Title: A bill to amend title 23, United States Code, to improve the nationally significant freight and highway projects program, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
This bill revises nationally significant freight and highway projects by: (1) eliminating the limitation on grants for certain highway freight projects, (2) expanding the Department of Transportation's authority to administer grants for such projects, (3) adding additional public and economic benefit requirements for such projects, and (4) modifying congressional notification requirements.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3587 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3587

   To amend title 23, United States Code, to improve the nationally 
    significant freight and highway projects program, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 11, 2018

Mr. Carper (for himself, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Menendez, and Mr. Van Hollen) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
               Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 23, United States Code, to improve the nationally 
    significant freight and highway projects program, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. NATIONALLY SIGNIFICANT FREIGHT AND HIGHWAY PROJECTS.

    (a) Repeal of Limitation.--
            (1) In general.--Section 117(d) of title 23, United States 
        Code, is amended by striking paragraph (2).
            (2) Conforming amendments.--
                    (A) Section 117(d) of title 23, United States Code 
                (as amended by paragraph (1)) is amended--
                            (i) by striking the subsection designation 
                        and heading and all that follows through 
                        ``Except as'' in paragraph (1) in the matter 
                        preceding subparagraph (A) and inserting the 
                        following:
    ``(d) Eligible Projects.--Except as'';
                            (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and 
                        (B) as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively, 
                        and indenting appropriately;
                            (iii) in paragraph (1) (as so 
                        redesignated)--
                                    (I) by redesignating clauses (i) 
                                through (iv) as subparagraphs (A) 
                                through (D), respectively, and 
                                indenting appropriately;
                                    (II) in subparagraph (B) (as so 
                                redesignated), by redesignating 
                                subclauses (I) and (II) as clauses (i) 
                                and (ii), respectively, and indenting 
                                appropriately; and
                                    (III) in subparagraph (C) (as so 
                                redesignated), by redesignating 
                                subclauses (I) and (II) as clauses (i) 
                                and (ii), respectively, and indenting 
                                appropriately; and
                            (iv) in paragraph (2) (as so 
                        redesignated)--
                                    (I) by redesignating clauses (i) 
                                and (ii) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), 
                                respectively, and indenting 
                                appropriately; and
                                    (II) in subparagraph (B) (as so 
                                redesignated), by redesignating 
                                subclauses (I) and (II) as clauses (i) 
                                and (ii), respectively, and indenting 
                                appropriately.
                    (B) Section 117(e)(1) of title 23, United States 
                Code, is amended--
                            (i) by striking ``subsection (d)(1)(A)'' 
                        and inserting ``subsection (d)(1)''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``subsection (d)(1)(B)'' 
                        and inserting ``subsection (d)(2)''.
                    (C) Section 117(m)(1)(B) of title 23, United States 
                Code, is amended by striking ``subsection 
                (d)(1)(A)(iii)'' and inserting ``subsection 
                (d)(1)(C)''.
    (b) Grant Administration.--Section 117(b) of title 23, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Grant administration.--The Secretary may--
                    ``(A) retain not more than a total of 2 percent of 
                the funds authorized to carry out this section for the 
                National Surface Transportation and Innovative Finance 
                Bureau to review applications for grants under this 
                section; and
                    ``(B) transfer portions of the funds retained under 
                subparagraph (A) to the Administrators of the Federal 
                Highway Administration, the Federal Railroad 
                Administration, and the Maritime Administration to fund 
                the award and oversight of grants provided under this 
                section.''.
    (c) Project Requirements.--Section 117(g) of title 23, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (7) as 
        paragraphs (3) through (8), respectively;
            (2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
            ``(1) the project will generate national or regional 
        economic or mobility benefits;
            ``(2) the project will generate public benefits, including 
        public health or safety improvements;''; and
            (3) by striking paragraph (7) (as so redesignated) and 
        inserting the following:
            ``(7) a grant provided under this section will enable the 
        project to proceed more quickly and cost-effectively than would 
        otherwise be possible without a grant; and''.
    (d) Public Transparency.--Section 117(m)(1)(A) of title 23, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking the subparagraph designation and heading 
        and all that follows through ``At least 60 days'' in the first 
        sentence and inserting the following:
                    ``(A) Notification to congress.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Not less than 60 days''; 
                        and
            (2) in clause (i) (as so designated), by striking the 
        second sentence and inserting the following:
                            ``(ii) Inclusions.--The notification under 
                        clause (i) shall include--
                                    ``(I) an evaluation and 
                                justification for the project;
                                    ``(II) the amount of the proposed 
                                grant award;
                                    ``(III) a list of all applications 
                                received for grants under this section 
                                in response to the notice of funding 
                                opportunity; and
                                    ``(IV) the ratings each application 
                                referred to in subclause (III) received 
                                with respect to--
                                            ``(aa) the selection 
                                        criteria developed by the 
                                        Secretary and announced in the 
                                        notice of funding opportunity; 
                                        and
                                            ``(bb) the selection 
                                        requirements under subsections 
                                        (g) and (h) and, as applicable, 
                                        subsection (e)(3).''.
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