[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 309 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 309

       To amend title 23, United States Code, to improve highway 
 transportation in the United States, including rural and metropolitan 
                                 areas.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 22, 2009

  Mr. Baucus (for himself, Mr. Tester, Mr. Thune, Mr. Crapo, and Mr. 
    Conrad) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
       To amend title 23, United States Code, to improve highway 
 transportation in the United States, including rural and metropolitan 
                                 areas.

    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 ``Nationwide Freight and Personal 
Mobility Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the safe and efficient movement of individuals and 
        freight in interstate commerce, including the movement of 
        individuals and freight on highways over long distances, is 
        essential to the economic growth and prosperity of the United 
        States, including both rural and metropolitan areas;
            (2) the highway movement of freight will be, for the 
        foreseeable future, on roads that serve both freight and 
        passenger traffic, requiring effective and unified planning and 
        funding for the preservation and improvement of highways in the 
        interest of effective transportation of both individuals and 
        freight in rural and metropolitan areas;
            (3) it is essential and appropriate that Federal programs 
        to preserve and improve highway transportation infrastructure 
        ensure consideration of the needs of freight as part of an 
        overall, unified, and multimodal approach to meeting the 
        national interest in the safe and efficient transportation of 
        both individuals and freight;
            (4) vehicle miles traveled on the National Highway System, 
        including the Interstate System, represent nearly 45 percent of 
        all vehicle miles traveled in the United States, even as 
        National Highway System routes comprise only 4 percent of 
        public road mileage in the United States; and
            (5) a well-preserved and improved system of National 
        Highway System routes, including Interstate System routes, is 
        essential to the effective movement of individuals and freight 
        in the United States in both rural and metropolitan areas.

SEC. 3. GUARANTEED FUNDING FOR NATIONAL HIGHWAY SYSTEM.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 167. Guaranteed funding for National Highway System
    ``(a) Applicability.--This section applies to authorizations of 
appropriations from the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit 
Account) for fiscal year 2010 and each fiscal year thereafter.
    ``(b) Determination of Apportionments.--For each fiscal year, the 
Secretary shall determine the total amounts apportioned among the 
States pursuant to authorizations of appropriations from the Highway 
Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account), other than 
authorizations of appropriations pursuant to--
            ``(1) this section;
            ``(2) section 105; and
            ``(3) other provisions of this title administered by the 
        National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or the Federal 
        Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
    ``(c) Additional Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) In general.--If the total amount of apportionments 
        for a fiscal year for the Interstate maintenance program under 
        section 119 and the National Highway System program under 
        section 103, exclusive of apportionments pursuant to 
        authorizations of appropriations under this section, equals 
        less than 45 percent of the total amount apportioned for the 
        fiscal year as determined under subsection (b), an additional 
        amount determined pursuant to paragraph (2) is authorized to be 
        appropriated from the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass 
        Transit Account) for the fiscal year for the National Highway 
        System program under section 103.
            ``(2) Amount.--The amount of the additional authorization 
        of appropriations described in paragraph (1) for a fiscal year 
        for the National Highway System program under section 103 shall 
        be determined by the Secretary--
                    ``(A) by subtracting from the total amount 
                described by subsection (b) the amounts included in 
                that total for apportionments for the National Highway 
                System program under section 103 and the Interstate 
                maintenance program under section 119 for the fiscal 
                year;
                    ``(B) by dividing the difference calculated under 
                subparagraph (A) by 0.55;
                    ``(C) by multiplying the quotient calculated under 
                subparagraph (B) by 0.45; and
                    ``(D) by subtracting from the product calculated 
                under subparagraph (C) the amount included in 
                subsection (b) for apportionments for the National 
                Highway System program under section 103 and the 
                Interstate maintenance program under section 119 for 
                the fiscal year.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 1 of title 23, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting at the end of the items 
relating to subchapter I the following:

``167. Guaranteed funding for National Highway System.''.

SEC. 4. FEDERAL SHARE.

    Section 120(b) of title 23, United States Code, is amended by 
striking ``80 percent of the cost thereof'' each place it appears and 
inserting ``80 percent of the cost of the project (if the project is 
not on the National Highway System), or 85 percent of the cost of the 
project (if the project is on the National Highway System and not on 
the Interstate System)''.
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