BikingTheBay.Org - HR 117- 402

House Report 117- 402

From House Report 117-402 (Link to full report above)

Safe systems.--More than 36,000 people are killed each year in traffic crashes, and road traffic crashes are the world's leading cause of death for children and young adults 5-29 years of age. The Committee remains concerned by the staggering number of pedestrian fatalities each year involving vehicles and is aware that an increasing number of municipalities are developing plans to significantly reduce these incidents.

The Committee supports the critical work that FHWA is doing to define, support, and encourage adoption of a safe systems approach to reduce and eventually eliminate fatalities and serious injuries on our nation's roadways. The Committee directs FHWA to continue to work with the Road to Zero Coalition and other safety stakeholders to accelerate adoption of a safe systems approach by state and local transportation agencies.

As part of establishing safe systems, cities nationwide are developing interagency Vision Zero plans to connect engineering, education, and enforcement with the goal of ending transportation deaths and serious injuries. The Committee directs FHWA to continue developing resources and providing technical assistance to help state and local stakeholders facilitate the implementation of their Vision Zero plans and strategies to reduce pedestrian fatalities and injuries.

Complete streets.--The Committee is concerned about recent increases in cyclist and pedestrian fatalities and encourages the adoption of a complete streets design model in which roads and streets are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users, including but not limited to pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders across a broad spectrum of ages and abilities. To lay the groundwork for the adoption of a complete streets design model, House Report 116-452 required FHWA to review its current policies, rules, and procedures to determine their impact on safety for road users, particularly those outside automobiles. The Committee looks forward to receiving this report, and appreciates the Secretary's commitment to a complete streets approach. The Committee continues to direct the Department to disseminate best practices for complete streets to state and local highway partners.

Additionally, the Committee is pleased that the Department has elevated the safety needs of pedestrians and cyclists, particularly through programs such as Safe Transportation for Every Pedestrian (STEP). However, the Committee recognizes that thousands of pedestrian and cyclist injuries and fatalities occur each year because of unsafe drivers and routes designed primarily for motor vehicles. The Committee directs the FHWA, in collaboration with other DOT modes and relevant Federal entities, to provide a report to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations on a plan to reduce pedestrian and cyclist injuries and fatalities no later than 90 days after enactment of this Act. The report shall include known roadway designs that reduce safety risks, best practices to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety, and a plan for supporting communities seeking to improve pedestrian and cyclist-oriented infrastructure.

NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS

(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

Appropriation, fiscal year 2022....................... $775,000,000

Budget request, fiscal year 2023...................... 1,500,000,000

Recommended in the bill............................... 775,000,000

Bill compared with:

Appropriation, fiscal year 2022................... - - -

Budget request, fiscal year 2023.................. -725,000,000

The national infrastructure investments program (also known as RAISE and formerly known as both BUILD and TIGER) was created in division A of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (P.L. 111-5) and authorized in section 21202 of the IIJA to provide grants and credit assistance to state and local governments, tribal governments, United States territories, transit agencies, port authorities, metropolitan planning organizations, or a combination of such entities to improve the nation's transportation infrastructure. Eligible projects include highways and bridges, public transportation, freight and passenger rail, port infrastructure, and bicycle and pedestrian improvements. The national infrastructure investments program awards funds on a competitive basis to projects that will have a significant local or regional impact.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommendation provides $775,000,000 for the national infrastructure investments program to support multimodal, multijurisdictional transportation projects that are more difficult to accomplish through traditional transportation programs. Key tenets of this program include its flexibility and the ability for any public entity to apply directly and not through a state department of transportation. RAISE also fosters collaboration and leverages non-Federal investments from private, state, and local sources.

The Committee has consistently heard from communities large and small on the difference RAISE grants have made in improving safety, state of good repair, economic competitiveness, environmental sustainability, and quality of life.

Persistent poverty.--The Committee continues to support providing assistance to historically disadvantaged communities and areas of persistent poverty. Specifically, the Act requires that not less than $30,000,000 be awarded to projects in historically disadvantaged communities or areas of persistent poverty.

Planning.--Recognizing that planning is critical to the success of any infrastructure investment, the Act dedicates not less than $38,750,000 for the planning, preparation, and design of projects prioritizing transit, transit-oriented development, multimodal, intercity passenger rail, and pedestrian projects.

The recommendation exempts planning grants from statutory grant minimums and the Committee notes the availability of technical assistance through the Thriving Communities Initiative to comprehensively address the planning needs of these types of projects.

Transformative projects.--The Committee encourages DOT to emphasize multi-modal, transformative projects in its consideration of grant awards. The Committee stresses the importance of an equitable distribution of funding among urban and rural areas and also sees great value in projects that align with the Department's equity action plan and the administration's Federal sustainability plan.

THRIVING COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE

(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

Appropriation, fiscal year 2022....................... $25,000,000

Budget request, fiscal year 2023...................... 110,737,000

Recommended in the bill............................... 100,000,000

Bill compared with:

Appropriation, fiscal year 2022................... +75,000,000

Budget request, fiscal year 2023.................. -10,737,000

The Thriving Communities Initiative identifies and provides support for communities with persistent barriers that prevent access to opportunities such as schools, healthcare, and employment. The program provides technical assistance and capacity building to improve access to opportunity through transportation infrastructure improvements.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommendation provides $100,000,000 for the Thriving Communities Initiative.

The grant application process itself should neither advantage nor disadvantage any applicant or project. DOT competitive grant programs are as broad and varied as the needs and sizes of the communities that apply for such grants. The Committee recognizes that, in practice, some communities can afford a professional grant-writing cadre, whereas others cannot, and that may affect the clarity, completeness, and accuracy of applications. To help bridge this divide, the Thriving Communities Initiative allows DOT to not only build the capacity of communities to compete for grants, but also community and regional planning efforts in combination with other Federal grant programs with direct, extensive technical assistance both prior to application submission and post-award.

The Committee directs DOT, to the extent possible, to fund cooperative agreements that will provide technical assistance, planning, and capacity building to communities in a variety of geographic areas, including urban and rural communities. In addition, the Committee provides $5,000,000 under ``Policy Development and Research'' within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for an interagency collaborative initiative to ensure housing and infrastructure development are taken into consideration in the administration of the Thriving Communities Initiative.

Cooperation and coordination among the Departments of HUD, Health and Human Services (HHS), Education (ED), and Labor (DOL); the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE); the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and other Federal agencies is critical to increasing mobility, reducing pollution from transportation sources, expanding affordable transportation options, facilitating efficient land use, preserving or expanding jobs, improving housing and health conditions, and enhancing connections to health care, education, and food security. As such, the Committee directs DOT to work with HUD, HHS, ED, DOL, USACE, EPA, and any other Federal agencies DOT deems appropriate to identify Federal resources that complement the Thriving Communities Initiative, to improve cross-agency coordination with respect to NOFOs, where appropriate, and to consider incentives for potential applicants to plan for or execute Federal funding comprehensively toward the goal of addressing persistent barriers that prevent a community from thriving. Further, the Committee reminds DOT of the requirement in House Report 117-99 to brief the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations on its multi-agency engagement.