[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 93 (Friday, June 27, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6728-S6729]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BOND:

  S. 975. A bill to amend title 23, United States Code, to extend the 
bridge discretionary program, and for other purposes; to the Committee 
on Environment and Public Works.


                      THE SAFE BRIDGES ACT OF 1997

  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, this bill I am introducing today is a bridge 
discretionary bill. We cannot forget in our reauthorization of the 
Nation's transportation policy the importance of maintaining our 
bridges.
  Missouri has approximately 23,000 bridges in total.
  Unfortunately, the State of Missouri, according to Department of 
Transportation statistics ranks sixth from the bottom on conditions of 
bridges in this country. This is a deplorable place for the State of 
Missouri to be.
  We must start taking better care of our roads and bridges and begin 
building roads for the 21st century--with new technologies, new 
materials, and better designs.
  According to the American Association of State Highway and 
Transportation Officials America must address the deficiencies of over 
11,000 bridges per year just to maintain current levels of condition.
  According to the Department of Transportation, the cost to improve 
bridge conditions would require an annual investment of $8.9 billion.
  Let us not lose the hard-won gains in our transportation 
infrastructure. Let's not squander our investment.
  Postponing taking care of our bridge needs only means that our 
investment declines and to make repairs later will cost more. The 
cliche does say ``Pay now or pay More later.''
  Taking care of our transportation infrastructure can be compared to 
taking care of your home. If you fail to fix the leaky roof, fail to 
re-paint, fail to adequately insulate, your costs increase and the 
value of your home declines.
  If we fail to maintain and reinvest in our Nation's bridges not only 
does the value of our investment decline, but lives are lost and our 
economic prosperity is jeopardized.
  I am pleased to work with my dear friend and House colleague, 
Congresswoman Emerson to introduce this bill in both Houses--the Safe 
Bridges Act of 1997.
  The Safe Bridges Act of 1997 is our marker to stress to our 
colleagues from around the country that bridges are an important and 
necessary component to this country's transportation system.
  Properly maintained and constructed bridges help save lives and 
provide for the efficient movement of people and goods in this country.
  If we want to secure our foundation--we must renew our investment.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 975

       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 ``Safe Bridges Act of 1997''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) bridges are important and necessary components of the 
     surface transportation system of the United States;
       (2) bridges are an important factor in the efficient 
     movement of people and goods;
       (3) properly maintained and constructed bridges help save 
     lives;
       (4) more than 25 percent of the bridges on the Interstate 
     System are classified as deficient or in poor condition; and
       (5) an investment of more than $5,000,000,000 annually is 
     needed to maintain the bridges that are in existence as of 
     the date of enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 3. BRIDGE DISCRETIONARY PROGRAM.

       (a) Extension of Program.--Section 144(g) of title 23, 
     United States Code, is amended by striking paragraph (1) and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(1) Discretionary bridge program.--
       ``(A) Set aside.--For each fiscal year, before any 
     apportionment is made under subsection (e), the Secretary 
     shall set aside $500,000,000 from the funds authorized to 
     carry out this section.
       ``(B) Use of set aside.--The amount set aside under 
     subparagraph (A) shall be available for obligation in the 
     same manner and to the same extent as the sums apportioned 
     under subsection (e), except that--
       ``(i) the amount shall be available for obligation at the 
     discretion of the Secretary;
       ``(ii) for each fiscal year, $8,500,000 of the amount shall 
     be available to carry out section 144A;
       ``(iii) for each fiscal year, $12,500,000 of the amount 
     shall be available to carry out section 144B;
       ``(iv) for each fiscal year, $15,000,000 of the amount 
     shall be available to carry out section 144C; and
       ``(v) the remainder of the amount shall be available in 
     accordance with paragraph (2).
       ``(C) Other state funds.--Funds made available to a State 
     under subparagraph (B) shall not be considered in determining 
     the apportionments and allocations that the State shall be 
     entitled to receive, under the other provisions of this title 
     and other law, of amounts in the Highway Trust Fund.''.
       (b) Highway Timber Bridge Research and Construction 
     Program.--
       (1) Transfer to title 23.--Section 1039 of the Intermodal 
     Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (23 U.S.C. 144 
     note; 105 Stat. 1990) is--
       (A) transferred to title 23, United States Code;
       (B) redesignated as section 144A of that title; and
       (C) inserted after section 144 of that title.
       (2) Conforming amendments.--
       (A) Section 144A of title 23, United States Code (as added 
     by paragraph (1)), is amended--
       (i) by striking the section heading and inserting the 
     following:

     ``Sec. 144A. Highway timber bridge research and construction 
       program'';

       (ii) in subsection (e)--

       (I) by striking ``of title 23, United States Code, for each 
     of fiscal years 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997'' and 
     inserting ``for each of fiscal years 1998 through 2003''; and
       (II) in paragraph (2), by striking ``($7,000,000 in the 
     case of fiscal year 1992)''; and

       (iii) by striking subsection (f).
       (B) The analysis for chapter 1 of title 23, United States 
     Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
     section 144 the following:

``144A. Highway timber bridge research and construction program.''.

     SEC. 4. INNOVATIVE HIGHWAY STEEL BRIDGE RESEARCH AND 
                   CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, 
     is amended by inserting after section 144A (as added by 
     section 3(b)(1)) the following:

     ``Sec. 144B. Innovative highway steel bridge research and 
       construction program

       ``(a) Research Grants.--The Secretary shall make grants to 
     other Federal agencies, universities, private businesses, 
     nonprofit organizations, and research or engineering entities 
     to carry out research concerning--
       ``(1) the development of new, cost-effective highway steel 
     bridge applications;
       ``(2) the development of engineering design criteria for 
     steel products and materials for use in highway bridges and 
     structures to improve steel design properties;
       ``(3) the development of highway steel bridges and 
     structures that will withstand natural disasters;
       ``(4) the development of products, materials, and systems 
     for use in highway steel bridges that demonstrate new 
     alternatives to current processes and procedures with respect 
     to performance in various environments; and
       ``(5) rehabilitation measures that demonstrate effective, 
     safe, and reliable methods for the use of steel in 
     rehabilitating highway bridges and structures.
       ``(b) Technology and Information Transfer.--The Secretary 
     shall take such action as is necessary to ensure that the 
     information and technology resulting from research conducted 
     under subsection (a) is made available to State and local 
     transportation departments and other interests as specified 
     by the Secretary.
       ``(c) Construction Grants.--
       ``(1) Authority.--The Secretary shall make grants to States 
     for projects for the construction of steel bridges and 
     structures on Federal-aid highways.
       ``(2) Applications.--
       ``(A) Submission.--A State that desires to receive a grant 
     under this subsection shall submit an application to the 
     Secretary.
       ``(B) Contents.--The application shall be in such form and 
     contain such information as the Secretary may require by 
     regulation.

[[Page S6729]]

       ``(3) Approval criteria.--The Secretary shall select and 
     approve applications for grants under this subsection based 
     on whether the project that is the subject of the grant--
       ``(A) has a design that has both initial and long-term 
     structural integrity;
       ``(B) has an innovative design, product, material, or 
     system that has the potential for increasing knowledge, cost 
     effectiveness, durability, and future use of the innovation; 
     and
       ``(C) uses practices and construction techniques that 
     comply with all environmental regulations.
       ``(d) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the cost of a 
     research or construction project under this section shall be 
     80 percent.
       ``(e) Funding.--
       ``(1) In general.--From the funds reserved from 
     apportionment under section 144(g)(1) for each of fiscal 
     years 1998 through 2003--
       ``(A) $2,500,000 shall be available to the Secretary to 
     carry out subsections (a) and (b); and
       ``(B) $10,000,000 shall be available to the Secretary to 
     carry out subsection (c).
       ``(2) Availability.--Sums made available under paragraph 
     (1) shall remain available until expended.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 1 of 
     title 23, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 
     the item relating to section 144A (as added by section 
     3(b)(2)(B)) the following:

``144B. Innovative highway steel bridge research and construction 
              program.''.

     SEC. 5. CARBON COMPOSITE BRIDGE RETROFIT RESEARCH AND 
                   DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, 
     is amended by inserting after section 144B (as added by 
     section 4(a)) the following:

     ``Sec. 144C. Carbon composite bridge retrofit research and 
       demonstration program

       ``(a) Research Grants.--The Secretary shall make grants to 
     other Federal agencies and to universities, private 
     businesses, nonprofit organizations, and research or 
     engineering entities, in the United States, to carry out 
     research concerning--
       ``(1) the development of new, economical carbon composite 
     highway bridge retrofit systems;
       ``(2) the development of engineering design criteria for 
     carbon composite products for use in highway bridges in order 
     to improve methods for characterizing carbon composite design 
     properties;
       ``(3) deployment systems for the incorporation of carbon 
     composites that demonstrate alternative processes for the 
     seismic retrofit of bridges and the rehabilitation of 
     structurally deficient bridge structures;
       ``(4) alternative carbon composite transportation system 
     structures that demonstrate the development of applications 
     for lighting support, sound barriers, culverts, and retaining 
     walls in highway infrastructure; and
       ``(5) additional rehabilitation measures that demonstrate 
     effective, safe, and reliable methods for rehabilitating 
     highway infrastructure with carbon composites.
       ``(b) Technology and Information Transfer.--The Secretary 
     shall take such action as is necessary to ensure that the 
     information and technology resulting from research conducted 
     under subsection (a) is made available to State and local 
     transportation departments and other interests as specified 
     by the Secretary.
       ``(c) Construction Grants.--
       ``(1) Authority.--The Secretary shall make grants to States 
     for projects for the reconstruction or seismic retrofit of 
     bridges on the National Highway System.
       ``(2) Applications.--
       ``(A) Submission.--A State that desires to receive a grant 
     under this subsection shall submit an application to the 
     Secretary.
       ``(B) Contents.--The application shall be in such form and 
     contain such information as the Secretary may require by 
     regulation.
       ``(3) Approval criteria.--The Secretary shall select and 
     approve applications for grants under this subsection based 
     on whether the project that is the subject of the grant--
       ``(A) has a design that has both initial and long-term 
     structural and environmental integrity;
       ``(B) has a design that uses carbon composite materials;
       ``(C) has an innovative design that has the potential for 
     increasing knowledge, cost effectiveness, and future use of 
     the design;
       ``(D) will ensure the structural integrity of a major river 
     crossing in the New Madrid region during a seismic event;
       ``(E) will extend the service life of a structurally 
     deficient bridge by at least 15 years; and
       ``(F) uses bridge retrofit technology and material that are 
     produced in the United States.
       ``(d) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the cost of a 
     research or construction project under this section shall be 
     80 percent.
       ``(e) Funding.--
       ``(1) In general.--From the funds reserved from 
     apportionment under section 144(g)(1) for each of fiscal 
     years 1998 through 2003--
       ``(A) $1,000,000 shall be available to the Secretary to 
     carry out subsections (a) and (b); and
       ``(B) $14,000,000 shall be available to the Secretary to 
     carry out subsection (c).
       ``(2) Availability.--Sums made available under paragraph 
     (1) shall remain available until expended.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 1 of 
     title 23, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 
     the item relating to section 144B (as added by section 4(b)) 
     the following:

``144C. Carbon composite bridge retrofit research and demonstration 
              program.''.
                                 ______