IIB 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2577 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JUNE 10, 2015 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Appropriations 
AN ACT 
Making appropriations for the Departments of Transpor-
tation, and Housing and Urban Development, and re-
lated agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 
2016, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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That the following sums are appropriated, out of any 
money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the 
Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban 
Development, and related agencies for the fiscal year end-
ing September 30, 2016, and for other purposes, namely: 
TITLE I 
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES 
For necessary expenses of the Office of the Secretary, 
$105,000,000 (reduced by $3,000,000) (reduced by 
$500,000) 
(reduced 
by 
$4,000,000) 
(reduced 
by 
$4,000,000), of which not to exceed $2,734,000 shall be 
available for the immediate Office of the Secretary; not 
to exceed $1,025,000 shall be available for the immediate 
Office of the Deputy Secretary; not to exceed $20,066,000 
(reduced by $2,000,000) shall be available for the Office 
of the General Counsel; not to exceed $9,310,000 (reduced 
by $1,000,000) (reduced by $500,000) shall be available 
for the Office of the Under Secretary of Transportation 
for Policy; not to exceed $12,808,000 (reduced by 
$4,000,000) (reduced by $1,000,000) shall be available for 
the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Budget and Pro-
grams; not to exceed $2,500,000 (reduced by $250,000) 
shall be available for the Office of the Assistant Secretary 
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for Governmental Affairs; not to exceed $26,029,000 (re-
duced by $500,000) (reduced by $2,000,000) shall be 
available for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Ad-
ministration; not to exceed $2,029,000 shall be available 
for the Office of Public Affairs; not to exceed $1,769,000 
(reduced by $250,000) shall be available for the Office of 
the Executive Secretariat; not to exceed $10,793,000 shall 
be available for the Office of Intelligence, Security, and 
Emergency Response; and not to exceed $15,937,000 shall 
be available for the Office of the Chief Information Offi-
cer: Provided, That the Secretary of Transportation is au-
thorized to transfer funds appropriated for any office of 
the Office of the Secretary to any other office of the Office 
of the Secretary: Provided further, That no appropriation 
for any office shall be increased or decreased by more than 
5 percent by all such transfers: Provided further, That no-
tice of any change in funding greater than 5 percent shall 
be submitted for approval to the House and Senate Com-
mittees on Appropriations: Provided further, That not to 
exceed $60,000 shall be for allocation within the Depart-
ment for official reception and representation expenses as 
the Secretary may determine: Provided further, That not-
withstanding any other provision of law, excluding fees au-
thorized in Public Law 107–71, there may be credited to 
this appropriation up to $2,500,000 in funds received in 
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user fees: Provided further, That none of the funds pro-
vided in this Act shall be available for the position of As-
sistant Secretary for Public Affairs. 
RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY 
For necessary expenses related to the Office of the 
Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, 
$11,386,000, of which $8,218,000 shall remain available 
until September 30, 2018: Provided, That there may be 
credited to this appropriation, to be available until ex-
pended, funds received from States, counties, municipali-
ties, other public authorities, and private sources for ex-
penses incurred for training: Provided further, That any 
reference in law, regulation, judicial proceedings, or else-
where to the Research and Innovative Technology Admin-
istration shall continue to be deemed to be a reference to 
the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and 
Technology of the Department of Transportation. 
NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS 
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS) 
For capital investments in surface transportation in-
frastructure, $100,000,000, to remain available through 
September 30, 2018: Provided, That the Secretary of 
Transportation shall distribute funds provided under this 
heading as discretionary grants to be awarded to a State, 
local government, transit agency, or a collaboration among 
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such entities on a competitive basis for projects that will 
have a significant impact on the Nation, a metropolitan 
area, or a region: Provided further, That projects eligible 
for funding provided under this heading shall include, but 
not be limited to, highway or bridge projects eligible under 
title 23, United States Code; public transportation 
projects eligible under chapter 53 of title 49, United 
States Code; passenger and freight rail transportation 
projects; and port infrastructure investments (including 
inland port infrastructure and land ports of entry): Pro-
vided further, That the Secretary may use up to 20 per-
cent of the funds made available under this heading for 
the purpose of paying the subsidy and administrative costs 
of projects eligible for Federal credit assistance under 
chapter 6 of title 23, United States Code, if the Secretary 
finds that such use of the funds would advance the pur-
poses of this paragraph: Provided further, That in distrib-
uting funds provided under this heading, the Secretary 
shall take such measures so as to ensure an equitable geo-
graphic distribution of funds, an appropriate balance in 
addressing the needs of urban and rural areas, and the 
investment in a variety of transportation modes: Provided 
further, That a grant funded under this heading shall be 
not less than $2,000,000 and not greater than 
$15,000,000: Provided further, That not more than 20 
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percent of the funds made available under this heading 
may be awarded to projects in a single State: Provided 
further, That the Federal share of the costs for which an 
expenditure is made under this heading shall be, at the 
option of the recipient, up to 50 percent: Provided further, 
That the Secretary shall give priority to projects that re-
quire a contribution of Federal funds in order to complete 
an overall financing package: Provided further, That not 
less than 10 percent of the funds provided under this 
heading shall be for projects located in rural areas: Pro-
vided further, That for projects located in rural areas, the 
minimum grant size shall be $1,000,000 and the Secretary 
may increase the Federal share of costs above 80 percent: 
Provided further, That projects conducted using funds pro-
vided under this heading must comply with the require-
ments of subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United 
States Code: Provided further, That the Secretary shall 
conduct a new competition to select the grants and credit 
assistance awarded under this heading: Provided further, 
That the Secretary may retain up to $5,000,000 of the 
funds provided under this heading, and may transfer por-
tions of those funds to the Administrators of the Federal 
Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administra-
tion, the Federal Railroad Administration and the Mari-
time Administration, to fund the award and oversight of 
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grants and credit assistance made under the National In-
frastructure Investments program. 
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT CAPITAL 
For necessary expenses for upgrading and enhancing 
the Department of Transportation’s financial systems and 
re-engineering business processes, $1,000,000, to remain 
available through September 30, 2017. 
CYBER SECURITY INITIATIVES 
For necessary expenses for cyber security initiatives, 
including necessary upgrades to wide area network and 
information technology infrastructure, improvement of 
network perimeter controls and identity management, 
testing and assessment of information technology against 
business, security, and other requirements, implementa-
tion of Federal cyber security initiatives and information 
infrastructure enhancements, implementation of enhanced 
security controls on network devices, and enhancement of 
cyber security workforce training tools, $7,000,000 to re-
main available through September 30, 2017. 
OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS 
For necessary expenses of the Office of Civil Rights, 
$9,600,000. 
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TRANSPORTATION PLANNING, RESEARCH, AND 
DEVELOPMENT 
For necessary expenses for conducting transportation 
planning, research, systems development, development ac-
tivities, and making grants, to remain available until ex-
pended, $5,976,000. 
WORKING CAPITAL FUND 
For necessary expenses for operating costs and cap-
ital outlays of the Working Capital Fund, not to exceed 
$181,500,000 shall be paid from appropriations made 
available to the Department of Transportation: Provided, 
That such services shall be provided on a competitive basis 
to entities within the Department of Transportation: Pro-
vided further, That the above limitation on operating ex-
penses shall not apply to non-DOT entities: Provided fur-
ther, That no funds appropriated in this Act to an agency 
of the Department shall be transferred to the Working 
Capital Fund without majority approval of the Working 
Capital Fund Steering Committee and approval of the 
Secretary: Provided further, That no assessments may be 
levied against any program, budget activity, subactivity or 
project funded by this Act unless notice of such assess-
ments and the basis therefor are presented to the House 
and Senate Committees on Appropriations and are ap-
proved by such Committees. 
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MINORITY BUSINESS RESOURCE CENTER PROGRAM 
For the cost of guaranteed loans, $336,000, as au-
thorized by 49 U.S.C. 332: Provided, That such costs, in-
cluding the cost of modifying such loans, shall be as de-
fined in section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974: Provided further, That these funds are available to 
subsidize total loan principal, any part of which is to be 
guaranteed, not to exceed $18,367,000. 
In addition, for administrative expenses to carry out 
the guaranteed loan program, $597,000. 
SMALL AND DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS UTILIZATION AND 
OUTREACH 
For necessary expenses for small and disadvantaged 
business utilization and outreach activities, $4,518,000, to 
remain available until September 30, 2017: Provided, 
That notwithstanding 49 U.S.C. 332, these funds may be 
used for business opportunities related to any mode of 
transportation. 
PAYMENTS TO AIR CARRIERS 
(AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST FUND) 
In addition to funds made available from any other 
source to carry out the essential air service program under 
49 U.S.C. 41731 through 41742, $155,000,000, to be de-
rived from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, to remain 
available until expended: Provided, That in determining 
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between or among carriers competing to provide service 
to a community, the Secretary may consider the relative 
subsidy requirements of the carriers: Provided further, 
That basic essential air service minimum requirements 
shall not include the 15-passenger capacity requirement 
under subsection 41732(b)(3) of title 49, United States 
Code: Provided further, That none of the funds in this Act 
or any other Act shall be used to enter into a new contract 
with a community located less than 40 miles from the 
nearest small hub airport before the Secretary has nego-
tiated with the community over a local cost share: Pro-
vided further, That amounts authorized to be distributed 
for the essential air service program under subsection 
41742(b) of title 49, United States Code, shall be made 
available immediately from amounts otherwise provided to 
the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration: 
Provided further, That the Administrator may reimburse 
such amounts from fees credited to the account estab-
lished under section 45303 of title 49, United States Code. 
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS 
SEC. 101. None of the funds made available in this 
Act to the Department of Transportation may be obligated 
for the Office of the Secretary of Transportation to ap-
prove assessments or reimbursable agreements pertaining 
to funds appropriated to the modal administrations in this 
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Act, except for activities underway on the date of enact-
ment of this Act, unless such assessments or agreements 
have completed the normal reprogramming process for 
Congressional notification. 
SEC. 102. Notwithstanding section 3324 of title 31, 
United States Code, in addition to authority provided by 
section 327 of title 49, United States Code, the Depart-
ment’s Working Capital Fund is hereby authorized to pro-
vide payments in advance to vendors that are necessary 
to carry out the Federal transit pass transportation fringe 
benefit program under Executive Order No. 13150 and 
section 3049 of Public Law 109–59: Provided, That the 
Department shall include adequate safeguards in the con-
tract with the vendors to ensure timely and high-quality 
performance under the contract. 
SEC. 103. The Secretary shall post on the Web site 
of the Department of Transportation a schedule of all 
meetings of the Credit Council, including the agenda for 
each meeting, and require the Credit Council to record the 
decisions and actions of each meeting. 
SEC. 104. In addition to authority provided by section 
327 of title 49, United States Code, the Department’s 
Working Capital Fund is hereby authorized to provide 
partial or full payments in advance and accept subsequent 
reimbursements from all Federal agencies for transit ben-
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efit distribution services that are necessary to carry out 
the Federal transit pass transportation fringe benefit pro-
gram under Executive Order No. 13150 and section 3049 
of Public Law 109–59: Provided, That the Department 
shall maintain a reasonable operating reserve in the Work-
ing Capital Fund, to be expended in advance to provide 
uninterrupted transit benefits to Government employees, 
provided that such reserve will not exceed one month of 
benefits payable: Provided further, that such reserve may 
be used only for the purpose of providing for the continu-
ation of transit benefits, provided that the Working Cap-
ital Fund will be fully reimbursed by each customer agen-
cy for the actual cost of the transit benefit. 
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION 
OPERATIONS 
(AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST FUND) 
For necessary expenses of the Federal Aviation Ad-
ministration, not otherwise provided for, including oper-
ations and research activities related to commercial space 
transportation, administrative expenses for research and 
development, establishment of air navigation facilities, the 
operation (including leasing) and maintenance of aircraft, 
subsidizing the cost of aeronautical charts and maps sold 
to the public, lease or purchase of passenger motor vehi-
cles for replacement only, in addition to amounts made 
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available by Public Law 112–95, $9,847,700,000 (reduced 
by $3,000,000) of which $8,831,250,000 shall be derived 
from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, of which not 
to exceed $7,505,293,000 shall be available for air traffic 
organization activities; not to exceed $1,258,411,000 shall 
be available for aviation safety activities; not to exceed 
$16,605,000 (increased by $250,000) shall be available for 
commercial space transportation activities; not to exceed 
$725,000,000 (reduced by $3,000,000) (reduced by 
$250,000) shall be available for finance and management 
activities; not to exceed $60,089,000 shall be available for 
NextGen and operations planning activities; and not to ex-
ceed $282,302,000 shall be available for staff offices: Pro-
vided, That not to exceed 2 percent of any budget activity, 
except for aviation safety budget activity, may be trans-
ferred to any budget activity under this heading: Provided 
further, That no transfer may increase or decrease any ap-
propriation by more than 2 percent: Provided further, 
That any transfer in excess of 2 percent shall be treated 
as a reprogramming of funds under section 405 of this 
Act and shall not be available for obligation or expenditure 
except in compliance with the procedures set forth in that 
section: Provided further, That not later than March 31 
of each fiscal year hereafter, the Administrator of the Fed-
eral Aviation Administration shall transmit to Congress 
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an annual update to the report submitted to Congress in 
December 2004 pursuant to section 221 of Public Law 
108–176: Provided further, That the amount herein appro-
priated shall be reduced by $100,000 for each day after 
March 31 that such report has not been submitted to the 
Congress: Provided further, That not later than March 31 
of each fiscal year hereafter, the Administrator shall 
transmit to Congress a companion report that describes 
a comprehensive strategy for staffing, hiring, and training 
flight standards and aircraft certification staff in a format 
similar to the one utilized for the controller staffing plan, 
including stated attrition estimates and numerical hiring 
goals by fiscal year: Provided further, That the amount 
herein appropriated shall be reduced by $100,000 per day 
for each day after March 31 that such report has not been 
submitted to Congress: Provided further, That funds may 
be used to enter into a grant agreement with a nonprofit 
standard-setting organization to assist in the development 
of aviation safety standards: Provided further, That none 
of the funds in this Act shall be available for new appli-
cants for the second career training program: Provided 
further, That none of the funds in this Act shall be avail-
able for the Federal Aviation Administration to finalize 
or implement any regulation that would promulgate new 
aviation user fees not specifically authorized by law after 
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the date of the enactment of this Act: Provided further, 
That there may be credited to this appropriation as offset-
ting collections funds received from States, counties, mu-
nicipalities, foreign authorities, other public authorities, 
and private sources for expenses incurred in the provision 
of agency services, including receipts for the maintenance 
and operation of air navigation facilities, and for issuance, 
renewal or modification of certificates, including airman, 
aircraft, and repair station certificates, or for tests related 
thereto, or for processing major repair or alteration forms: 
Provided further, That of the funds appropriated under 
this heading, not less than $154,400,000 shall be for the 
contract tower program, including the contract tower cost 
share program: Provided further, That none of the funds 
in this Act for aeronautical charting and cartography are 
available for activities conducted by, or coordinated 
through, the Working Capital Fund. 
FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT 
(AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST FUND) 
For necessary expenses, not otherwise provided for, 
for acquisition, establishment, technical support services, 
improvement by contract or purchase, and hire of national 
airspace systems and experimental facilities and equip-
ment, as authorized under part A of subtitle VII of title 
49, United States Code, including initial acquisition of 
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necessary sites by lease or grant; engineering and service 
testing, including construction of test facilities and acqui-
sition of necessary sites by lease or grant; construction 
and furnishing of quarters and related accommodations 
for officers and employees of the Federal Aviation Admin-
istration stationed at remote localities where such accom-
modations are not available; and the purchase, lease, or 
transfer of aircraft from funds available under this head-
ing, including aircraft for aviation regulation and certifi-
cation; to be derived from the Airport and Airway Trust 
Fund, $2,500,000,000 (increased by $3,000,000), of 
which $460,000,000 shall remain available until Sep-
tember 30, 2016, and $2,040,000,000 (increased by 
$3,000,000) shall remain available until September 30, 
2018: Provided, That there may be credited to this appro-
priation funds received from States, counties, municipali-
ties, other public authorities, and private sources, for ex-
penses incurred in the establishment, improvement, and 
modernization of national airspace systems: Provided fur-
ther, That upon initial submission to the Congress of the 
fiscal year 2017 President’s budget, the Secretary of 
Transportation shall transmit to the Congress a com-
prehensive capital investment plan for the Federal Avia-
tion Administration which includes funding for each budg-
et line item for fiscal years 2017 through 2021, with total 
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funding for each year of the plan constrained to the fund-
ing targets for those years as estimated and approved by 
the Office of Management and Budget: Provided further, 
That the amount herein appropriated shall be reduced by 
$100,000 per day for each day after the initial submission 
of the fiscal year 2017 President’s budget that such report 
has not been submitted to Congress. 
RESEARCH, ENGINEERING, AND DEVELOPMENT 
(AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST FUND) 
For necessary expenses, not otherwise provided for, 
for research, engineering, and development, as authorized 
under part A of subtitle VII of title 49, United States 
Code, including construction of experimental facilities and 
acquisition of necessary sites by lease or grant, 
$156,750,000, to be derived from the Airport and Airway 
Trust Fund and to remain available until September 30, 
2018: Provided, That there may be credited to this appro-
priation as offsetting collections, funds received from 
States, counties, municipalities, other public authorities, 
and private sources, which shall be available for expenses 
incurred for research, engineering, and development. 
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