Sec. 1201. Establishment of freight chapter
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/bill/114/s/1732/rs/section-1201·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
It is the sense of Congress that— freight policy and planning should incorporate the many modes of transportation that move goods; the Secretary of Transportation should oversee and facilitate multimodal freight planning efforts; the Under Secretary for Policy of the Department of Transportation should serve as the primary coordinator of multimodal planning efforts; efficient and reliable freight infrastructure is critical to our Nation’s economy and international competitiveness; the Nation’s limited Federal discretionary infrastructure funding resources should be focused on freight infrastructure; and as such, the sole discretionary national infrastructure investment grant program annually appropriated without authorization, should be reformed and refocused into the Freight Investment Grant program.
Subtitle III is amended by inserting after chapter 53 the following: Sec. 5401. Definitions. 5402. National multimodal freight policy. 5403. National multimodal freight network. 5404. National Freight Strategic Plan. 5405. State freight plans. 5406. Freight investment grants. 5407. Reports. In this chapter: The term economic competitiveness means the ability of the economy to efficiently move freight and people, produce goods, and deliver services, including— reductions in the travel time of freight; reductions in the congestion caused by the movement of freight; improvements to freight travel time reliability; and reductions in freight transportation costs due to congestion and insufficient infrastructure.
The term freight means the commercial transportation of cargo, including agricultural, manufactured, retail, or other goods by vessel, vehicle, pipeline, or rail. The term freight transportation modes means— the infrastructure supporting any mode of transportation that moves freight, including highways, ports, waterways, rail facilities, and pipelines; and any vehicles or equipment transporting goods on such infrastructure. The term intelligent freight transportation system means— an innovative or intelligent technological transportation system, infrastructure, or facilities, including electronic roads, driverless trucks, elevated freight transportation facilities, automated port technologies, and other similar freight transportation systems; and communications or information processing systems used singly or in combination for intelligent freight lanes and conveyances that improve the efficiency, security, or safety of the freight system or that operate to convey freight or improve existing freight movements.
The term national multimodal freight network means the network established under section 5403. The term national multimodal freight strategic plan means the strategic plan developed under section 5404. The term Secretary means the Secretary of Transportation. The term State means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the United States Virgin Islands. .