S.Amdt. 2564

SA 2564. Mr. SHELBY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 1072, to authorize funds for Federal-aid highways, highway safety programs, and transit programs, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

In lieu of the matter proposed, insert the following:

“SEC. . DELTA REGION TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

“(a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code (as amended by section 1814(a)), is amended by adding at the end the following:

“178. Delta Region Transportation Development Program

“(a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out a program to--

“(1) support and encourage multistate transportation planning and corridor development;

“(2) provide for transportation project development;

“(3) facilitate transportation decisionmaking; and

“(4) support transportation construction.

“(b) Eligible Recipients.--A State transportation department and metropolitan planning organization may receive and administer funds provided under the program.

“(c) Eligible Activities.--The Secretary shall make allocations under the program for multistate highway and transit planning, development, and construction projects.

“(d) Other Provisions Regarding Eligibility.--All activities funded under this program shall be consistent with the continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive planning processes required by section 134 and 135.

“(e) Selection Criteria.--The Secretary shall select projects to be carried out under the program based on--

“(1) whether the project is located--

“(A) in an area that is part of the Delta Regional Authority; and

“(B) on the Federal-aid system;

“(2) endorsement of the project by the State department of transportation; and

“(3) evidence of the ability to complete the project.

“(f) Program Priorities.--In administering the program, the Secretary shall--

“(1) encourage State and local officials to work together to develop plans for multimodal and multijurisdictional transportation decisionmaking; and

“(2) give priority to projects that emphasize multimodal planning, including planning for operational improvements that--

“(A) increase the mobility of people and goods;

“(B) improve the safety of the transportation system with respect to catastrophic--

“(i) natural disasters; or

“(ii) disasters caused by human activity; and

“(C) contribute to the economic vitality of the area in which the project is being carried out.

“(g) Federal Share.--Amounts provided by the Delta Regional Authority to carry out a project under this section shall be applied to the non-Federal share required by section 120.

“(h) Availability of Funds.--Amounts made available to carry out this section shall remain available until expended.”.

(b) Conforming Amendment.--The analysis for chapter I of title 23, United States Code (as amended by section 1841(b)), is amended by adding at the end the following:

“178. Delta Region Transportation Development Program”.

On page 677, line 11, strike “$2,500,000,000” and insert “$1,300,000,000”.

On page 677, line 13, strike “$2,000,000,000” and insert “$1,200,000,000”.

On page 677, line 15, strike “$500,000,000” and insert “$100,000,000”.

On page 678, after line 5, insert the following:

“(16) Delta region transportation development program.--For the Delta Region transportation development program, $400,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2009.”