Title: AID in Appalachia Act
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Advancing Infrastructure Development in Appalachia Act or the AID in Appalachia Act
This bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish the Balance Exchanges for Infrastructure Program to improve highway infrastructure development in the Appalachian region of the United States.
DOT must incentivize certain states within the Appalachian region to use unobligated balances of funding to improve highway infrastructure in the region.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4896 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4896

   To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish a program to 
    improve infrastructure development in Appalachia, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 29, 2019

 Mr. Mooney of West Virginia (for himself, Mr. Trone, Mrs. Miller, and 
Mr. McKinley) 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 a program to 
    improve infrastructure development in Appalachia, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Advancing Infrastructure Development 
in Appalachia Act'' or the ``AID in Appalachia Act''.

SEC. 2. BALANCE EXCHANGES FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 171. Balance exchanges for infrastructure program
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Administratively allocated.--The term 
        `administratively allocated' means the allocation by the 
        Secretary of budget authority for a project under the TIFIA 
        program that occurs when--
                    ``(A) a potential applicant has been invited into 
                the creditworthiness phase for a project under the 
                TIFIA program; or
                    ``(B) the project is subject to a master credit 
                agreement (as defined in section 601(a)), in accordance 
                with section 602(b)(2).
            ``(2) Appalachian state.--The term `Appalachian State' 
        means a State that contains 1 or more counties in the 
        Appalachian region (as defined in section 14102(a) of title 
        40).
            ``(3) Program.--The term `program' means the Balance 
        Exchanges for Infrastructure Program established under 
        subsection (b).
            ``(4) TIFIA carryover balance.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `TIFIA carryover 
                balance' means the amounts made available for the TIFIA 
                program for previous fiscal years that are unobligated 
                and have not been administratively allocated.
                    ``(B) Inclusion.--The term `TIFIA carryover 
                balance' includes--
                            ``(i) the applicable amount of contract 
                        authority for the amounts described in 
                        subparagraph (A); and
                            ``(ii) the equivalent amount of obligation 
                        limitation for the fiscal year in which the 
                        Secretary makes a transfer under subsection 
                        (f)(2).
            ``(5) TIFIA program.--The term `TIFIA program' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 601(a).
    ``(b) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a program, to 
be known as the `Balance Exchanges for Infrastructure Program', in 
accordance with this section to provide flexibility for the Secretary 
and States to improve highway infrastructure.
    ``(c) Offer To Fund Projects or Exchange Funds.--
            ``(1) Solicitation.--For each fiscal year for which an 
        amount is reserved under subsection (f)(1), the Secretary 
        shall--
                    ``(A) not later than December 1 of that fiscal 
                year--
                            ``(i) solicit requests from Appalachian 
                        States to return amounts under subsection 
                        (d)(1)(A); and
                            ``(ii) solicit applications from 
                        Appalachian States for grants under subsection 
                        (e); and
                    ``(B) require that, not later than 60 days after 
                the date of the solicitations under subparagraph (A), 
                each Appalachian State that elects to participate in 
                the program shall submit to the Secretary either--
                            ``(i) a request that describes the amount 
                        that the Appalachian State requests to return 
                        under subsection (d)(1)(A); or
                            ``(ii) an application for a grant under 
                        subsection (e).
    ``(d) Exchange Agreements.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall enter into an 
        agreement with each Appalachian State that submits a request 
        under subsection (c)(1)(A)(i) under which--
                    ``(A) the Appalachian State shall return to the 
                Secretary all, or at the discretion of the Appalachian 
                State, a portion of, the unobligated amounts from the 
                Highway Trust Fund (including the applicable amount of 
                contract authority and an equal amount of special no-
                year obligation limitation associated with that 
                contract authority) apportioned to the Appalachian 
                State for the Appalachian development highway system 
                under section 14501 of title 40 (but not including any 
                amounts made available by an appropriations Act without 
                an initial authorization); and
                    ``(B) the Secretary shall transfer to the 
                Appalachian State, from amounts transferred to the 
                program under subsection (f)(2) for that fiscal year, 
                an amount (including the applicable amount of contract 
                authority and an equal amount of annual obligation 
                limitation) equal to the amount that the Appalachian 
                State returned under subparagraph (A) that shall be 
                used to carry out projects described in paragraph (3).
            ``(2) State limitation.--The amount of contract authority 
        returned by an Appalachian State under paragraph (1)(A) may not 
        exceed the amount of the special no-year obligation limitation 
        available to the Appalachian State prior to the return of the 
        special no-year obligation limitation under that paragraph.
            ``(3) Eligible projects.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A project eligible to be carried 
                out using funds transferred to an Appalachian State 
                under paragraph (1)(B) is a project described in 
                subsections (b) and (c) of section 133.
                    ``(B) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost 
                of a project carried out using funds transferred to an 
                Appalachian State under paragraph (1)(B) shall be up to 
                100 percent, at the discretion of the Appalachian 
                State.
                    ``(C) Application of section 133.--Except as 
                otherwise provided in this paragraph, section 133 shall 
                not apply to a project carried out using funds 
                transferred to an Appalachian State under paragraph 
                (1)(B).
            ``(4) Total limitation.--For each fiscal year, the total 
        amount exchanged under paragraph (1) shall not exceed the 
        amount available to be transferred to the program under 
        subsection (f).
            ``(5) Amounts exchanged.--For each fiscal year, if the 
        total amount requested by all Appalachian States to return 
        under paragraph (1)(A) is greater than the amount described in 
        paragraph (4), the Secretary shall exchange amounts under 
        paragraph (1) based on the proportion that--
                    ``(A) the amount requested to be returned for the 
                fiscal year by the Appalachian State; bears to
                    ``(B) the amount requested to be returned for the 
                fiscal year by all Appalachian States.
    ``(e) Appalachian Development Highway System Corridor Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--Using amounts returned to the Secretary 
        under subsection (d)(1)(A), the Secretary shall provide grants 
        of contract authority, to remain available until expended, and 
        subject to special no-year obligation limitation, on a 
        competitive basis to Appalachian States for eligible projects 
        described in paragraph (2).
            ``(2) Eligible project.--A project eligible to be carried 
        out with a grant under this subsection is a project that is--
                    ``(A) eligible under section 14501 of title 40 as 
                of the date of enactment of this section; and
                    ``(B) reasonably expected to begin construction by 
                not later than 2 years after the date of obligation of 
                funds provided under this subsection for the project.
            ``(3) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        this subsection, an Appalachian State shall submit to the 
        Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and 
        containing such information as the Secretary may require.
            ``(4) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost of a 
        project carried out using a grant provided under this 
        subsection shall be up to 100 percent, at the discretion of the 
        Appalachian State.
            ``(5) Limitation.--An Appalachian State that enters into an 
        agreement to exchange funds under subsection (d) for any fiscal 
        year shall not be eligible to receive a grant under this 
        subsection.
    ``(f) Transfer From TIFIA Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--On October 1 of each fiscal year, the 
        Secretary shall reserve, for the purpose of funding transfers 
        under paragraph (2) until the transfers are completed, the 
        amount of TIFIA carryover balance that exceeds the amount 
        available to carry out the TIFIA program for that fiscal year.
            ``(2) Transfers.--For each fiscal year, not later than 60 
        days after the date on which the Secretary receives the 
        responses to the solicitations under subsection (c)(1), the 
        Secretary shall transfer from the TIFIA program to the program 
        an amount of contract authority and equal amount of obligation 
        limitation that is equal to the lesser of--
                    ``(A) the total amount requested by all Appalachian 
                States for the fiscal year under subsection 
                (c)(1)(B)(i);
                    ``(B) the total amount requested by all Appalachian 
                States for grants under subsection (c)(1)(B)(ii); and
                    ``(C) the amount reserved under paragraph (1).''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 1 of title 23, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 170 the following:

``171. Balance exchanges for infrastructure program.''.
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