climate Change Re-
search Initiative, the Secretary shall establish and carry 
out a multimodal energy and climate change program to 
study the relationship of transportation, energy, and cli-
mate change. 
(b) CONTENTS.—The program to be carried out 
under this section shall include, but not be limited to, re-
search designed to—
(1) identify, develop and evaluate strategies to 
improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas 
emissions from transportation sources; and 
(2) identify and evaluate the potential effects of 
climate changes on the nation’s transportation sys-
tems, and strategies to address these effects. 
(c) PROJECT SELECTION.—Activities to be under-
taken in this program will be determined by an internal 
steering committee established by the Secretary of Trans-
portation. This intermodal committee shall include rep-
resentatives from the Office of the Secretary and oper-
ating administrations within the Department of Transpor-
tation as designated by the Secretary. 
(d) GRANTS, COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS AND CON-
TRACTS.—The Secretary may carry out this program inde-
pendently or by making grants to, or entering into con-
tracts and cooperative agreements with, a Federal agency, 
State agency, local agency, authority, association, non-
profit or for-profit corporation, or institution of higher 
education.
SEC. 204. NATIONAL COOPERATIVE FREIGHT TRANSPOR-
TATION RESEARCH PROGRAM. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION.—To carry out a national coop-
erative freight transportation research program, there is 
authorized the following sums: 
(1) $8,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 
and 2005. 
(2) $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 
and 2007. 
(3) $12,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 
and 2009. 
(b) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 5 of title 23, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘§ 509. National Cooperative Freight Transportation 
Research Program 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish and support a national cooperative freight transpor-
tation research program. 
‘‘(b) AGREEMENT.—The Secretary shall enter into an 
agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to sup-
port and carry out administrative and management activi-
ties relating to the governance of the national cooperative 
freight transportation research program. 
‘‘(c) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The National Acad-
emy of Sciences shall select an advisory committee con-
sisting of a representative cross-section of freight stake-
holders, including the Department of Transportation, 
other Federal agencies, State transportation departments, 
local governments, the American Association of State 
Highway and Transportation Officials and other nonprofit 
entities (including environmental groups), academia, and 
the private sector. 
‘‘(d) 
GOVERNANCE.—The 
national 
cooperative 
freight transportation research program established under 
this section shall include the following administrative and 
management elements: 
‘‘(1) NATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA.—The advi-
sory committee, in consultation with stakeholders, 
shall recommend a national research agenda for the
national cooperative freight transportation research 
program. The national research agenda shall include 
a multi-year strategic plan. 
‘‘(2) 
STAKEHOLDER
INVOLVEMENT.—Stake-
holders may—
‘‘(A) submit research proposals to the advi-
sory committee; 
‘‘(B) participate in merit reviews of re-
search proposals and peer reviews of research 
products; and 
‘‘(C) receive research results. 
‘‘(3) OPEN COMPETITION AND PEER REVIEW OF 
RESEARCH PROPOSALS.—The National Academy of 
Sciences shall award research contracts and grants 
through open competition and merit review con-
ducted on a regular basis. 
‘‘(4) EVALUATION OF RESEARCH.—
‘‘(A) PEER REVIEW.—Research contracts 
and grants shall allow peer review of the re-
search results. 
‘‘(B) PROGRAMMATIC EVALUATIONS.—The 
National Academy of Sciences may conduct 
periodic programmatic evaluations on a regular 
basis.
‘‘(5) DISSEMINATION
OF
RESEARCH
FIND-
INGS.—The National Academy of Sciences shall dis-
seminate research findings to researchers, practi-
tioners, and decision-makers, through conferences 
and seminars, field demonstrations, workshops, 
training programs, presentations, testimony to gov-
ernment officials, world wide web, publications for 
the general public, and other appropriate means. 
‘‘(e) CONTENTS.—The national research agenda for 
the national cooperative freight transportation research 
program required under subsection (d)(1) shall include re-
search in the following areas: 
‘‘(1) Techniques for estimating and quantifying 
public benefits derived from freight transportation 
projects. 
‘‘(2) Alternative approaches to calculating the 
contribution of truck traffic to congestion on specific 
highway segments. 
‘‘(3) The feasibility of freight villages as a 
means of consolidating origins and destinations for 
freight movement. 
‘‘(4) Methods for incorporating estimates of 
international trade into landside transportation plan-
ning.
‘‘(5) The use of technology applications to in-
crease capacity of highway lanes dedicated to truck-
only traffic. 
‘‘(6) Development of physical and policy alter-
natives for separating car and truck traffic. 
‘‘(7) Ways to synchronize infrastructure im-
provements with freight transportation demand. 
‘‘(8) The effect of changing patterns of freight 
movement on transportation planning decisions re-
lating to rest areas. 
‘‘(9) Additional priorities to identify and ad-
dress the emerging and future research needs re-
lated to freight transportation. 
‘‘(f) FUNDING.—
‘‘(1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 
the cost of an activity carried out using such funds 
shall be up to 100 percent, and such funds shall re-
main available until expended. 
‘‘(2) USE OF NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.—In addi-
tion to using funds authorized for this section, the 
National Academy of Sciences may seek and accept 
additional funding sources from public and private 
entities capable of accepting funding from the 
United States Department of Transportation (Fed-
eral Highway Administration, Federal Transit Ad-
ministration, Federal Railroad Administration, Re-
search and Special Programs Administration, and 
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administra-
tion), states, local governments, nonprofit founda-
tions, and the private sector.’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 
chapter 5 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by 
redesignating section 509 as follows:
‘‘509. National cooperative freight transportation research program.’’.
Æ