Sec. 1015. Assistance for major projects program
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Chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: The purpose of the assistance for major projects program shall be to assist in funding critical high-cost surface transportation infrastructure projects that— are difficult to complete with existing Federal, State, local, and private funds; and will achieve 1 or more of— generation of national or regional economic benefits and an increase in the global economic competitiveness of the United States; reduction of congestion and the impacts of congestion; improvement of roadways vital to national energy security; improvement of the efficiency, reliability, and affordability of the movement of freight; improvement of transportation safety; improvement of existing and designated future Interstate System routes; or improvement of the movement of people through improving rural connectivity and metropolitan accessibility.
In this section: The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration. The term eligible applicant means— a State (or a group of States); a local government; a tribal government (or a consortium of tribal governments); a transit agency; a special purpose district or a public authority with a transportation function; a port authority; a political subdivision of a State or local government; a Federal land management agency, jointly with the applicable State; or a multistate or multijurisdictional group of entities described in subparagraphs
(A)through (H). The term eligible project means a surface transportation project, or a program of integrated surface transportation projects closely related in the function the projects perform, that— is a capital project that is eligible for Federal financial assistance under— this title; or chapter 53 of title 49; and except as provided in subparagraph (B), has eligible project costs that are reasonably anticipated to equal or exceed the lesser of— $350,000,000; and for a project located in a single State, 30 percent of the amount of Federal-aid highway funds apportioned to the State for the most recently completed fiscal year; for a project located in a single rural State with a population density of 75 or fewer persons per square mile based on the most recent decennial census, 10 percent of the amount of Federal-aid highway funds apportioned to the State for the most recently completed fiscal year; or for a project located in more than 1 State, 75 percent of the amount of Federal-aid highway funds apportioned to the participating State that has the largest apportionment for the most recently completed fiscal year. In the case of a Federal land transportation facility, the term eligible project means a Federal land transportation facility that has eligible project costs that are reasonably anticipated to equal or exceed $150,000,000. The term eligible project costs means the costs of— development phase activities, including planning, feasibility analysis, revenue forecasting, environmental review, preliminary engineering and design work, and other preconstruction activities; and construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, and acquisition of real property (including land related to the project and improvements to land), environmental mitigation, construction contingencies, acquisition of equipment directly related to improving system performance, and operational improvements. The term rural area means an area that is outside of an urbanized area with a population greater than 150,000 individuals, as determined by the Bureau of the Census. The term rural State means a State that has a population density of 75 or fewer persons per square mile, based on the most recent decennial census. The Administrator shall establish a program in accordance with this section to provide grants for projects that will have a significant impact on a region or the Nation. The Administrator shall conduct a transparent and competitive national solicitation process to review eligible projects for funding under this section. An eligible applicant seeking a grant under this section shall submit to the Administrator an application in such form and containing such information as the Administrator determines necessary, including the total amount of the grant requested. Each application submitted under this paragraph shall include data on the most recent system performance and estimated system improvements that will result from completion of the eligible project, including projections for improvements 5, 10, and 20 years after completion of the project. An eligible applicant whose project is not selected under this section may resubmit an application in a subsequent solicitation. The Administrator may select a project for funding under this section only if the Administrator determines that the project— is consistent with the national goals described in section 150(b); will significantly improve the performance of the national surface transportation network, nationally or regionally; is based on the results of preliminary engineering; is consistent with the long-range statewide transportation plan; cannot be readily and efficiently completed without Federal financial assistance; is justified based on the ability of the project to achieve 1 or more of— generation of national economic benefits that reasonably exceed the costs of the project; reduction of long-term congestion, including impacts on a national, regional, and statewide basis; an increase in the speed, reliability, and accessibility of the movement of people or freight; or improvement of transportation safety, including reducing transportation accident and serious injuries and fatalities; and is supported by a sufficient amount of non-Federal funding, including evidence of stable and dependable financing to construct, maintain, and operate the infrastructure facility. In evaluating a project under this section, in addition to the criteria described in paragraph (1), the Administrator shall consider the extent to which the project— leverages Federal investment by encouraging non-Federal contributions to the project, including contributions from public-private partnerships; is able to begin construction by the date that is not later than 18 months after the date on which the project is selected; incorporates innovative project delivery and financing to the maximum extent practicable; helps maintain or protect the environment; improves roadways vital to national energy security; improves or upgrades designated future Interstate System routes; uses innovative technologies, including intelligent transportation systems, that enhance the efficiency of the project; and helps to improve mobility and accessibility. In awarding grants under this section, the Administrator shall take measures to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable— an equitable geographic distribution of amounts; and an appropriate balance in addressing the needs of rural and urban communities. Except in the case of projects described in paragraph (2), the amount of a grant under this section shall be at least $50,000,000. The amounts made available for a fiscal year under this section for eligible projects located in rural areas or in rural States shall not be— less than 20 percent of the amount made available for the fiscal year under this section; and subject to paragraph (1). Not more than 20 percent of the funds made available for a fiscal year to carry out this section shall be allocated for projects eligible under section 167(k)(5)(B) or chapter 53 of title 49. Not more than 20 percent of the funds made available for a fiscal year to carry out this section may be awarded to projects in a single State. For purposes of the limitation described in subparagraph (A), funds awarded for a multistate project shall be considered to be distributed evenly to each State. On the request of an eligible applicant under this section, the Administrator may use amounts awarded to the entity to pay subsidy and administrative costs necessary to provide the entity Federal credit assistance under chapter 6 with respect to the project for which the grant was awarded. The programming and expenditure of funds for projects under this section shall be consistent with the requirements of sections 134 and 135. If an eligible project that receives a grant under this section has a crossmodal component, the Administrator— shall determine the predominant modal component of the project; and may apply the applicable requirements of that predominant modal component to the project. For each project funded under this section, the project sponsor shall evaluate system performance and submit to the Administrator a report not later than 5, 10, and 20 years after completion of the project to assess whether the project outcomes have met preconstruction projections. Each eligible applicant shall submit to the Administrator an application in accordance with subsection (d)(2) at such time as the Administrator determines to meet the requirements of paragraph (2). By January 1 of each fiscal year, the Administrator 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 list of all of the projects that meet the requirements of this section. The list submitted under subparagraph
(A)shall include a total requested grant amount at least 2 times, but not to exceed 4 times, the authorization level of the program in each fiscal year. Not later than 90 days after the date of the receipt of the submission under paragraph (2), each Committee described in subparagraph
(A)of that paragraph shall— select projects and determine the amounts to be awarded to each project, not to exceed the total authorization level of the program for each fiscal year; and adopt a resolution making such determination. Projects shall be awarded on congressional adoption of a joint resolution based on the Committee action under paragraph (3). The Administrator shall award grants to eligible projects in a fiscal year— if Congress does not adopt a joint resolution under paragraph
(4)by the date that is 90 days after the date on which the first Committee adopts a resolution under paragraph (3)(B); or if neither Committee acts in accordance with paragraph (3). The Administrator shall award grants under subparagraph
(A)not later than 90 days after the date on which the relevant event described in subparagraph
(A)occurs. The Administrator shall make available on the website of the Federal Highway Administration at the end of each fiscal year an annual report that lists each project for which assistance has been provided under this section during that fiscal year. The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct an assessment of the establishment, solicitation, selection, and justification process with respect to the funding of projects under this section. Not later than 1 year after the initial awarding of funding under this section, the Comptroller General of the United States 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 process by which each project was selected; the criteria used for the selection of each project; and the justification for the selection of each project based on the criteria described in subsection (e). . The analysis for chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 171. Assistance for major projects program. .