[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4071 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4071

    To amend Public Law 109-59 to provide additional transportation 
     flexibility and to rescind certain amounts of Federal funding.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 18, 2005

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend Public Law 109-59 to provide additional transportation 
     flexibility and to rescind certain amounts of Federal funding.

    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 ``Accountability and Flexibility 
Associated With Spending on Transportation Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. TRANSPORTATION FUNDING FLEXIBILITY.

    (a) Highway Bridge Program.--Section 144(g)(1) of title 23, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) Funding Flexibility.--If a State is provided 
                funds under subparagraph (A) for a project described in 
                subparagraph (A), the State may use all or any portion 
                of such funds to carry out such project or any other 
                project eligible for assistance under this section that 
                the State designates.''.
    (b) Projects of National and Regional Significance.--Section 1301 
of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity 
Act: A Legacy for Users (Public Law 109-59) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:
    ``(n) Funding Flexibility.--If a State is provided funds under this 
section for a project described in the table contained in subsection 
(m), the State may use all or any portion of such funds to carry out 
such project or any other project eligible for assistance under this 
section that the State designates.''.
    (c) National Corridor Infrastructure Improvement Program.--Section 
1302 such Act is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) Funding Flexibility.--If a State is provided funds under this 
section for a project described in the table contained in subsection 
(e), the State may use all or any portion of such funds to carry out 
such project or any other project eligible for assistance under this 
section that the State designates.''.
    (d) High Priority Projects Program.--Section 117 of title 23, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Funding Flexibility.--If a State is provided funds under this 
section for a project described in the table contained in section 1702 
of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity 
Act: A Legacy for Users (Public Law 109-59), the State may use all or 
any portion of such funds to carry out such project or any other 
project eligible for assistance under the surface transportation 
program in section 133 that the State designates.''.
    (e) Transportation Improvements.--Section 1934 of such Act is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Funding Flexibility.--If a State is provided funds under this 
section for a project described in the table contained in subsection 
(c), the State may use all or any portion of such funds to carry out 
such project or any other project eligible for assistance under the 
surface transportation program in section 133 of title 23, United 
States Code, that the State designates.''.
    (f) Projects for Bus and Bus-Related Facilities and Clean Funds 
Grant Program.--Section 3044 of such Act is amended by adding at the 
end the following:
    ``(d) Funding Flexibility.--If a recipient is provided funds under 
this section or section 5308 of title 49, United States Code, or both, 
for a project described in the table contained in subsection (a), the 
recipient may use all or any portion of such funds to carry out such 
project or any other project eligible for assistance under this section 
or section 5308 of such title, other than a project to fund any 
operations of buses or bus-related facilities.''.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that State departments of 
transportation should take project descriptions in section 144(g)(1)(A) 
of title 23, United States Code, and in the tables contained in 
sections 1301, 1302, 1702, 1934, and 3044 of the Safe, Accountable, 
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users 
(Public Law 109-59) into consideration if such projects involve 
improving transportation safety.

SEC. 4. ACROSS-THE-BOARD RESCISSIONS.

    (a) Fiscal Year 2006.--
            (1) In general.--On September 30, 2006, there is rescinded 
        $4,718,047,269 of the unobligated balances of funds apportioned 
        before such date to the States for the Interstate maintenance, 
        national highway system, bridge, congestion mitigation and air 
        quality improvement, surface transportation (other than the STP 
        set-aside programs), metropolitan planning, minimum guarantee, 
        Appalachian development highway system, recreational trails, 
        safe routes to school, freight intermodal connectors, 
        coordinated border infrastructure, high risk rural road, high 
        priority projects, and transportation improvements programs and 
        each of the STP set-aside programs.
            (2) Allocation among states.--The Secretary shall determine 
        each State's share of the amount to be rescinded by paragraph 
        (1) by multiplying $4,718,047,269 by the ratio of the aggregate 
        amount apportioned to such State for fiscal year 2006 for all 
        the programs referred to in paragraph (1) to the aggregate 
        amount apportioned to all States for such fiscal year for those 
        programs.
            (3) Calculations.--To determine the allocation of the 
        amount to be rescinded for a State under paragraph (2) among 
        the programs referred to in paragraph (1), the Secretary of 
        Transportation shall make the following calculations:
                    (A) The Secretary shall multiply such amount to be 
                rescinded by the ratio that the aggregate amount of 
                unobligated funds available to the State on September 
                30, 2006, for each such program bears to the aggregate 
                amount of unobligated funds available to the State on 
                September 30, 2006, for all such programs.
                    (B) The Secretary shall multiply such amount to be 
                rescinded by the ratio that the aggregate of the amount 
                apportioned to the State for each such program for 
                fiscal year 2006 bears to the aggregate amount 
                apportioned to the State for all such programs for 
                fiscal year 2006.
            (4) Allocation among programs.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary, in consultation 
                with the State, shall rescind for the State from each 
                program referred to in paragraph (1) the amount 
                determined for the program under paragraph (3)(A).
                    (B) Special rule.--
                            (i) Restoration of funds for covered 
                        programs.--If the rescission calculated under 
                        paragraph (3)(A) for a covered program exceeds 
                        the amount calculated for the covered program 
                        under paragraph (3)(B), the State shall 
                        immediately restore to the apportionment 
                        account for the covered program from the 
                        unobligated balances of programs referred to in 
                        paragraph (1) (other than covered programs) the 
                        amount of funds required so that the net 
                        rescission from the covered program does not 
                        exceed the amount calculated for the covered 
                        program under paragraph (3)(B).
                            (ii) Treatment of restored funds.--Any 
                        funds restored under clause (i) shall be deemed 
                        to be the funds that were rescinded for the 
                        purposes of obligation.
                    (C) Covered program defined.--In subparagraph (B), 
                the term ``covered program'' means a program authorized 
                under sections 130 and 152 of title 23, United States 
                Code, paragraph (2) or (3) of section 133(d) of that 
                title, section 144 of that title, section 149 of that 
                title, or section 1404 of the Safe, Accountable, 
                Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy 
                for Users (Public Law 109-59).
            (5) Limitation on recalculation of equity bonus program.--
        Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the amounts 
        determined, and the amounts allocated, under section 105 of 
        title 23, United States Code, for fiscal year 2006 shall not be 
        recalculated to take into account a rescission made pursuant to 
        this subsection.
            (6) STP set-aside program defined.--In this subsection, the 
        term ``STP set-aside program'' means the amount set aside under 
        section 133(d) of title 23, United States Code, for each of 
        transportation enhancement activities and the division between 
        urbanized areas of over 200,000 population and other areas.
    (b) Fiscal Year 2007, 2008, and 2009.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), there is 
        rescinded 10 percent of each amount authorized to be 
        appropriated for each of fiscal years 2007, 2008, and 2009 by 
        the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation 
        Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (Public Law 109-59), including 
        any amendment made by such Act, and including any amount 
        authorized to be appropriated for the equity bonus program 
        under section 105 of title 23, United States Code, but 
        excluding any amount authorized to be appropriated for the 
        highway safety improvement program.
            (2) Timing.--A rescission made by paragraph (1) of an 
        amount authorized to be appropriated for a fiscal year shall 
        take affect on October 1 of such fiscal year before any 
        apportionment or allocation of such amount and before such 
        amount is subject to any set aside or subtraction.
            (3) Limitation on recalculation of equity bonus program.--
        Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the amounts 
        determined, and the amounts allocated, under section 105 of 
        title 23, United States Code, for a fiscal year shall not be 
        recalculated to take into account a rescission made by this 
        subsection.
    (c) September 30, 2009.--Section 10212 of the Safe, Accountable, 
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users 
(Public Law 109-59) is amended in subsection (a) by inserting after 
``high risk rural road,'' the following: ``high priority projects, 
transportation improvements,''.
    (d) Reports.--Not later than the 60th day following the date of 
each rescission made by subsection (a) or (b), the Secretary of 
Transportation, in consultation with the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget shall submit to the appropriate committees of 
Congress a report containing the amount rescinded for each program 
referred to in subsection (a) and the amount rescinded for each program 
or activity for which there is a rescission made by subsection (b).
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