ROUTES Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2595 To establish a Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success Initiative, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 15, 2021 Mr. PENCE (for himself and Mr. CUELLAR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To establish a Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success Initiative, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rural Opportunities 4 to Use Transportation for Economic Success Act’’ or the 5 ‘‘ROUTES Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. RURAL OPPORTUNITIES TO USE TRANSPORTATION 7 FOR ECONOMIC SUCCESS INITIATIVE. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 9 shall establish the Rural Opportunities to Use Transpor- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2595.IH H2595 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2595 IH tation for Economic Success Initiative (hereinafter re- 1 ferred to as the ‘‘ROUTES Office’’), to— 2 (1) improve analysis of rural projects applying 3 for Department of Transportation discretionary 4 grants, including ensuring that project costs, local 5 resources, and the larger benefits to the American 6 people and the economy are appropriately consid- 7 ered; and 8 (2) provide rural communities with technical as- 9 sistance for meeting the Nation’s transportation in- 10 frastructure investment need in a financially sustain- 11 able manner. 12 (b) OBJECTIVES.—The ROUTES Office shall— 13 (1) collect input from knowledgeable entities 14 and the public on the benefits of rural transpor- 15 tation projects, the technical and financial assistance 16 required for constructing and operating rural trans- 17 portation infrastructure and services, and barriers 18 and opportunities to funding such rural transpor- 19 tation projects; 20 (2) evaluate data on rural transportation chal- 21 lenges and determining methods to align the Depart- 22 ment of Transportation’s discretionary funding and 23 financing opportunities with the needs of rural com- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2595.IH H2595 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2595 IH munities for meeting National transportation goals; 1 and 2 (3) educate rural communities about applicable 3 Department of Transportation discretionary grants, 4 developing effective methods to evaluate rural 5 projects in discretionary grant programs, and com- 6 municating those methods through program guid- 7 ance. 8 (c) ROUTES COUNCIL.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 10 the ROUTES Council (hereinafter referred to as the 11 ‘‘Council’’) to— 12 (A) organize, guide, and lead the 13 ROUTES Office; and 14 (B) coordinate rural-related funding pro- 15 grams and assistance among the modal admin- 16 istrations. 17 (2) MEMBERSHIP.— 18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall be 19 composed of the following officers of the De- 20 partment of Transportation, or their designees: 21 (i) The Under Secretary of Transpor- 22 tation for Policy. 23 (ii) The General Counsel. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2595.IH H2595 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2595 IH (iii) The Chief Financial Officer and 1 Assistant Secretary for Budget and Pro- 2 grams. 3 (iv) The Assistant Secretary for Re- 4 search and Technology. 5 (v) The Administrators of the— 6 (I) Federal Aviation Administra- 7 tion; 8 (II) Federal Highway Adminis- 9 tration; 10 (III) Federal Railroad Adminis- 11 tration; and 12 (IV) Federal Transit Administra- 13 tion. 14 (vi) The Chief Infrastructure Funding 15 Officer. 16 (vii) The Assistant Secretary of Gov- 17 ernment Affairs. 18 (viii) The Director of the Office of 19 Public Affairs. 20 (B) CHAIR.—The Under Secretary of 21 Transportation for Policy shall be the Chair of 22 the Council. 23 (C) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—The Sec- 24 retary of Transportation or the Chair of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2595.IH H2595 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2595 IH Council may designate additional members to 1 serve on the Council. 2 (3) ADDITIONAL MODAL INPUT.—To address 3 issues related to safety and transport of rural com- 4 modities, the Council shall consult with the Adminis- 5 trators (or their designees) of the— 6 (A) Maritime Administration; 7 (B) Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway De- 8 velopment Corporation; and 9 (C) National Highway Traffic Safety Ad- 10 ministration. 11 (4) DUTIES.—Members of the Council shall— 12 (A) participate in all meetings and relevant 13 Council activities and be prepared to share in- 14 formation relevant to rural transportation infra- 15 structure projects and issues; 16 (B) provide guidance and leadership on 17 rural transportation infrastructure issues and 18 represent the work of the Council and Depart- 19 ment of Transportation on such issues to exter- 20 nal stakeholders; and 21 (C) recommend initiatives to the Chair of 22 the Council to consider, establish, and staff any 23 resulting activities or working groups. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2595.IH H2595 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2595 IH (5) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet bi- 1 monthly. 2 (6) WORK PRODUCTS AND DELIVERABLES.— 3 The Council may develop work products or deliver- 4 ables to meet its goals, including— 5 (A) an annual report to Congress describ- 6 ing Council activities for the past year and ex- 7 pected activities for the coming year; 8 (B) any recommendations to enhance the 9 effectiveness of Department of Transportation 10 discretionary grant programs regarding rural 11 infrastructure issues; and 12 (C) other guides and reports for relevant 13 groups and the public. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2595.IH H2595 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS