S.Amdt. 2176

SA 2176. Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. Padilla, and Mr. Warnock)
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 2137
proposed by Mr. Schumer (for Ms. Sinema (for herself, Mr. Portman, Mr.
Manchin, Mr. Cassidy, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Collins, Mr. Tester, Ms.
Murkowski, Mr. Warner, and Mr. Romney)) to the bill H.R. 3684, 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:

On page 35, lines 10 and 11, strike ``pilot''.
On page 35, line 14, strike ``pilot''.
On page 35, line 19, strike ``pilot''.
Strike section 11509 and insert the following:

SEC. 11509. RECONNECTING COMMUNITIES PROGRAM.

(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Anti-displacement policy.--The term ``anti-displacement
policy'' means a policy that limits the displacement of low-
income, disadvantaged, and underserved communities from
neighborhoods due to new investments in housing, businesses,
and infrastructure.
(2) Area of persistent poverty.--The term ``area of
persistent poverty'' means--
(A) any county that has had 20 percent or more of the
population of the county living in poverty over the past 30
years, as measured by the 1990 and 2000 decennial censuses
and the most recent Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates
as estimated by the Bureau of the Census;
(B) any census tract with a poverty rate of at least 20
percent, as measured by the most recent 5-year data series
available from the American Community Survey of the Bureau of
the Census for all States and Puerto Rico; or
(C) any other territory of the United States that has had
20 percent or more of its population living in poverty over
the past 30 years, as measured by the 1990, 2000, and 2010
decennial censuses, or equivalent data, of the Bureau of the
Census.
(3) Community land trust.--The term ``community land
trust'' means a nonprofit organization established or with
the responsibility, as applicable--
(A) to develop the real estate created by the removal or
capping of an eligible facility; and
(B) to carry out anti-displacement or community development
strategies, including--
(i) affordable housing preservation and development;
(ii) homeownership and property improvement programs;
(iii) the development or rehabilitation of park space or
recreation facilities; and
(iv) community revitalization and economic development
projects.
(4) Eligible facility.--
(A) In general.--The term ``eligible facility'' means a
highway or other transportation facility that creates a
barrier to community connectivity, including barriers to
mobility, access, or economic development, due to high
speeds, grade separations, or other design factors.
(B) Inclusions.--The term ``eligible facility'' may
include--
(i) a limited access highway;
(ii) a railway;
(iii) a viaduct;
(iv) a principal arterial facility; or
(v) any other transportation facility for which the high
speeds, grade separation, or other design factors create an
obstacle to connectivity.
(b) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a
reconnecting communities program under which an eligible
entity may apply for funding, in order to identify, remove,
replace, retrofit, mitigate, or remediate the effects from
eligible facilities and restore or improve community
connectivity, mobility, and access in disadvantaged and
underserved communities--
(A) to study the feasibility and impacts of removing,
retrofitting, mitigating, or remediating the effects on
community connectivity from an existing eligible facility;
(B) to conduct planning activities, including preliminary
engineering and final design activities, for a project to
remove, retrofit, mitigate, or remediate the effects on
community connectivity from an existing eligible facility;
and
(C) to conduct construction activities necessary to carry
out a project to remove, retrofit, mitigate, or remediate the
effects on community connectivity from an existing eligible
facility.
(2) Focus.--The Secretary shall ensure that any activities
carried out under this section--
(A) focus on improvements that will benefit the populations
impacted by or previously displaced by the eligible facility;
and
(B) emphasize equity by garnering community engagement,
avoiding future displacement, and ensuring local
participation in the planning process.
(c) Planning Grants.--
(1) Eligible entities.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary may award a grant (referred
to in this section as a ``planning grant'') to carry out
planning activities described in paragraph (2) to--
(i) a State;
(ii) a unit of local government;
(iii) a Tribal government;
(iv) a territory;
(v) a metropolitan planning organization;
(vi) a transit agency;
(vii) a special purpose district with a transportation
function; and
(viii) a group of entities described in this subparagraph.
(B) Partnerships.--An eligible entity may enter into an
agreement with the following entities to carry out the
eligible activities under this subsection:
(i) A nonprofit organization.
(ii) An institution of higher education (as defined in
section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1001)), including minority serving institutions and
historically Black colleges and universities (which shall
have the meaning given the term ``Predominantly Black
institution'' as defined in section 371(c) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(c))).
(2) Eligible activities described.--The planning activities
referred to in paragraph (1) are--
(A) planning studies to evaluate the feasibility of
removing, retrofitting, mitigating, or remediating an
existing eligible facility

[[Page S5601]]

to restore community connectivity, including evaluations of--
(i) current traffic patterns on the eligible facility
proposed for removal, retrofit, mitigation, or remediation
and the surrounding street network;
(ii) the capacity of existing transportation networks to
maintain mobility needs;
(iii) an analysis of alternative roadway designs or other
uses for the right-of-way of the eligible facility, including
an analysis of whether the available right-of-way would
suffice to create an alternative roadway design;
(iv) the effect of the removal, retrofit, mitigation, or
remediation of the eligible facility on the mobility of
freight and people;
(v) the effect of the removal, retrofit, mitigation, or
remediation of the eligible facility on the safety of the
traveling public;
(vi) the cost to remove, retrofit, mitigate, or remediate
the eligible facility--

(I) to restore community connectivity; and
(II) to convert the eligible facility to a roadway design
or use that increases safety, mobility, and access for all
users, compared to any expected costs for necessary
maintenance or reconstruction of the eligible facility;

(vii) the anticipated economic impact of removing,
retrofitting, mitigating, or remediating and converting the
eligible facility and any economic development opportunities
that would be created by removing, retrofitting, mitigating,
or remediating and converting the eligible facility;
(viii) the environmental impacts of retaining or
reconstructing the eligible facility and the anticipated
effect of the proposed alternative use or roadway design; and
(ix) the community impacts and equity analyses of retaining
or reconstructing the eligible facility on the surrounding
communities, including--

(I) the demographic breakdown of the impacted community by
race and socioeconomic status; and
(II) the displacement or disconnection that occurred within
the community as a result of the existing facility;

(B) public engagement activities to provide opportunities
for public input into a plan to remove, replace, retrofit,
mitigate, or remediate the effects from an eligible facility,
including--
(i) building organizational or community capacity to, and
educating community members on how to, engage in and
contribute to eligible planning activities described in this
paragraph;
(ii) identifying community needs and desires for community
improvements and developing community-driven solutions in
carrying out eligible planning activities described in this
paragraph;
(iii) conducting assessments of equity, mobility and
access, environmental justice, affordability, economic
opportunity, health outcomes, and other local goals to be
used in carrying out eligible planning activities described
in this paragraph; and
(iv) forming a community advisory board in accordance with
subsection (d)(7);
(C) other transportation planning activities required in
advance of a project to remove, retrofit, mitigate, or
remediate an existing eligible facility to restore community
connectivity, as determined by the Secretary;
(D) evaluating land use and zoning changes necessary to
improve equity and maximize transit-oriented development in
connection with a project eligible for a capital construction
grant; and
(E) establishment of anti-displacement and equitable
neighborhood revitalization strategies in connection with a
project eligible for a capital construction grant, including
establishment of a community land trust for land acquisition,
land banking, and equitable transit-oriented development.
(3) Technical assistance program.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary may provide technical
assistance described in subparagraph (B) to an eligible
entity described in paragraph (1).
(B) Technical assistance described.--The technical
assistance referred to in subparagraph (A) is technical
assistance in building organizational or community capacity--
(i) to engage in transportation planning; and
(ii) to identify innovative solutions to challenges posed
by existing eligible facilities, including reconnecting
communities that--

(I) are bifurcated by eligible facilities; or
(II) lack safe, reliable, and affordable transportation
choices.

(C) Priorities.--In selecting recipients of technical
assistance under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall give
priority to an application from--
(i) a community that is economically disadvantaged; or
(ii) a community that is at high risk for economic
displacement.
(4) Selection.--The Secretary shall--
(A) solicit applications for--
(i) planning grants; and
(ii) technical assistance under paragraph (3); and
(B) evaluate applications for a planning grant on the basis
of the demonstration by the applicant that--
(i) the eligible facility is aged and is likely to need
replacement or significant reconstruction within the 20-year
period beginning on the date of the submission of the
application;
(ii) the eligible facility--

(I) creates barriers to mobility, access, or economic
development; or
(II) is not justified by current and forecast future travel
demand; and

(iii) on the basis of preliminary assessments into the
feasibility of removing, retrofitting, mitigating, or
remediating the eligible facility to restore community
connectivity and increase safety, mobility, and access for
all users, further planning activities are necessary and
likely to be productive.
(5) Award amounts.--A planning grant may not exceed
$2,000,000 per recipient.
(6) Federal share.--The total Federal share of the cost of
a planning activity for which a planning grant is used shall
not exceed 80 percent.
(d) Capital Construction Grants.--
(1) Eligible entities.--The Secretary may award a grant
(referred to in this section as a ``capital construction
grant'') to the owner of an eligible facility to carry out an
eligible project described in paragraph (3) for which all
necessary feasibility studies and other planning activities
have been completed.
(2) Partnerships.--An owner of an eligible facility may,
for the purposes of submitting an application for a capital
construction grant, if applicable, partner with--
(A) a State;
(B) a unit of local government;
(C) a Tribal government;
(D) a metropolitan planning organization;
(E) a transit agency;
(F) a special purpose district with a transportation
function;
(G) a territory;
(H) a nonprofit organization; or
(I) a group of entities described in this paragraph.
(3) Eligible projects.--A project eligible to be carried
out with a capital construction grant includes--
(A) the removal, retrofit, mitigation, or remediation of
the effects on community connectivity from an eligible
facility, including a project to deck over a limited-access
highway or other eligible facility;
(B) the replacement of an eligible facility with a new
facility that--
(i) restores community connectivity;
(ii) employs context-sensitive solutions appropriate for
the surrounding community; and
(iii) is otherwise eligible for funding under title 23,
United States Code;
(C) support for community partnerships, including a
community advisory board described under paragraph (7), in
connection with a capital construction grant awarded under
this subsection; and
(D) other activities required to remove, replace, retrofit,
mitigate, or remediate an existing eligible facility, as
determined by the Secretary.
(4) Selection.--The Secretary shall--
(A) solicit applications for capital construction grants;
and
(B) evaluate applications on the basis of--
(i) the degree to which the project will improve mobility
and access through the removal of barriers;
(ii) the appropriateness of removing, retrofitting,
mitigating, or remediating the effects on community
connectivity from the eligible facility, based on current
traffic patterns and the ability of the project and the
regional transportation network to absorb transportation
demand and provide safe mobility and access;
(iii) the impact of the project on freight movement;
(iv) the results of a cost-benefit analysis of the project;
(v) the extent to which the applicant has plans for
inclusive economic development in place, including the
existing land use and whether the zoning provides for
equitable and transit-oriented development of underutilized
land;
(vi) the degree to which the eligible facility is out of
context with the current or planned land use;
(vii) the results of any feasibility study completed for
the project;
(viii) the plan of the applicant for--

(I) employing residents in the area impacted by the project
through targeted hiring programs, in partnership with
registered apprenticeship programs, if applicable; and
(II) encouraging community-based entrepreneurship and small
business expansion;

(ix) whether the eligible facility is likely to need
replacement or significant reconstruction within the 20-year
period beginning on the date of the submission of the
application;
(x) whether the project is consistent with the relevant
long-range transportation plan and included in the relevant
statewide transportation improvement program;
(xi) whether the project is consistent with, and how the
project would impact, the relevant transportation performance
management targets; and
(xii) the extent to which the project benefits populations
impacted by or previously displaced by the eligible facility;
(C) ensure that the project has conducted sufficient
community engagement, such as the activities described in
subsection (c)(2)(B); and
(D) ensure that the jurisdiction in which the eligible
facility is located has an anti-displacement policy or a
community land trust in place.
(5) Minimum award amounts.--A capital construction grant
shall be in an amount not less than $5,000,000 per recipient.
(6) Federal share.--

[[Page S5602]]

(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), a capital
construction grant may not exceed 50 percent of the total
cost of the project for which the grant is awarded.
(B) Maximum federal involvement.--Federal assistance other
than a capital construction grant may be used to satisfy the
non-Federal share of the cost of a project for which the
grant is awarded, except that the total Federal assistance
provided for a project for which the grant is awarded may not
exceed 80 percent of the total cost of the project.
(7) Community advisory board.--
(A) In general.--To help achieve inclusive economic
development benefits with respect to the project for which a
grant is awarded, a grant recipient may form a community
advisory board, which, if formed, shall--
(i) facilitate community engagement with respect to the
project; and
(ii) track progress with respect to commitments of the
grant recipient to inclusive employment, contracting, and
economic development under the project.
(B) Membership.--If a grant recipient forms a community
advisory board under subparagraph (A), the community advisory
board shall be composed of representatives of--
(i) the community, including residents in the immediate
vicinity of the project;
(ii) owners of businesses that serve the community;
(iii) labor organizations that represent workers that serve
the community;
(iv) State and local government; and
(v) private and nonprofit organizations that represent
local community development.
(C) Diversity.--The community advisory board formed under
subparagraph (A) shall be representative of the community
served by the project.
(e) Priorities.--In selecting recipients of planning
grants, capital construction grants, and technical assistance
under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to--
(1) an application from a community that is economically
disadvantaged or high risk of displacement, including an
environmental justice community, an underserved community, or
a community located in an area of persistent poverty; and
(2) an eligible entity that has--
(A) entered into a community benefits agreement with
representatives of the community or formed a community
advisory board under paragraph (7) of subsection (d);
(B) demonstrated a plan for employing residents in the area
impacted by the activity or project through targeted hiring
programs; and
(C) demonstrated a plan for improving transportation system
access.
(f) Administrative Expenses.--Of the amounts made available
to carry out this section, the Secretary may set aside not
more 2 percent for the costs of administering the program
under this section.
(g) Reports.--
(1) Usdot report on program.--Not later than January 1,
2026, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on
Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee
on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives a report that--
(A) evaluates the program under this section; and
(B) that--
(i) includes information about the level of applicant
interest in planning grants, technical assistance under
subsection (c)(3), and capital construction grants, including
the extent to which overall demand exceeded available funds;
(ii) includes, for recipients of capital construction
grants, the outcomes and impacts of the projects carried out
with the grant, including--

(I) any changes in the overall level of mobility,
congestion, access, and safety in the project area; and
(II) environmental impacts and economic development
opportunities in the project area;

(iii) assesses projects funded under subsection (d) to
provide best practices.
(2) Gao report on highway removals.--Not later than 2 years
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller
General of the United States shall issue a report that--
(A) identifies examples of projects to remove highways
using Federal highway funds;
(B) evaluates the effect of highway removal projects on the
surrounding area, including impacts to the local economy,
congestion effects, safety outcomes, and impacts on the
movement of freight and people;
(C) evaluates the existing Federal-aid program eligibility
under title 23, United States Code, for highway removal
projects;
(D) analyzes the costs and benefits of and barriers to
removing underutilized highways that are nearing the end of
their useful life compared to replacing or reconstructing the
highway; and
(E) provides recommendations for integrating those
assessments into transportation planning and decision-making
processes.
(3) Eligibility guidance.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish
guidance describing the eligibility of funds apportioned
under section 104(b) of title 23, United States Code, for
activities eligible for assistance under this section.
(h) Technical Assistance.--Of the funds made available to
carry out this section for planning grants, the Secretary may
use not more than $15,000,000 during the period of fiscal
years 2022 through 2026 to provide technical assistance under
subsection (c)(3).
______