[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2138 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2138

  To establish a pilot program to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and 
project delivery efficiency of non-Federal sponsors as the lead project 
 delivery team for authorized civil works flood control and navigation 
            construction projects of the Corps of Engineers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 29, 2012

   Mr. Vitter (for himself and Mr. Nelson of Florida) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                      Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish a pilot program to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and 
project delivery efficiency of non-Federal sponsors as the lead project 
 delivery team for authorized civil works flood control and navigation 
            construction projects of the Corps of Engineers.

    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 ``Corps of Engineers Project Delivery 
Flexibility Act of 2012''.

SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Army, acting through the 
Chief of Engineers, shall establish a pilot program to evaluate the 
cost-effectiveness and project delivery efficiency of non-Federal 
sponsors as the lead project delivery team for authorized civil works 
flood control and navigation construction projects of the Corps of 
Engineers.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of the pilot program are--
            (1) to identify project delivery and cost-saving 
        alternatives that reduce the backlog of Corps of Engineers 
        construction projects;
            (2) to evaluate the technical, financial, and 
        organizational efficiencies of a non-Federal sponsor operating 
        as the lead project manager for the design, execution, 
        management, and construction of a project; and
            (3) to evaluate alternatives for the decentralization of 
        the project planning, management, and operational 
        decisionmaking process of the Corps of Engineers.
    (c) Administration.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), in carrying out 
        the pilot program, the Secretary of the Army shall--
                    (A) identify not less than 12 congressionally 
                authorized flood control and navigation construction 
                projects of the Corps of Engineers that--
                            (i) have received Federal funds and have 
                        experienced delays or missed scheduled 
                        deadlines in the 5 fiscal years prior to the 
                        date of enactment of this Act;
                            (ii) have an unobligated funding balance in 
                        the Corps of Engineers Construction Account; 
                        and
                            (iii) include levees, floodwalls, flood 
                        control channels, water control structures, or 
                        navigation locks and channels;
                    (B) enter into a project partnership agreement with 
                the non-Federal sponsor for the non-Federal sponsor to 
                provide full project management control for the design 
                and construction of the flood control or navigation 
                project, including preconstruction engineering and 
                design, project implementation, and construction 
                activities; and
                    (C) in consultation with the district engineer and 
                the non-Federal sponsor, develop a detailed project 
                management plan for each project under the pilot 
                program that outlines the scope, budget, design, and 
                construction resource requirements necessary for 
                execution of the project by the non-Federal sponsor.
            (2) Restrictions.--
                    (A) In general.--A flood control or navigation 
                project shall only receive Federal funding under this 
                Act if the project is federally owned.
                    (B) Project delivery team.--As a condition of 
                receiving amounts under this Act, the non-Federal 
                sponsor, in consultation with the district engineer and 
                local project stakeholders, shall establish to oversee 
                the execution of the project management plan a project 
                delivery team, which shall, at a minimum, consist of--
                            (i) a project manager; and
                            (ii) a Corps of Engineers official, who 
                        shall provide technical assistance and guidance 
                        on compliance with Corps of Engineers 
                        engineering manuals and regulations.
            (3) Technical assistance.--On the request of the non-
        Federal sponsor and in consultation with other appropriate 
        Federal agencies, the Secretary of the Army shall provide the 
        non-Federal sponsor with any necessary technical assistance, 
        including assistance relating to Federal acquisition 
        regulations, contracting requirements, and environmental 
        regulations.
    (d) Applicability.--Nothing in this Act alters any cost-sharing 
requirement established before the date of enactment of this Act for a 
project carried out under this Act.
    (e) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of the Army shall submit to the appropriate 
committees of Congress a report detailing the results of the pilot 
program carried out under this Act, including any recommendations of 
the Secretary concerning whether the program or any component of the 
program should be implemented on a national basis.

SEC. 3. FUNDING.

    (a) Rescission of Unobligated Amounts.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, $200,000,000 of discretionary amounts that have been 
appropriated for fiscal years 2008 through 2011 and remain unobligated 
on the date of enactment of this Act--
            (1) is rescinded on the date of enactment of this Act; and
            (2) shall be made available to the Secretary of the Army, 
        without further appropriation or fiscal year limitation, for 
        use only in accordance with this Act.
    (b) Implementation.--
            (1) In general.--The Director of the Office of Management 
        and Budget shall determine and identify from which 
        appropriation accounts the rescission under subsection (a) 
        shall apply and the amount of the rescission that shall apply 
        to each such account.
            (2) Report.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management 
        and Budget shall submit to Congress and the Secretary of the 
        Treasury a report of the accounts and amounts determined and 
        identified for rescission under paragraph (1).
    (c) Exception.--This section shall not apply to the unobligated 
funds of the Department of Defense, including the Corps of Engineers, 
or the Department of Veterans Affairs.
    (d) Use of Amounts.--The Secretary of the Army shall use the 
amounts made available to the Secretary under subsection (a)(2) to 
provide grants to non-Federal sponsors participating in the pilot 
program established under section 2.
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