[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 4 (Wednesday, January 8, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H39-H41]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             TRANSPORTATION REPORTS ELIMINATION ACT OF 2013

  Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3628) to eliminate certain unnecessary reporting 
requirements and consolidate or modify others, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3628

       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 ``Transportation Reports 
     Elimination Act of 2013''.

     SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF CERTAIN REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

       (a) Department of Transportation.--
       (1) Air traffic services committee reports.--Section 
     106(p)(7) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
       (A) by striking subparagraph (H); and
       (B) by redesignating subparagraph (I) as subparagraph (H).
       (2) Annual summaries of financial reports.--Subsection (k) 
     of section 47107 of title 49, United States Code, is 
     repealed.
       (3) Pipeline safety information grants to communities 
     annual report.--Section 60130 of title 49, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (A) by striking subsection (c); and
       (B) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (c).
       (4) Pilot program for innovative financing of air traffic 
     control equipment annual report.--Section 182 of the Vision 
     100--Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act (49 U.S.C. 44502 
     note) is amended--
       (A) by striking subsection (e); and
       (B) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (e).
       (5) Justification for air defense identification zone.--
     Section 602 of the Vision 100--Century of Aviation 
     Reauthorization Act (Public Law 108-176; 117 Stat. 2563), and 
     the item relating to that section in the table of contents in 
     section 1(b) of that Act, are repealed.
       (6) Standards for aircraft and aircraft engines to reduce 
     noise levels annual report.--Section 726 of the Wendell H. 
     Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century 
     (49 U.S.C. 47508 note) is amended by striking subsection (c).
       (b) Environmental Protection Agency.--
       (1) Great lakes management comprehensive report.--Section 
     118(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 
     1268(c)) is amended--
       (A) by striking paragraph (10); and
       (B) by redesignating paragraphs (11), (12), and (13) as 
     paragraphs (10), (11), and (12), respectively.
       (2) General assistance program report to congress.--The 
     Indian Environmental General Assistance Program Act of 1992 
     (42 U.S.C. 4368b) is amended by striking subsection (i).
       (3) Research program respecting ocean dumping and other 
     methods of waste disposal report by administrator.--Section 
     204 of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act 
     of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 1444) is amended--
       (A) by striking subsection (b); and
       (B) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (b).

     SEC. 3. CONSOLIDATION OR MODIFICATION OF CERTAIN REPORTS.

       (a) Marine Safety Report to Congress.--
       (1) Consolidation.--Section 2116(d)(2)(B) of title 46, 
     United States Code, is amended by striking ``under subsection 
     (b); and'' and inserting ``under subsection (b), which shall 
     include an identification of--
       ``(i) the number of civilian and military Coast Guard 
     personnel assigned to marine safety positions; and
       ``(ii) marine safety positions that are understaffed for 
     purposes of facilitating the strategy and achieving the goals 
     described in subsection (a); and''.
       (2) Conforming amendments.--Section 57 of title 14, United 
     States Code, is amended--
       (A) by striking subsection (e); and
       (B) by redesignating subsections (f), (g), and (h) as 
     subsections (e), (f), and (g), respectively.
       (b) Maritime Transportation Security Annual Report.--
       (1) Consolidation.--Section 70103 of title 46, United 
     States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(f) Annual Report.--On the date on which the President 
     submits to Congress a budget pursuant to section 1105 of 
     title 31, the Secretary of the department in which the Coast 
     Guard is operating shall submit to the Committee on Homeland 
     Security and the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the 
     Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
     Senate a report that includes--
       ``(1) with respect to the last full fiscal year preceding 
     the report--
       ``(A) a summary of--
       ``(i) security standards established pursuant to this 
     section; and
       ``(ii) the level of compliance and steps taken to ensure 
     compliance by ports, terminals, vessel operators, and 
     shippers with respect to security standards established 
     pursuant to this section; and
       ``(B) a statement of the number of--
       ``(i) security zones established for vessels containing 
     especially hazardous cargo; and
       ``(ii) vessels containing especially hazardous cargo 
     provided a waterborne security escort, subdivided by Federal, 
     State, local, or private security provider; and
       ``(2) an assessment of any additional vessels, personnel, 
     infrastructure, or other resources that may be necessary to 
     provide waterborne escorts to vessels containing especially 
     hazardous cargo for which a security zone is established.''.
       (2) Conforming amendments.--
       (A) Especially hazardous cargo.--Section 70103(e) of title 
     46, United States Code, is amended by striking paragraph (2) 
     and inserting the following:
       ``(2) Especially hazardous cargo defined.--In this 
     subsection and subsection (f), the term `especially hazardous 
     cargo' means anhydrous ammonia, ammonium nitrate, chlorine, 
     liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, and any other 
     substance, material, or group or class of material, in a 
     particular amount and form that the Secretary determines by 
     regulation poses a significant risk of creating a 
     transportation security incident while being transported in 
     maritime commerce.''.
       (B) Vessel and intermodal security reports.--Section 809 of 
     the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2004 (46 
     U.S.C. 70101 note) is amended--
       (i) in subsection (a) by striking ``and (j)'' and inserting 
     ``and (i)'';
       (ii) by striking subsection (i); and
       (iii) by redesignating subsections (j) and (k) as 
     subsections (i) and (j), respectively.
       (c) Modifications.--
       (1) Infrastructure investment needs report.--Section 
     503(b)(8)(A) of title 23, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``July 31, 2013, and July 31'' and inserting ``July 
     31, 2014, and July 31''.
       (2) Reports to congress.--Section 609 of title 23, United 
     States Code, is amended--
       (A) in subsection (a) by striking ``June 1, 2012,'' and 
     inserting ``June 1, 2014,''; and
       (B) in subsection (b)(1) by striking ``December 1, 2012,'' 
     and inserting ``December 1, 2014,''.
       (3) Public mass transportation systems report.--Section 
     308(e)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``March 1998, and in March'' and inserting ``July 
     2014, and in July''.
       (4) Evaluation and audit of national transportation safety 
     board.--Section 1138(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 
     amended by striking ``at least annually, but may be 
     conducted''.
       (5) Briefings.--Section 20017(b)(6) of MAP-21 (49 U.S.C. 
     5324 note; 126 Stat. 706) is amended--
       (A) in subparagraph (A) by inserting after ``the Senate'' 
     the following: ``and the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure of the House of Representatives''; and
       (B) in subparagraph (B) by inserting after ``the Senate'' 
     the following: ``and the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure of the House of Representatives''.

     SEC. 4. PAPERLESS REPORTS.

       (a) Railway-Highway Crossings Annual Report.--Section 
     130(g) of title 23, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking the third sentence and inserting the following: 
     ``The Secretary shall make available to the public on the Web 
     site of the Department of Transportation, not later than 
     April 1, 2014, and every 2 years thereafter, a report on the 
     progress being made by the State in implementing projects to 
     improve railway-highway crossings.''.
       (b) National Bridge and Tunnel Inventory Report.--Section 
     144(d)(1)(B) of title 23, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``submit to the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the 
     Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate'' and 
     inserting ``make available to the public on the Web site of 
     the Department of Transportation''.
       (c) Surface Transportation Project Delivery Program 
     Report.--Section 327 of title 23, United States Code, is 
     amended by striking subsection (i) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(i) Report.--The Secretary shall make available to the 
     public on the Web site of the Department of Transportation an 
     annual report that describes the administration of the 
     program.''.
       (d) Highway Safety Programs Biennial Report.--Section 
     402(n) of title 23, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) by striking ``to Congress'' in the subsection heading; 
     and
       (2) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking 
     ``submit a report to the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the

[[Page H40]]

     Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
     Senate'' and inserting ``make available to the public on the 
     Web site of the Department of Transportation a report''.
       (e) In-Vehicle Alcohol Detection Device Research Reports.--
     Section 403(h)(4) of title 23, United States Code, is amended 
     by striking ``submit an annual report to the Committee on 
     Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the 
     Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 
     of Representatives, and Committee on Science, Space, and 
     Technology of the House of Representatives'' and inserting 
     ``make available to the public on the Web site of the 
     Department of Transportation an annual report''.
       (f) National ITS Program Plan Reporting.--Section 512(b) of 
     title 23, United States Code, is amended by striking 
     ``submitted'' and all that follows through the period at the 
     end and inserting ``made available to the public, and updated 
     biennially, on the Web site of the Department of 
     Transportation.''.
       (g) Advisory Committee Report.--Section 515(h)(4) of title 
     23, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) by striking ``of each year after the date of enactment 
     of the Transportation Research and Innovative Technology Act 
     of 2012,'' and inserting ``, 2014, and biennially 
     thereafter,'';
       (2) by striking ``submit to Congress'' and inserting ``make 
     available to the public on the Web site of the Department of 
     Transportation''; and
       (3) in subparagraph (A) by striking ``calendar year'' and 
     inserting ``2 calendar years''.
       (h) National Ferry Database Update Report.--Section 
     1801(e)(3) of SAFETEA-LU (23 U.S.C. 129 note) is amended by 
     inserting ``and shall make any such modified report available 
     to the public on the Web site of the Department'' before the 
     period at the end.
       (i) High-Risk Rural Roads Best Practices Report.--Section 
     1112(b)(2)(A) of MAP-21 (23 U.S.C. 148 note) is amended by 
     striking ``submit to the Committee on Environment and Public 
     Works of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure of the House of Representatives'' and 
     inserting ``make available to the public on the Web site of 
     the Department''.
       (j) Completion Time Assessment Report.--Section 1323(a)(2) 
     of MAP-21 (126 Stat. 553) is amended by striking ``submit to 
     the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 
     House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and 
     Public Works of the Senate'' and inserting ``make available 
     to the public on the Web site of the Department''.
       (k) Additional Report.--Section 1323(b) of MAP-21 (126 
     Stat. 554) is amended by striking ``submit to the Committee 
     on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
     Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public 
     Works of the Senate'' and inserting ``make available to the 
     public on the Web site of the Department''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster) and the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. 
Esty) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous materials on H.R. 3628.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  H.R. 3628 eliminates, consolidates, and modifies 27 congressionally 
mandated reporting requirements of the executive branch agencies that 
fall within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure.
  This bill does not reduce the congressional oversight of the affected 
agencies. Instead, it rids the agencies of outdated reporting 
requirements that are no longer utilized or have been replaced by 
different methods of information collected, thus enabling the agencies 
to concentrate on more pressing aspects of their mission.
  This legislation also consolidates and modifies certain existing 
reporting requirements, bringing consistency across law and regulation, 
eliminating duplicative and wasteful efforts, making technical 
corrections, and improving the ability of Congress to conduct effective 
oversight.
  This legislation makes several reporting requirements digital, 
resulting in reduced production and delivery cost, expedited delivery, 
and more useful and interactive formats. Additionally, the reports will 
now be made publicly available, enhancing transparency. According to 
the CBO this legislation could reduce the administrative costs of these 
agencies.
  This legislation is a basic, good-government, fiscally sound bill 
that just makes sense. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan 
bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ESTY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise here today in strong support of H.R. 3628, the Transportation 
Reports Elimination Act of 2013. The Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure unanimously reported this bill by voice vote last month.
  The Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010 
requires the Office of Management and Budget, OMB, to publish a list of 
congressionally mandated plans and reports that it considers outdated 
or duplicative. On January 8, 2013, OMB published a list of 376 reports 
that it proposed for elimination or consolidation.
  The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure reviewed a list of 
reports this fall within the committee's jurisdiction and agreed that 
some of these reports are indeed outdated or duplicative. H.R. 3628 is 
a bipartisan bill that eliminates, consolidates, and modifies 27 
congressionally mandated reports.
  Madam Speaker, this bill will save taxpayer dollars while improving 
government proficiency and performance. The bill eliminates several 
reporting requirements that are outdated or duplicative, freeing up 
valuable staff resources for the affected agency to perform more 
important oversight activities. The bill also consolidates and modifies 
certain existing reporting requirements to create greater consistency 
across statutes and regulations.
  Finally, the bill allows several reports to be posted on the agency's 
Web site and not formally submitted to Congress, saving time and 
taxpayer dollars. This process will further save taxpayer dollars by 
reducing production and delivery of weighty government reports. 
Additionally, taxpayers will also benefit from information posted in a 
more timely and interactive format, increasing transparency and ease of 
access.
  This is a bipartisan bill for smarter, cheaper, more transparent 
government. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 3628, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, again, I appreciate my colleague's 
support on this, and, as mentioned, this was reported out of the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure unanimously.
  But I also want to point out a couple of these reports just to drive 
home the point of how unnecessary some of these reports are, and were, 
and that's why we were eliminating them.
  For instance, in the Department of Transportation, the Air Traffic 
Services Committee Report. The Air Traffic Services Committee has not 
met for more than 2 years. As such, no report has been submitted to 
Congress in that time. Additionally, since its creation in 2003, many 
other committees and boards have created the report and it is no longer 
needed. That, for instance, is one.
  The Pipeline Safety Information Grants to Communities Annual Report, 
sounds important, is important, but we recommended the elimination by 
OMB. This information is online, so it is more timely for Americans to 
be able to get online and review this type of report.
  The Pilot Program for Innovative Financing of Air Traffic Control 
Equipment Annual Report, the report was required to supplement 
innovative air traffic control systems being tested 9 years ago. The 
tests have long since been completed, and, therefore, there is no 
report that is required.
  Again, the list goes on and on. The Standards for Aircraft--aircraft 
engines to reduce noise levels--Annual Report requires an annual report 
in the implementation of new technologies to decrease aircraft noise 
levels. Since then, the FAA has updated noise requirements to meet 
stage 4 standards; therefore, again, this report is no longer required.
  Again, we go through, and there are 27 in total that we have 
eliminated. We haven't been quantified as to how much savings, but 
there certainly is going to be hundreds of thousands--if not millions--
of dollars saved by eliminating these reports. As I said, many of these 
reports you can get online now

[[Page H41]]

and see them quickly and efficiently and the most up-to-date reporting.
  And with that, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ESTY. Madam Speaker, again, this is one of those ultrarare 
instances where we have bipartisan support, where we can save money, 
improve efficiency, and have greater transparency and accessibility to 
taxpayers.
  I wanted to flag just a couple of other items that illustrate this 
point.
  We are going to be taking up the surface transportation bill, a very 
important bill coming up later this year. Well, some of the reports 
related to that bill have to do with the infrastructure investment 
need. That report has always come at the wrong time. It has come after 
we have already looked at the highway transportation bill. So this 
bill, among other things, aligns the reports to be available and ready 
for Congress, ready for stakeholders, ready for the public to evaluate 
at the time we are considering important legislation on behalf of the 
American people.
  So, again, this is an important initiative. I would urge not only 
support for what we have done under Chairman Shuster's excellent 
leadership, but for other committees in Congress to join us in 
reviewing what the GAO has provided at our request, to review those 
lists of agency reports and to find other ways that we can save money, 
expedite delivery of important information, both to Congress to 
facilitate our oversight as well as to make it available to the public 
so they can oversee what we are doing and ensure that we are spending 
taxpayer dollars in the most effective way possible.

                              {time}  1500

  Again, I want to thank the chairman for his leadership on this and 
many other initiatives. It is a wonderful committee. We have important 
work to do, and this will help us get that work done.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlelady from Connecticut 
for her kind words and for all of her hard work on the committee. We 
have been working very hard in a bipartisan manner. There aren't many 
things in this Congress that really bring people together; but when it 
comes to transportation and infrastructure, that is certainly one of 
them. We will continue to work together.
  Again, this bill is a good-government bill. I urge all of my 
colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 3628, which again eliminates and 
consolidates 27 congressionally mandated reports. It is good 
government, saves money, and increases transparency.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3628.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________