[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2665 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2665

    To improve Indian reservation roads and related transportation 
                   services, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 9, 1997

   Mr. Pastor (for himself, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Martinez, Mr. Towns, Mr. 
 Frost, Mrs. Mink of Hawaii, Mr. Hayworth, Ms. Roybal-Allard, and Mr. 
   Kennedy of Rhode Island) introduced the following bill; which was 
     referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To improve Indian reservation roads and related transportation 
                   services, 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 ``American Indian Transportation 
Improvement Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the Federal Government has a responsibility to promote 
        the general welfare of the United States by supporting 
        interstate, national, and international commerce through the 
        use of Federal resources to assist States, Indian tribes, and 
        local governments in the development and maintenance of 
        physical infrastructure, including roads, highways, byways, 
        bridges, and other transportation-related structures;
            (2) there exists a unique legal and political relationship 
        between the United States and tribal governments and a unique 
        Federal responsibility to American Indians and Alaska Natives;
            (3) under law and practice, the United States has 
        undertaken a trust responsibility to protect and preserve 
        Indian tribes, Indians, and tribal assets and resources;
            (4) this Federal responsibility includes working with 
        tribal governments and their members to improve the condition 
        of the physical infrastructure used by tribes for their 
        economic well-being;
            (5) the demonstrated need for improvements to physical 
        infrastructure on Indian land is acute, and the Federal 
        Government should assist in making the improvements and in 
        developing tribal and private mechanisms to achieve the goals 
        of economic self-sufficiency and political self-determination;
            (6)(A) Indian tribes of the United States are served by 
        over 50,000 miles of roads nationwide;
            (B) the road system of the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
        constitutes about 25,000 miles, or 50 percent, of roads serving 
        Indian tribes;
            (C) State and county roads make up the largest percentage, 
        about 49 percent, of roads serving Indian tribes; and
            (D) tribal roads account for approximately 5 percent, and 
        private and Federal roads (other than Bureau of Indian Affairs 
        roads) make up the small balance of approximately 4 percent, of 
        roads serving Indian tribes;
            (7)(A) the Indian reservation roads program established 
        under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 
        1991 (Public Law 102-240) is targeted at the Bureau of Indian 
        Affairs road system that constitutes less than \1/2\ of the 
        total mileage of roads on Indian reservations in the United 
        States;
            (B) only 11 percent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs roads 
        are rated as being in good condition; and
            (C) of the unpaved Bureau of Indian Affairs roads, 90 
        percent are known to be in poor condition and none of the 
        unpaved roads are rated as being in good condition;
            (8)(A) annual funding of the Indian reservation roads 
        program, through the Highway Trust Fund, as authorized by the 
        Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, has 
        become the major source of funding for new road construction on 
        Indian land in the United States;
            (B) the Bureau of Indian Affairs road construction budget 
        has virtually vanished; and
            (C) the Bureau of Indian Affairs continues to provide 
        minimal funding of about $25,000,000 per fiscal year for road 
        maintenance of its road system;
            (9)(A) in the late 1950's, Bureau of Indian Affairs road 
        construction and maintenance funding reached a high of 
        $10,000,000 per fiscal year for the first time in history;
            (B) by 1979, Bureau of Indian Affairs road budgets for 
        construction and maintenance reached their peak of almost 
        $80,000,000 per fiscal year, and then declined rapidly;
            (C) in the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 
        (Public Law 97-424), the funding levels for the Indian 
        reservation roads program stabilized at about $100,000,000 
        through the Highway Trust Fund for each of fiscal years 1984 
        through 1986;
            (D) the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation 
        Assistance Act of 1987 (Public Law 100-17) reduced the annual 
        Highway Trust Fund authorization to $80,000,000 for each of 
        fiscal years 1987 through 1991; and
            (E) in almost every fiscal year since fiscal year 1992, the 
        Indian reservation roads program has been funded at 
        $191,000,000 per fiscal year;
            (10)(A) Indian reservation roads are needed to support 
        economic development activities, education, health, and 
        virtually every aspect of reservation life; and
            (B) some of the most scenic highways in the United States 
        are on Indian reservations;
            (11)(A) at current and historic levels of funding, Indian 
        road conditions continue to fall behind national standards; and
            (B) to help alleviate some of the poor transportation 
        conditions on Indian reservations in the United States, there 
        is a need to increase the level of funding, from the Highway 
        Trust Fund, for the Indian reservation roads program to 
        $300,000,000 per fiscal year, from the current level of 
        $191,000,000 per fiscal year; and
            (12) Federal assistance described in this section should be 
        provided in a manner that recognizes the rights created under 
        Federal laws and policies on Indian self-determination and 
        self-governance in accordance with the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et 
        seq.) and, to the maximum extent practicable, should be 
        provided directly to Indian tribal governments.

SEC. 3. INDIAN RESERVATION ROADS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1003(a)(6)(A) of the Intermodal Surface 
Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-240; 105 Stat. 
1919) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``1992 and'' and inserting ``1992,''; and
            (2) by inserting before the period at the end the 
        following: ``, $250,000,000 for fiscal year 1998, $275,000,000 
        for fiscal year 1999, and $300,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
        2000 through 2003''.
    (b) Mass Transportation Services.--Section 1032(d) of the 
Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (23 U.S.C. 202 
note; 105 Stat. 1975) is amended by inserting before the period at the 
end the following: ``and not more than 3 percent of the funds allocated 
for Indian reservation roads in each fiscal year may be transferred by 
the tribal government to mass transportation services''.
    (c) Maintenance.--
            (1) In general.--Section 204(b) of title 23, United States 
        Code, is amended in the second sentence by striking the period 
        at the end and inserting the following: ``and, in the case of 
        Indian reservation roads, maintenance thereof''.
            (2) Limitation on statutory construction.--The amendment 
        made by paragraph (1) may not be construed to affect the 
        responsibilities of the Secretary of the Interior under section 
        204(c) of title 23, United States Code.

SEC. 4. APPORTIONMENT ADJUSTMENTS.

    Section 1015 of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency 
Act of 1991 (23 U.S.C. 104 note; 105 Stat. 1943) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``1997'' each place it appears and 
        inserting ``2003''; and
            (2) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting after ``Federal 
        lands highways program'' the following: ``(other than funds for 
        a public land highway constructed on an Indian reservation)''.

SEC. 5. SCENIC BYWAYS PROGRAM.

    Section 1047 of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency 
Act of 1991 (23 U.S.C. 101 note; 105 Stat. 1996) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by inserting ``and Indian tribes'' after ``the 
                States'' each place it appears;
                    (B) by striking ``term is'' and inserting ``terms 
                are''; and
                    (C) by inserting ``or Indian tribe'' after 
                ``State'';
            (2) in subsection (c), by inserting ``or Indian tribe'' 
        after ``State''; and
            (3) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in the first sentence--
                            (i) by striking ``There'' and inserting the 
                        following:
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), there''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``1995, 1996, and 1997'' 
                        and inserting ``1995 through 2003''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Indian tribes.--Not less than 1 percent of the funds 
        made available to the Secretary for a fiscal year under 
        paragraph (1) shall be used by the Secretary to make 
competitive grants to Indian tribes for the planning, design, and 
development of Indian tribe scenic byway programs.''.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 101(a) of title 23, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting after the undesignated paragraph defining ``Indian 
reservation roads'' the following:
    ``The term `Indian tribal transportation department' means the 
department, commission, board, or member of an Indian tribe that is 
charged by its laws with the responsibility for highway construction.
    ``The term `Indian tribe' has the meaning given the term in section 
4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 
U.S.C. 450b).''.

SEC. 7. CERTIFICATION ACCEPTANCE.

    Section 117(a) of title 23, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``or Indian tribe'' after ``any State'' 
        each place it appears;
            (2) by inserting ``or Indian tribal transportation 
        department'' after ``State highway department''; and
            (3) by inserting ``or tribal'' after ``with State''.

SEC. 8. TRANSPORTATION ENHANCEMENT ACTIVITIES.

    Section 133(d)(2) of title 23, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``10 percent'' and inserting the following:
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), 10 
                percent''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Indian tribes.--Not less than 1 percent of 
                the funds made available to a State for a fiscal year 
                under subparagraph (A) shall be transferred to, and 
                used by, the Secretary to make competitive grants to 
                Indian tribes for transportation enhancement 
                activities.''.

SEC. 9. INDIAN RESERVATION BRIDGES.

    Section 144(g) of title 23, United States Code, is amended by 
striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following:
            ``(4) Indian reservation bridges.--Notwithstanding 
        subsection (e), an amount equal to 1 percent of the highway 
        bridge replacement and rehabilitation program funds available 
        to be apportioned to States under this section shall be 
        allocated to the Secretary for projects to replace, 
        rehabilitate, paint, or apply calcium magnesium acetate to 
        highway bridges that are part of the Indian reservation road 
        system, with priority given to bridges with the highest level 
        of deficiency (as determined in accordance with the National 
        Bridge Inspection Standards of the Bureau of Indian 
        Affairs).''.

SEC. 10. HIGHWAY SAFETY PROGRAMS.

    Section 402(i) of title 23, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and `political subdivision of a State' 
        includes'' and inserting ``and''; and
            (2) in the first proviso, by striking ``to the Secretary of 
        the Interior'' and inserting ``for Indian tribes''.

SEC. 11. MASS TRANSIT SET-ASIDE.

    Section 5338(h) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) not less than 1.0 percent is available for 
        transportation services to Indian tribes--
                    ``(A) under an allocation formula, which shall be 
                established by the Secretary of Transportation through 
                negotiations with Indian tribes; and
                    ``(B) with respect to any fiscal year commencing 
                before the formula is established under subparagraph 
                (A), under an allocation formula established by the 
                Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration of 
                the Department of Transportation.''.

SEC. 12. INTERTRIBAL TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION.

    (a) Set-Aside.--Out of amounts made available to the Secretary of 
Transportation out of the Highway Trust Fund, the Secretary shall set 
aside $500,000 per fiscal year for fiscal years 1998 through 2003 to 
support the development and administration of an Intertribal 
Transportation Association.
    (b) Use of Funds.--Funds set aside under this section shall be used 
to support government-to-government dialog between Indian tribes, the 
Department of Transportation, the Department of the Interior, other 
Federal agencies, and State and local transportation agencies.
    (c) Limitation on Statutory Construction.--This section may not be 
construed to diminish the Federal Government's trust responsibility or 
government-to-government obligations with each federally recognized 
Indian tribe.
                                 <all>