Sec. 8102. Competitive University Transportation Centers Consortia Program

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Section 5505 of title 49, United States Code, is amended as follows: Subsection (a)(2)(A) is amended to read: to advance multimodal and cross-modal transportation expertise and technology in the varied disciplines that comprise the field of transportation through education, research, and technology transfer activities; . Subsection (a)(2)(C) of title 49 is amended to read: to address critical workforce needs and educate the next generation of transportation leaders in a multidisciplinary fashion. . Subsection

(b)is amended to read as follows: To receive a grant under this section, a consortium of nonprofit institutions of higher education shall submit to the Secretary an application that is in such form and contains such information as the Secretary may require. The lead institution of a consortium of nonprofit institutions of higher education that receives a direct grant award under this section for a national transportation center or a regional transportation center in a fiscal year shall not be eligible to receive funding, direct or indirectly, from an additional grant in that fiscal year as the lead institution or member of a consortium, for a national transportation center or a regional transportation center. The Secretary shall solicit grant applications for national transportation centers, regional transportation centers, and Tier 1 university transportation centers with identical advertisement schedules and deadlines. Except as otherwise provided by this section, the Secretary shall award grants under this section in nonexclusive candidate topic areas established by the Secretary that address the research priorities identified in the plans developed under section 508 of title 23. The Secretary, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology and the Administrators of the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Railroad Administration, shall select each recipient of a grant under this section through a competitive process based on the assessment of the Secretary relating to— the demonstrated ability of the recipient to address each specific topic area described in the research and strategic plans of the recipient; the demonstrated research, technology transfer, and education resources available to the recipient to carry out this section; the ability of the recipient to provide leadership in solving immediate and long-range national and regional transportation problems; the ability of the recipient to carry out research, education, and technology transfer activities that are multimodal and multidisciplinary in scope; the demonstrated commitment of the recipient to carry out transportation workforce development programs through— degree-granting programs or programs that provide other industry-recognized credentials; and outreach activities to attract new entrants into the transportation field, including minorities, women, individuals with disabilities, veterans, low-income populations, and others who may not have considered pursuing careers in transportation previously; the demonstrated ability of the recipient to disseminate results and spur the implementation of transportation research and education programs through national or statewide continuing education programs; the demonstrated commitment of the recipient to the use of peer review principles and other research best practices in the selection, management, and dissemination of research projects; the strategic plan submitted by the recipient describing the proposed research to be carried out by the recipient and the performance metrics to be used in assessing the performance of the recipient in meeting the stated research, technology transfer, education, and outreach goals; and the ability of the recipient to implement the proposed program in a cost-efficient manner, such as through cost sharing and overall reduced overhead, facilities, and administrative costs. The Secretary shall provide to each applicant, upon request, any materials, including copies of reviews (with any information that would identify a reviewer redacted), used in the evaluation process of the proposal of the applicant. The Secretary shall make available to the public on a Department of Transportation Web site a report describing the overall review process under paragraph

(3)that includes— specific criteria of evaluation used in the review; descriptions of the review process; and explanations of the selected awards. The Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, consult external stakeholders such as the Transportation Research Board of the National Research Council of the National Academies to evaluate and competitively review all proposals. . Subsection

(c)is amended to read as follows: Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the GROW AMERICA Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology and the Administrators of the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Railroad Administration, shall select grant recipients under subsection

(b)and make grant amounts available to the selected recipients. In awarding grants under this paragraph, consideration shall be given to minority institutions, as defined by section 365 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067k), or consortia that include such institutions that have demonstrated an ability in transportation-related research and education. Subject to subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall provide grants to 5 consortia that the Secretary determines best meet the criteria described in subsection (b)(4). For each fiscal year, a grant made available under this paragraph shall be $3,200,000 per recipient. As a condition of receiving a grant under this paragraph, a grant recipient shall match 100 percent of the amounts made available under the grant. The matching amounts referred to in clause

(i)may include— amounts made available to the recipient under title I of this Act; amounts made available to the recipient by the several administrations of the Department of Transportation; and amounts made available to the recipient by other Federal departments, agencies, independent agencies, boards, and other Federal elements with interests in transportation. One regional university transportation center shall be located in each of the 10 Federal regions that comprise the Standard Federal Regions established by the Office of Management and Budget in the document entitled Standard Federal Regions and dated April 1974 (circular A–105). In conducting a competition under subsection (b), the Secretary shall provide grants to 10 consortia on the basis of— the criteria described in subsection (b)(3) ; the location of the center within the Federal region to be served; and whether the consortium of institutions demonstrates that the consortium has well-established, nationally recognized multimodal and multidisciplinary programs in transportation research and education, as evidenced by— recent expenditures by the institution in surface transportation research; a historical track record of awarding graduate degrees in professional fields closely related to surface transportation; and an experienced faculty who specialize in professional fields closely related to surface transportation. For each fiscal year, a grant made available under this paragraph shall be $3,000,000 for each recipient. As a condition of receiving a grant under this paragraph, a grant recipient shall match 100 percent of the amounts made available under the grant. The matching amounts referred to in clause

(3)or

(4)shall not be eligible to receive a direct grant award under this paragraph. Subject to clause

(iii), as a condition of receiving a grant under this paragraph, a grant recipient shall match 50 percent of the amounts made available under the grant. The matching amounts referred to in clause

(f)the following: To enable access more broadly to the specialized skills and multidisciplinary research capabilities of the transportation university research community by the several administrations of the Department of Transportation, and by other Federal departments, agencies, independent agencies, boards, and other elements with interests in transportation, these organizations may sponsor competitive grants to consortia on specific research topics. The grants shall conform to the selection criteria and requirements of either national transportation centers or Tier 1 university transportation centers; and be of an equivalent grant value of the type of Center selected. The grants shall conform to all other requirements and restrictions under this section. The grants shall be competed, selected, and awarded on the same schedule as all grants competed under this section. Such grants shall require identical matching requirements of the type of center selected; except that sources of matching funds may not be the same funding source as the Federal entity funding the specialized grant. .

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U.S. Code

Definitions
§ 1067k

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Sec. 8102

Competitive University Transportation Centers Consortia Program

U.S.C.§ 1067k

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