[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 281 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 281

     To require a study and report regarding the construction and 
   designation of a new Interstate from Augusta, Georgia to Natchez, 
                              Mississippi.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 6, 2005

 Mr. Norwood introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To require a study and report regarding the construction and 
   designation of a new Interstate from Augusta, Georgia to Natchez, 
                              Mississippi.

    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 ``14th/14 Amendment Interstate Highway 
Initiation Act''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDING.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The 11-State region in the Southeast that has been 
        known historically as the Southern Black Belt is in need of the 
        same regional economic development plans in 2005 as those 
        modeled by the Appalachian Regional Commission in 1965.
            (2) The Southern Black Belt has an African-American 
        population that is double the national average, due to historic 
        population concentrations dating to the pre-emancipation 
        period. It was largely with the protection and economic 
        advancement of the residents of this region in mind that 
        Congress passed and the states ratified the 14th Amendment to 
        the U.S. Constitution in 1868, guaranteeing equal rights to all 
        persons in the United States, including those formerly held in 
        involuntary servitude.
            (3) This region and its residents, particularly the 
        descendents of freed slaves, suffer from high unemployment, low 
        incomes, low education levels, poor health, and high infant 
        mortality. Congress recognizes the studies, findings, and 
        recommendations on these problems of the Southern Black Belt by 
        the University of Georgia, Tuskegee Institute, North Carolina 
        State University, and the University of Kentucky.
            (4) Disparity in transportation infrastructure investment 
        has been a key contributing factor to the persistent poverty 
        and social ills of this region. The lack of adequate east-west 
        Interstate highway access has provided a significant impediment 
        to travel throughout the region, served as a severe obstacle to 
        the attraction of industry and jobs, and has been a detriment 
        to public health and transportation safety.
            (5) Congress hereby resolves that a new Interstate Highway 
        designated ``United States Interstate Route 14'' should be 
        built through the heart of the Southern Black Belt, linking 
        Augusta, Georgia to Natchez, Mississippi, following a route 
        generally defined through Macon and Columbus, Georgia; 
        Montgomery, Alabama; and Laurel and Natchez, Mississippi.
            (6) In light of the promise of economic parity made by the 
        nation to this region in the 14th Amendment, this new 
        interstate highway should be named the ``14th Amendment 
        Highway''.

SEC. 3. STUDY AND REPORT.

    Not later than December 31, 2005, the Secretary of Transportation 
shall study and report to the appropriate committees of Congress 
regarding the steps and estimated funding necessary to designate and 
construct a new interstate route (Interstate Route I-14) for the 14th 
Amendment Highway, from Augusta, Georgia to Natchez, Mississippi 
(formerly designated the Fall Line Freeway within the State of 
Georgia).
                                 <all>