21st Century Aerospace Infrastructure Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3902 To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish a pilot program for intermodal transportation infrastructure grants, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 15, 2021 Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish a pilot program for intermodal transportation infrastructure grants, 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 ‘‘21st Century Aero- 4 space Infrastructure Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. INTERMODAL TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE 6 IMPROVEMENT PILOT PROGRAM. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 47115 of title 49, United 8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 9 lowing: 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3902.IH H3902 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3902 IH ‘‘(l) INTERMODAL TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUC- 1 TURE IMPROVEMENT PILOT PROGRAM.— 2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab- 3 lish a pilot program to issue grants to operators of 4 launch and reentry sites for projects to construct, 5 repair, maintain, or improve transportation infra- 6 structure and facilities at such sites. The Secretary 7 may enter into agreements to provide grants under 8 this subsection. 9 ‘‘(2) PILOT PROGRAM QUALIFICATIONS.—The 10 Secretary may only issue a grant under this sub- 11 section to an operator if the operator— 12 ‘‘(A) has submitted an application to the 13 Secretary in such form, at such time, and con- 14 taining such information as prescribed by the 15 Secretary; 16 ‘‘(B) demonstrates to the Secretary’s satis- 17 faction that the project for which the applica- 18 tion has been submitted is for an eligible pur- 19 pose under paragraph (3); and 20 ‘‘(C) agrees to maintain such records relat- 21 ing to the grant as the Secretary may require 22 and to make such records available to the Sec- 23 retary or the Comptroller General of the United 24 States upon request. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3902.IH H3902 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3902 IH ‘‘(3) PERMITTED USE OF PILOT PROGRAM 1 GRANTS.—An operator may use a grant provided 2 under this subsection for a project to construct, re- 3 pair, maintain, or improve infrastructure and facili- 4 ties that— 5 ‘‘(A) are located at, or adjacent to, a 6 launch or reentry site; and 7 ‘‘(B) directly enable or support transpor- 8 tation safety or covered transportation activi- 9 ties. 10 ‘‘(4) PILOT PROGRAM GRANTS.— 11 ‘‘(A) GRANT FORMULA.—At the beginning 12 of each fiscal year after fiscal year 2021, the 13 Secretary shall issue a grant to an operator 14 that qualifies for the pilot program under para- 15 graph (2) an amount equal to the sum of— 16 ‘‘(i) $250,000 for each licensed launch 17 or reentry operation conducted from the 18 applicable launch or reentry site or at any 19 adjacent Federal launch range in the pre- 20 vious fiscal year; and 21 ‘‘(ii) $100,000 for each permitted 22 launch or reentry operation conducted 23 from the applicable launch or reentry site 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3902.IH H3902 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3902 IH or at any adjacent Federal launch range in 1 the previous fiscal year. 2 ‘‘(B) MAXIMUM GRANT.—Except as pro- 3 vided in paragraph (5)(E), a grant issued to an 4 operator under this subsection shall not exceed 5 $2,500,000 for a fiscal year. 6 ‘‘(C) ADJACENCY.— 7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In issuing a grant 8 to an operator under subparagraph (A), 9 the Secretary shall determine whether a 10 launch or reentry site is adjacent to a Fed- 11 eral launch range. 12 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—Only 1 operator 13 may receive an amount under subpara- 14 graph (A) for each licensed or permitted 15 launch or reentry operation described in 16 such subparagraph. 17 ‘‘(iii) MULTIPLE LAUNCH OR RE- 18 ENTRY SITES OPERATED BY 1 OPER- 19 ATOR.—If an operator holds a license to 20 operate more than 1 launch site or more 21 than 1 reentry site that are adjacent to a 22 Federal launch range, the Secretary shall 23 consider such launch or reentry sites as 1 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3902.IH H3902 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3902 IH launch or reentry site for purposes of sub- 1 paragraph (A). 2 ‘‘(5) SUPPLEMENTAL GRANTS IN SUPPORT OF 3 STATE, LOCAL, OR PRIVATE MATCHING.— 4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 5 issue a supplemental grant to an operator, sub- 6 ject to the requirements of this paragraph. 7 ‘‘(B) DOLLAR-FOR-DOLLAR MATCHING.—If 8 a qualified entity provides an operator an 9 amount equal to or greater than the amount of 10 a grant provided in a fiscal year under para- 11 graph (4) (for the explicit purpose of matching 12 such grant), the Secretary may issue a supple- 13 mental grant to the operator that is equal to 25 14 percent of such grant in the following fiscal 15 year. 16 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL NON-FEDERAL MATCH- 17 ING.—If a qualified entity provides an operator 18 an amount equal to or greater than two times 19 the amount of a grant provided in a fiscal year 20 to the operator under paragraph (4) (for the 21 explicit purpose of matching such grant), the 22 Secretary may issue a supplemental grant to 23 the operator that is equal to 50 percent of such 24 grant in the following fiscal year. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3902.IH H3902 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3902 IH ‘‘(D) SUPPLEMENTAL GRANT LIMITA- 1 TIONS.— 2 ‘‘(i) MATCH TIMING.—The Secretary 3 may issue a supplemental grant under sub- 4 paragraph (B) or (C) only if an amount 5 provided by a qualified entity is provided 6 to the operator in the same fiscal year as 7 the grant issued under paragraph (4). 8 ‘‘(ii) NON-DUPLICATION OF MATCHING 9 GRANTS.—If the Secretary issues a supple- 10 mental grant to the operator of a launch 11 site under subparagraph (C), the Secretary 12 may not issue a supplemental grant under 13 subparagraph (B) to the same operator in 14 the same fiscal year. 15 ‘‘(E) NON-APPLICATION OF GRANT CEIL- 16 ING.—The limitation on a grant amount under 17 paragraph (4)(B) shall not apply to supple- 18 mental grants issued under this paragraph. 19 ‘‘(6) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.— 20 ‘‘(A) AWARD TIMING.—Amounts des- 21 ignated to carry out this section that are not 22 obligated for grants under paragraphs (4) or 23 (5) by July 1 of the fiscal year in which the 24 amounts were made available shall be made 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3902.IH H3902 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3902 IH available for projects in accordance with sub- 1 section (j). 2 ‘‘(B) GRANT ASSURANCE APPLICA- 3 BILITY.—Except as provided in subparagraph 4 (C), a grant issued under this subsection shall 5 not be subject to the conditions of sections 6 47106 or 47107, including any regulations pre- 7 scribed thereunder, or any other conditions as- 8 sociated with grants made under this sub- 9 chapter pursuant to the Secretary’s authority 10 under chapter 471 or 475 (excluding section 11 47112 and 47113). 12 ‘‘(C) COMBINATION WITH OTHER FEDERAL 13 FUNDS.—If an operator combines amounts re- 14 ceived under this subsection with Federal funds 15 from any other source (including funds received 16 under chapter 471 and 475), the applicable 17 statutory or regulatory requirements associated 18 with such funds shall apply to the total project 19 being funded and to the funds provided under 20 this subsection. 21 ‘‘(7) FUNDING.— 22 ‘‘(A) PILOT PROGRAM GRANT FUNDS.— 23 The grants issued under this subsection shall be 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jul 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3902.IH H3902 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3902 IH issued from funds made available under sub- 1 section (j)(4). 2 ‘‘(B) MAXIMUM ANNUAL LIMIT ON PILOT 3 PROGRAM.— 4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The total amount 5 of all grants issued under this subsection 6 shall not exceed $20,000,000 in any fiscal 7 year. 8 ‘‘(ii) GRANT REDUCTION.—In com- 9 plying with clause (i), the Secretary— 10 ‘‘(I) may proportionally reduce 11 the amount of, or decline to issue, a 12 supplemental grant under paragraph 13 (5); and 14 ‘‘(II) if the reduction under sub- 15 clause (I) is insufficient, shall propor- 16 tionally reduce grants issued under 17 paragraph (4). 18 ‘‘(8) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the fol- 19 lowing definitions apply: 20 ‘‘(A) COVERED TRANSPORTATION ACTIV- 21 ITY.—The term ‘covered transportation activity’ 22 means the movement of people or property to, 23 from, or within a launch site and the necessary 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3902.IH H3902 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3902 IH or incidental activities associated with such 1 movement, including through use of— 2 ‘‘(i) a vehicle; 3 ‘‘(ii) a vessel; 4 ‘‘(iii) a railroad (as defined in section 5 20102); 6 ‘‘(iv) an aircraft (as defined in section 7 40102); 8 ‘‘(v) a pipeline facility (as defined in 9 section 60101); or 10 ‘‘(vi) a launch vehicle or reentry vehi- 11 cle. 12 ‘‘(B) LAUNCH; LAUNCH SITE; LAUNCH VE- 13 HICLE; REENTRY SITE; REENTRY VEHICLE.— 14 The terms ‘launch’, ‘launch site’, ‘launch vehi- 15 cle’, ‘reentry site’, and ‘reentry vehicle’ have the 16 meanings given those terms in section 50902 of 17 title 51. 18 ‘‘(C) OPERATOR.—The term ‘operator’ 19 means a person licensed by the Secretary to op- 20 erate a launch or reentry site. 21 ‘‘(D) QUALIFIED ENTITY.—The term 22 ‘qualified entity’ means a State, local, or tribal 23 government or private sector entity, or any 24 combination thereof. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jul 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3902.IH H3902 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3902 IH ‘‘(9) PILOT PROGRAM SUNSET.—This sub- 1 section shall cease to be effective on October 1, 2 2023.’’. 3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 4 47115(j)(4) of title 49, United States Code, is amended 5 by inserting ‘‘and subsection (l)’’ after ‘‘this subsection’’. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3902.IH H3902 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS