[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2311 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2311

 To establish a demonstration project to develop a national network of 
    economically sustainable transportation providers and qualified 
 transportation providers, to provide transportation services to older 
  individuals, and individuals who are blind, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 16, 2006

  Ms. Collins introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a demonstration project to develop a national network of 
    economically sustainable transportation providers and qualified 
 transportation providers, to provide transportation services to older 
  individuals, and individuals who are blind, 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 ``Older Americans Sustainable Mobility 
Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The population of the United States is aging in greater 
        numbers than ever before in the Nation's history.
            (2) Dignified and sustainable mobility is essential for the 
        health, safety, and quality of life of older individuals, their 
        families, their communities, and the Nation.
            (3) Older individuals who rely on the private automobile 
        for transportation need an acceptable alternative to driving so 
        they may safely transition from driving without unduly 
        compromising their independence, quality of life, and activity 
        in the community.
            (4) Many older individuals have special, age-related 
        conditions, such as dementia and frailty, that special 
        transportation alternatives must effectively address.
            (5) Many older individuals live in rural and suburban areas 
        that lack the density for traditional mass transit, and more 
        than half of all people age 65 or older live in communities 
        with no public transportation.
            (6) The cost of addressing the transportation needs of 
        older individuals is outstripping the public resources 
        available, and that cost will only increase in the next 30 
        years as the Nation's population ages.
            (7) Programs that provide increased mobility for older 
        individuals will promote economic growth and development by 
        moderating health care expenses, supporting family caregivers, 
        promoting volunteerism, fostering civic engagement, and 
        enriching community well-being through the participation of the 
        Nation's most experienced citizens.
            (8) Models exist by which private nonprofit organizations 
        can provide economically sustainable, consumer-oriented senior 
        transportation alternatives, that address the transportation 
        needs of older individuals.
            (9) Those models can be used to supplement, but not 
        displace, public transportation, and can also be successfully 
        replicated in communities where public transportation is 
        unavailable.
            (10) It is appropriate for the Federal Government to 
        accelerate the availability of transportation alternatives for 
        older individuals through those models, and to test the 
        viability of constructing a nationwide network based on them.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to establish a demonstration project to 
develop a national network of economically sustainable transportation 
providers and qualified transportation providers, to provide 
transportation services to older individuals, and individuals who are 
blind, in urban, suburban, and rural settings.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Economically sustainable transportation provider.--The 
        term ``economically sustainable transportation provider'' means 
        a nonprofit provider of transportation services that--
                    (A) submits to the Secretary and obtains approval 
                of a plan demonstrating that the provider is capable of 
                providing economically sustainable transportation 
                services through the National Network;
                    (B) on receiving a grant under section 6, connects 
                to the National Network and provides economically 
                sustainable transportation services through the 
                National Network in accordance with this Act; and
                    (C) on receiving a grant under section 7, provides 
                economically sustainable transportation services 
                through the National Network in accordance with this 
                Act.
            (2) Economically sustainable transportation services.--The 
        term ``economically sustainable transportation services'' means 
        demand-responsive transportation services that are provided--
                    (A) by automobile;
                    (B) to qualified individuals and qualified 
                passengers;
                    (C) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week;
                    (D) by a combination of volunteer and paid drivers; 
                and
                    (E)(i) for a period of not more than 5 fiscal years 
                by a provider who is receiving Federal financial 
                assistance under this Act; and
                    (ii) after such period, by that provider without 
                receiving Federal or other public financial assistance 
                for the services.
            (3) National network.--The term ``National Network'' means 
        a network of economically sustainable transportation providers 
        and qualified transportation providers that provides 
        transportation services to qualified individuals and qualified 
        passengers.
            (4) Qualified individual.--The term ``qualified 
        individual'' means an individual who is--
                    (A) an older individual, as defined in section 102 
                of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002); or
                    (B) an individual who is blind, within the meaning 
                of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et 
                seq.), an individual who has significant visual 
                impairment described in section 751 of the 
                Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796j), or an 
                individual who is eligible for benefits under title II 
                or XVI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et 
                seq., 1381 et seq.) on the basis of blindness.
            (5) Qualified passenger.--The term ``qualified passenger'' 
        means an individual who is authorized by a qualified individual 
        to receive transportation services paid for in part or in whole 
        through the qualified transportation account of the qualified 
        individual.
            (6) Qualified transportation account.--The term ``qualified 
        transportation account'' means an account established for a 
        qualified individual for the purpose of acquiring 
        transportation services from an economically sustainable 
        transportation provider or a qualified transportation provider.
            (7) Qualified transportation provider.--The term 
        ``qualified transportation provider'' means a nonprofit, 
        public, or licensed private transportation provider that--
                    (A) submits to the Secretary and obtains approval 
                of a plan demonstrating that the provider is capable of 
                providing transportation services through the National 
                Network; and
                    (B) on receiving a grant under section 6, connects 
                to the National Network and provides transportation 
                services through the National Network in accordance 
                with this Act.
            (8) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Health and Human Services, acting through the Assistant 
        Secretary for Aging.
            (9) Transportation services.--The term ``transportation 
        services'' means transportation of a passenger or a group of 
        passengers, along with the incidental goods or luggage of a 
        passenger described in this paragraph.

SEC. 5. DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish and carry out a 
demonstration project to enable qualified individuals and qualified 
passengers to obtain economically sustainable transportation services 
from economically sustainable transportation providers and 
transportation services from qualified transportation providers.
    (b) Contract or Agreement.--In carrying out the demonstration 
project, the Secretary shall enter into a contract or a cooperative 
agreement with an eligible entity to provide recommendations to the 
Secretary on appropriate requirements and other provisions for, and 
administration of, the demonstration project.
    (c) Eligible Entity.--To be eligible to enter into a contract or 
agreement under subsection (b), an organization shall be a private 
nonprofit organization with experience in replicating models for 
economically sustainable transportation services.
    (d) Activities.--An entity that enters into a contract or agreement 
under this section shall--
            (1) provide technical assistance and support to the 
        Secretary for the administration of the demonstration project;
            (2) provide recommendations to the Secretary about the 
        establishment of, and requirements for, the National Network, 
        including requirements concerning locations where 
        transportation services will be provided through the network;
            (3) provide recommendations to the Secretary for provisions 
        for the establishment of qualified transportation accounts for 
        the transportation services, including provisions that such an 
        account--
                    (A) may be funded with credits or funds equal to 
                the value of a vehicle traded to an economically 
                sustainable transportation provider by, or on behalf 
                of, a qualified individual, or by other means;
                    (B) shall be used only to provide transportation 
                services to the qualified individual or a qualified 
                passenger of the qualified individual;
                    (C) shall have a designated beneficiary; and
                    (D) shall be transferable to an individual other 
                than the qualified individual;
            (4) provide recommendations to the Secretary for provisions 
        for the use of the qualified transportation accounts, including 
        the manner in which--
                    (A) an economically sustainable transportation 
                provider or a qualified transportation provider may 
                debit such an account in exchange for providing 
                transportation services to a qualified individual or 
                qualified passenger;
                    (B) the account may be terminated; and
                    (C) the credits or funds in the account may be 
                exchanged or withdrawn;
            (5) provide recommendations to the Secretary regarding 
        requirements for, and the administration of, the national 
        network connection grant program described in section 6; and
            (6) provide recommendations to the Secretary regarding 
        requirements for, and the administration of, the matching grant 
        program described in section 7.
    (e) Provisions.--After receiving the recommendations described in 
subsection (d), the Secretary shall establish the requirements and 
other provisions described in subsection (d).
    (f) Copyrights and Trademarks.--Nothing in this Act shall affect 
the rights of the eligible entity under the copyright or trademark laws 
of the United States. Nothing in this Act shall require the disclosure 
of information to which Federal law relating to trade secrets 
(including section 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States Code) applies. 
In entering into a contract or cooperative agreement under this 
section, the Secretary shall not establish any conditions that affect 
such rights or require such disclosure.
    (g) Incentive for Vehicles Traded to Economically Sustainable 
Transportation Providers.--For purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986, there shall be allowed as a credit against income tax of any 
qualified individual under chapter 1 of such Code for any taxable year, 
an amount equal to 30 percent of the value of transportation services 
allocated to a qualified transportation account of such qualified 
individual in exchange for the transfer of any motor vehicle by such 
qualified individual to an economically sustainable transportation 
provider during such taxable year. Such credit shall be treated as a 
credit under subpart A of part IV of subchapter A of such chapter.

SEC. 6. NATIONAL NETWORK CONNECTION GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Grants.--In carrying out the demonstration project, the 
Secretary shall make grants to economically sustainable transportation 
providers and qualified transportation providers to pay for the Federal 
share of the costs of acquiring and using technology to connect to the 
National Network.
    (b) Amount.--The Secretary shall make a grant under this section in 
an amount of not more than $25,000.
    (c) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section, a provider shall submit an application to the Secretary at 
such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the 
Secretary may require.
    (d) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the costs described in 
subsection (a) shall be 50 percent. The provider shall provide the non-
Federal share of the costs in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, 
including plant, equipment, or services, except that not more than 10 
percent of the costs may be provided in kind.

SEC. 7. MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Grants.--In carrying out the demonstration project, the 
Secretary shall make grants to economically sustainable transportation 
providers to pay for the Federal share of the costs of participating 
in, and providing economically sustainable transportation services 
through, the National Network (other than the costs described in 
section 6(a)).
    (b) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section, a provider shall submit an application to the Secretary at 
such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the 
Secretary may require.
    (c) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the costs described in 
subsection (a) shall be 50 percent. The provider shall provide the non-
Federal share of the costs in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, 
including plant, equipment, or services, except that not more than 10 
percent of the costs may be provided in kind. The non-Federal share of 
the costs provided in cash shall be provided through passenger fares, 
including fares from qualified transportation accounts, and public 
funds or private contributions from the community in which the provider 
is located.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$25,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2007 through 2011.

SEC. 9. TERMINATION.

    This Act ceases to be effective 5 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act.
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