H. R. 3—653
‘‘§ 506. International highway transportation outreach pro-
gram 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary may establish an inter-
national highway transportation outreach program—
‘‘(1) to inform the United States highway community of 
technological innovations in foreign countries that could signifi-
cantly improve highway transportation in the United States; 
‘‘(2) to promote United States highway transportation 
expertise, goods, and services in foreign countries; and 
‘‘(3) to increase transfers of United States highway 
transportation technology to foreign countries. 
‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—Activities carried out under the program may 
include—
‘‘(1) the development, monitoring, assessment, and dissemi-
nation in the United States of information about highway 
transportation innovations in foreign countries that could 
significantly improve highway transportation in the United 
States; 
‘‘(2) research, development, demonstration, training, and 
other forms of technology transfer and exchange; 
‘‘(3) the provision to foreign countries, through participation 
in trade shows, seminars, expositions, and other similar activi-
ties, of information relating to the technical quality of United 
States highway transportation goods and services; 
‘‘(4) the offering of technical services of the Federal High-
way Administration that cannot be readily obtained from pri-
vate sector firms in the United States for incorporation into 
the proposals of those firms undertaking highway transpor-
tation projects outside the United States, if the costs of the 
technical services will be recovered under the terms of the 
project; 
‘‘(5) the conduct of studies to assess the need for, or feasi-
bility of, highway transportation improvements in foreign coun-
tries; and 
‘‘(6) the gathering and dissemination of information on 
foreign transportation markets and industries. 
‘‘(c) COOPERATION.—The Secretary may carry out this section 
in cooperation with any appropriate—
‘‘(1) Federal, State, or local agency; 
‘‘(2) authority, association, institution, or organization; 
‘‘(3) for-profit or nonprofit corporation; 
‘‘(4) national or international entity; 
‘‘(5) foreign country; or 
‘‘(6) person. 
‘‘(d) FUNDS.—
‘‘(1) CONTRIBUTIONS.—Funds available to carry out this 
section shall include funds deposited by any cooperating 
organization or person into a special account of the Treasury 
established for this purpose. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE USES OF FUNDS.—The funds deposited into 
the account, and other funds available to carry out this section, 
shall be available to cover the cost of any activity eligible 
under this section, including the cost of—
‘‘(A) promotional materials; 
‘‘(B) travel; 
‘‘(C) reception and representation expenses; and 
‘‘(D) salaries and benefits.
H. R. 3—654
‘‘(3) REIMBURSEMENTS
FOR
SALARIES
AND
BENEFITS.—
Reimbursements for salaries and benefits of Department 
employees providing services under this section shall be cred-
ited to the account. 
‘‘(e) REPORT.—For each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit 
to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate 
and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 
House of Representatives a report that describes the destinations 
and individual trip costs of international travel conducted in car-
rying out activities described in this section.’’. 
(b) FUNDING.—Of the amounts made available by section 
5101(a)(1) of this Act, $300,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 
2009 shall be available to carry out section 506 of such title. 
SEC. 5207. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING 
COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 507 of title 23, United States Code, 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 507. Surface transportation-environmental cooperative 
research program 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish and carry out 
a surface transportation-environmental cooperative research pro-
gram. 
‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—The program carried out under this section 
may include research—
‘‘(1) to develop more accurate models for evaluating 
transportation control measures and transportation system 
designs that are appropriate for use by State and local govern-
ments (including metropolitan planning organizations) in 
designing implementation plans to meet Federal, State, and 
local environmental requirements; 
‘‘(2) to improve understanding of the factors that contribute 
to the demand for transportation; 
‘‘(3) to develop indicators of economic, social, and environ-
mental performance of transportation systems to facilitate anal-
ysis of potential alternatives; 
‘‘(4) to meet additional priorities as determined by the 
Secretary in the strategic planning process under section 508; 
and 
‘‘(5) to refine, through the conduct of workshops, symposia, 
and panels, and in consultation with stakeholders (including 
the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection 
Agency, and other appropriate Federal and State agencies and 
associations) the scope and research emphases of the program. 
‘‘(c) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary shall—
‘‘(1) administer the program established under this section; 
and 
‘‘(2) ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that—
‘‘(A) the best projects and researchers are selected to 
conduct research in the priority areas described in sub-
section (b)—
‘‘(i) on the basis of merit of each submitted pro-
posal; and 
‘‘(ii) through the use of open solicitations and selec-
tion by a panel of appropriate experts;
H. R. 3—655
‘‘(B) a qualified, permanent core staff with the ability 
and expertise to manage a large multiyear budget is used; 
‘‘(C) the stakeholders are involved in the governance 
of the program, at the executive, overall program, and 
technical levels, through the use of expert panels and 
committees; and 
‘‘(D) there is no duplication of research effort between 
the program established under this section and the new 
strategic highway research program established under sec-
tion 510. 
‘‘(d) NATIONAL ACADEMY
OF SCIENCES.—The Secretary may 
make grants to, and enter into cooperative agreements with, the 
National Academy of Sciences to carry out such activities relating 
to the research, technology, and technology transfer activities 
described in subsections (b) and (c) as the Secretary determines 
to be appropriate.’’. 
(b) FUNDING.—Of the amounts made available by section 
5101(a)(1) of this Act, $16,875,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 
through 2009 shall be available to carry out section 507 of such 
title. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chapter 5 of 
such title is amended by striking the item relating to section 507 
and inserting the following:
‘‘507. Surface transportation environment and planning cooperative research pro-
gram.’’.
SEC. 5208. TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT STRA-
TEGIC PLANNING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 508 of title 23, United States Code, 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 508. Transportation research and development strategic 
planning 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of the SAFETEA–LU, the Secretary shall develop 
a 5-year transportation research and development strategic 
plan to guide Federal transportation research and development 
activities. This plan shall be consistent with section 306 of 
title 5, sections 1115 and 1116 of title 31, and any other 
research and development plan within the Department of 
Transportation. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The strategic plan developed under para-
graph (1) shall—
‘‘(A) describe the primary purposes of the transpor-
tation research and development program, which shall 
include, at a minimum—
‘‘(i) reducing congestion and improving mobility; 
‘‘(ii) promoting safety; 
‘‘(iii) promoting security; 
‘‘(iv) protecting and enhancing the environment; 
‘‘(v) preserving the existing transportation system; 
and 
‘‘(vi) improving the durability and extending the 
life of transportation infrastructure; 
‘‘(B) for each purpose, list the primary research and 
development topics that the Department intends to pursue
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to accomplish that purpose, which may include the funda-
mental research in the physical and natural sciences, 
applied research, technology development, and social 
science research intended for each topic; and 
‘‘(C) 
for 
each 
research 
and 
development 
topic, 
describe—
‘‘(i) the anticipated annual funding levels for the 
period covered by the strategic plan; and 
‘‘(ii) the additional information the Department 
expects to gain at the end of the period covered by 
the strategic plan as a result of the research and 
development in that topic area. 
‘‘(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing the strategic plan, 
the Secretary shall ensure that the plan—
‘‘(A) reflects input from a wide range of stakeholders; 
‘‘(B) includes and integrates the research and develop-
ment programs of all the Department’s operating adminis-
trations, including aviation, transit, rail, and maritime; 
and 
‘‘(C) takes into account how research and development 
by other Federal, State, private sector, and nonprofit 
institutions contributes to the achievement of the purposes 
identified under paragraph (2)(A), and avoids unnecessary 
duplication with these efforts. 
‘‘(4) PERFORMANCE PLANS AND REPORTS.—In reports sub-
mitted under sections 1115 and 1116 of title 31, the Secretary 
shall include—
‘‘(A) a summary of the Federal transportation research 
and development activities for the previous fiscal year in 
each topic area; 
‘‘(B) the amount of funding spent in each topic area; 
‘‘(C) a description of the extent to which the research 
and development is meeting the expectations set forth in 
paragraph (2)(C)(ii); and 
‘‘(D) any amendments to the strategic plan. 
‘‘(b) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to appro-
priate committees of Congress an annual report, in conjunction 
with the President’s annual budget request as set forth in section 
1105 of title 31, describing the amount spent in the last completed 
fiscal year on transportation research and development and the 
amount proposed in the current budget for transportation research 
and development. 
‘‘(c) NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL REVIEW.—The Secretary 
shall enter into an agreement for the review by the National 
Research Council of the details of each—
‘‘(1) strategic plan under this section; 
‘‘(2) performance plan required under section 1115 of title 
31; and 
‘‘(3) program performance report required under section 
1116 of title 31, with respect to transportation research and 
development.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chapter 5 of 
such title is amended by striking the item relating to section 508 
and inserting the following:
‘‘508. Transportation research and development strategic planning.’’.