[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8653 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8653
To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a grant program
for demonstration projects that make critical transportation
infrastructure resilient to natural hazards, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 4, 2026
Mr. Garamendi (for himself and Mr. Thompson of California) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a grant program
for demonstration projects that make critical transportation
infrastructure resilient to natural hazards, 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 ``Accelerating Demonstration
Approaches for Protecting Transportation Assets Act'' or the ``ADAPT
Assets Act''.
SEC. 2. ACCELERATING DEMONSTRATION APPROACHES FOR PROTECTING
TRANSPORTATION ASSETS PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Transportation shall establish
and carry out a competitive grant program, to be known as the
``Accelerating Demonstration Approaches for Protecting Transportation
Assets Program'' (in this section referred to as the ``Program''), to
provide up to 10 grants to eligible applicants for demonstration
projects that make critical transportation infrastructure resilient to
natural hazards.
(b) Eligible Applicants.--An eligible applicant under the Program
is--
(1) a metropolitan planning organization (as defined in
section 134 of title 23, United States Code);
(2) a State;
(3) a unit of local government;
(4) a public transportation agency or authority;
(5) a port or public toll authority that owns or operates
eligible transportation assets;
(6) a Tribal government; or
(7) a consortium of 2 or more entities described in
paragraphs (1) through (5), including a consortium led by a
metropolitan planning organization, so long as the applicants
demonstrate a regional partnership and governance structure for
project delivery.
(c) Application Requirements.--To be eligible for a grant under the
Program, an eligible applicant shall submit to the Secretary an
application at such time and containing such information as the
Secretary may require.
(d) Project Selection Criteria.--In selecting projects under the
Program, the Secretary shall consider, at a minimum, the extent to
which the project--
(1) addresses existing or predicted recurring damage or
asset failure of a high-risk transportation asset or corridor
based on documented exposure to hazard risk;
(2) provides transportation system benefits, including
preserving or enhancing regional or statewide mobility,
economy, goods movement, safety, and emergency response access;
(3) provides additional benefits, including enhancing
resilience of adjacent communities, the environment, and other
critical infrastructure;
(4) is consistent with a resilience improvement plan
authorized under this Act;
(5) demonstrates readiness to proceed, including through--
(A) demonstrating that it is supported by a
regional partnership and governance plan that
identifies roles, responsibilities, and decision-making
processes across affected facility owners, land owners,
funders, jurisdictions; and modes; and
(B) completion of planning activities carried out
in a manner consistent with section 168 of title 23,
United States Code, or other key predevelopment
milestones, or a credible schedule to complete such
milestones; and
(6) advances innovation and replicability, including
approaches that can be scaled by other regions.
(e) Eligible Uses.--
(1) In general.--Grants under the Program may be used for a
project or suite of projects within a region that, taken
together, constitute a large-scale resilience investment to
protect, elevate, adapt, relocate, or otherwise improve the
resilience of transportation assets eligible for assistance
under title 23, United States Code.
(2) Eligible uses.--Funds provided by a grant under the
Program may be used for--
(A) predevelopment activities, including data
collection, engineering and design, environmental
review, permitting, right-of-way activities, and
procurement planning; and
(B) capital construction and implementation
activities to harden or adapt transportation assets,
including--
(i) protective features described in
section 119(k) of title 23, United States Code;
(ii) system resilience improvements
described in section 176(c)(3)(C) of title 23,
United States Code;
(iii) levees, including engineered levees
and levees utilizing natural infrastructure;
and
(iv) other resilience improvements that are
functionally connected to making an eligible
transportation asset more resilient to extreme
weather, natural hazards, and disaster risks.
(f) Multiyear Project Requirements.--
(1) Multiyear agreements.--The Secretary may enter into
multiyear grant agreements to fund an eligible project under
the Program across multiple fiscal years, including agreements
that provide predictable funding for programmatic delivery of
related resilience improvements.
(2) In general.--To be eligible for funding under a
multiyear grant agreement described in paragraph (1), the
project or suite of projects shall--
(A) have an estimated total cost of not less than
$500,000,000, except that the Secretary may reduce such
threshold for Tribal applicants, rural regions, or
insular areas; and
(B) involve delivery challenges or institutional,
regulatory, or funding barriers that are not routinely
addressed through existing surface transportation
programs and, if successfully resolved through the
demonstration, would provide a replicable model for
other projects.
(3) Eligible barriers.--To be considered eligible under
paragraph (2)(B), the barriers described in such paragraph
shall include 1 or more of the following:
(A) Multiowner or multioperator governance and
delivery structures.
(B) Integration of natural or nature-based
infrastructure into transportation projects subject to
Federal environmental review or permitting.
(C) Resilience investments located outside the
transportation right-of-way that reduce risk to an
eligible transportation asset.
(D) Projects that protect or enhance transportation
assets while also benefitting communities and other
critical infrastructure systems.
(E) Projects requiring coordinated funding across
two or more Federal departments.
(g) Federal Share.--
(1) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost of a
project carried out with a grant under this section may not
exceed 80 percent.
(2) Other federal funds.--Other Federal funds may be used
to satisfy the non-Federal share only to the extent
specifically provided for under the law authorizing the use of
such Federal funds.
(h) Administration.--
(1) Notice of funding opportunity.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually
thereafter, the Secretary shall publish a notice of funding
opportunity for grants under the Program.
(2) Interagency coordination.--In carrying out the Program,
the Secretary shall coordinate with other Federal departments
and agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency,
Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Interior,
Department of Commerce, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to
ensure Federal activities related to resiliency and Federal
funding are streamlined and coordinated to allow for
comprehensive solutions across Federal agencies to mitigate
impacts from natural hazards on infrastructure, the economy,
and the United States population.
(3) Relationship to other federal programs.--A grant under
this section may be used in combination with funds made
available under other provisions of law administered by the
Department of Transportation, including funds for formula,
discretionary, and emergency relief programs.
(4) Dashboard.--
(A) In general.--In carrying out this section, the
Secretary shall make publicly available in an easily
identifiable location on the website of the Department
of Transportation a dashboard containing the following
information for each project in a grant agreement under
this section:
(i) Project name.
(ii) Project sponsor.
(iii) City or urbanized area and State in
which the project will be located.
(iv) Project type.
(v) Anticipated total project cost.
(vi) Anticipated share of project costs to
be sought under this section.
(vii) Date of compliance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.).
(viii) Date on which the project entered
the project development phase.
(ix) Date on which the project entered the
engineering phase, if applicable.
(x) Status of each permit necessary for the
project to proceed, the Federal agency with
principal responsibility for review of each
necessary permit, and any participating
agencies involved in the review of each
necessary permit.
(xi) Status of the project sponsor in
securing non-federal matching funds.
(xii) Date on which a project grant
agreement is anticipated to be executed.
(xiii) Federal grant programs for which the
project would also be eligible, if applicable.
(B) Updates.--The Secretary shall update the
information provided under subparagraph (A) not less
frequently than monthly.
(C) Project profiles.--The Secretary shall continue
to make profiles for projects that are receiving
assistance under this section publicly available in an
easily identifiable location on the website of the
Department of Transportation.
(i) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall establish an interagency working group to
develop and submit to the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report not later
than 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years
thereafter that--
(1) describes projects selected and funded under the
Program;
(2) evaluates the benefits of the projects' integration of
natural and nature-based features in improving infrastructure
resiliency;
(3) evaluates program outcomes and best practices;
(4) provides recommendations regarding whether and how to
scale the Program; and
(5) provides a benefit-cost analysis of each project
selected and funded under the Program that uses the best
available data, including--
(A) annual maintenance costs necessary for the
upkeep of the project's components;
(B) risk to structures and infrastructure mitigated
by the project;
(C) level of protection provided by the project;
(D) historical damage at the project location;
(E) information on the benefitting area of the
project; and
(F) additional data, as applicable.
(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $2,000,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2027 through 2031, to remain available until expended, of
which not more than 2 percent may be used for administrative expenses
and technical assistance.
(k) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Eligible transportation asset.--The term ``eligible
transportation asset'' means--
(A) a highway project eligible for assistance under
title 23, United States Code;
(B) a public transportation facility or service
eligible for assistance under chapter 53 of title 49,
United States Code; or
(C) a port facility, including a facility that--
(i) connects a port to other modes of
transportation;
(ii) improves the efficiency of evacuations
and disaster relief; or
(iii) aids transportation.
(2) Region.--The term ``region'' means--
(A) the geographic area served by a metropolitan
planning organization;
(B) a multijurisdictional area defined by a
consortium of eligible applicants; or
(C) such other area as the Secretary determines
appropriate to address transportation system risk at a
corridor or system scale.
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