Transportation Efficiency Act - Directs the President to create a National Intermodal Transportation Planning Task Force to: (1) study the nation's transportation needs and priorities for the next 30 years; (2) convene a conference on National Transportation Planning; and (3) draft a National Intermodal Transportation plan that includes short- and long-term goals for meeting those priorities and improving intermodal transportation planning for all modes of the national transportation system.
[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5799 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5799
To require the Secretary of the Department of Transportation to conduct
a study and develop a national intermodal transportation plan, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 20, 2010
Mr. Sestak introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Department of Transportation to conduct
a study and develop a national intermodal transportation plan, and for
other purposes.
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 Efficiency Act''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL INTERMODAL TRANSPORTATION PLANNING TASK FORCE.
(a) Establishment of Task Force.--The President shall create a
National Intermodal Transportation Planning Task Force (referred to in
this Act as ``Task Force'') with the Secretary of Transportation, or
designee, acting as chairperson and compromised of representatives of
the Departments of Commerce, Energy, Labor, and Housing and Urban
Development, the Environmental Protection Agency and other government
agencies the President considers necessary to conduct the study and
complete the Plan required by this Act.
(b) Duties of Task Force.--The Task Force shall--
(1) conduct a study on transportation needs, a draft of
which shall be completed not later than 12 months after the
date of enactment of this Act and the final study shall be
completed not later than 15 months after the date of enactment
of this Act;
(2) sponsor a conference on National Transportation
Planning not later than 6 months after the completion of the
draft study;
(3) make recommendations to the President for possible
invitees to the conference on National Transportation Planning
described in section 3;
(4) use the study and the input of attendees of the
conference under section 3 to draft a National Intermodal
Transportation Plan (referred to in this Act as ``Plan'') not
later than 24 months after the date of enactment of this Act
and publish it in the Federal Register and place it on the
Department's Web site for public comment; and
(5) transmit to Congress, and place on the Department of
Transportation's Web site, a National Intermodal Transportation
Plan not later than 24 months after the date of enactment of
this Act.
SEC. 3. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION STUDY.
In developing the study established pursuant to section 1, the Task
Force shall consider all aspects and all modes of transportation,
public, private, and commercial, including air, rail (passenger and
freight), road, port, waterway, bicycle, and pedestrian. The study
shall project for the next 30 years and examine and identify for such
period of time the following:
(1) National transportation priorities.
(2) The anticipated demand, steps currently being taken to
address anticipated demand, how successful these steps are
anticipated to be, the most advantageous allocation of
shipments of goods and travel among the various capacities of
various modes, connectivity of those modes, and comparative
costs. Comparative costs shall take into account past public
investments in currently existing infrastructure for each
transportation mode.
(3) Deficiencies in the current and currently planned
transportation systems to meet current and anticipated demand
and the appropriate level of redundancies.
(4) How intermodal transportation planning may help address
anticipated transportation demand, social impacts of
transportation, and the impact of the transportation sector on
the environment, particularly global warming.
(5) What obstacles exist to enhance and improve intermodal
transportation planning to meet national priorities so that the
national Plan provides suggestions on policy and legislative
recommendations to such obstacles.
(6) Transportation purposes, systems operational
requirements and capacities, comparative long-term costs, and
revenue sources.
(7) How different agencies and levels of government may be
better incorporated and coordinated to improve transportation
planning.
(8) Obstacles to potential benefits from, and current
efforts in mega-region planning at the national and regional
level.
SEC. 4. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLANNING CONFERENCE.
(a) In General.--The Task Force shall convene a National
Transportation Priorities Conference (referred to in this Act as the
``Conference'') not later than 6 months after the completion of the
draft National Transportation Study.
(b) Conference Mission.--The mission of the Conference shall be--
(1) to review the draft of the study conducted pursuant to
section 2 and comment on the draft's findings;
(2) to discuss ways to improve transportation planning;
(3) to suggest short-term and long-term goals to be
incorporated into the Plan;
(4) to examine and evaluate how environmental priorities
and economic planning are integrated into transportation
planning;
(5) to identify obstacles to meeting those goals and
suggestion measures to reduce or eliminate those obstacles; and
(6) to perform other tasks that the Task Force considers
helpful to complete the Study and the Plan.
(c) Conference Representatives.--The Conference shall be comprised
of representatives appointed by the President of the following:
(1) State Departments of Transportation.
(2) State legislatures.
(3) Municipal leaders.
(4) Metropolitan planning organizations.
(5) Transportation nonprofit and advocacy groups.
(6) Bike and pedestrian and other transportation safety
organizations.
(7) Transportation trade associations.
(8) Small and large transportation companies.
(9) Environmental organizations.
(10) Labor unions.
(11) Academia.
(12) And other groups the Task Force considers helpful in
achieving the conference's mission.
SEC. 5. NATIONAL INTERMODAL TRANSPORTATION PLAN.
(a) In General.--The Plan developed under this Act shall include
all aspects and all modes of transportation, both public and private,
including rail, aviation, waterways, roads, ports, bicycle, and
pedestrian and shall include the following:
(1) Summary of the findings of the study.
(2) Short-term and long-term goals.
(3) A description of how each short-term goal will lead to,
or at least not preclude, achieving long-term goals.
(4) Incremental steps and performance measures to achieve
such goals.
(5) What public and private resources will be required to
implement the Plan.
(6) Any recommended legislative changes that are necessary
to meet national priorities and the short-term and long-term
goals, including better intermodal transportation and mega-
region planning.
(7) An exploration of potential alternatives to what is
proposed in the Plan.
(b) Long-Term Goals.--The long-term goals in the Plan shall take
into account the following:
(1) Accessibility, including how best to reasonably ensure
that the various parts of the country have access to the
national transportation system (road, rail routes, air routes,
and water routes), including how and when public subsidies or
regulation may be needed.
(2) Mobility, including the ease and expense of getting
people and goods to their desired destination in order to meet
economics and societal needs.
(3) National security, including addressing moving people
and goods by alternative routes and modes in the face of either
a natural or man-made disaster or intentional act.
(4) Economic prosperity, including addressing how a vibrant
economy requires timely and cost-effective movement of goods
and services and how various national transportation policies
can positively and negatively effect local and regional
economies.
(5) Social equity, including addressing the fact that
transportation decisions have different costs and benefits on
differing segments of our society and how goals may be
established to help minimize those differences and ensure that
vulnerable segments of society do not pay a disproportionate
percentage of the cost.
(6) Evaluate the environmental protection, including
addressing the fact that transportation issues will have
varying impacts on the environment from its contribution to
green house gasses and other emissions to short-term economic
costs that may lead to a decision that is counter to a long-
term environmental benefit.
(7) Energy consumption, including addressing how to
minimize overall transportation sector energy needs and
utilizing cost-benefit analysis based upon full-cost
accounting.
SEC. 6. FUNDING AUTHORIZATION.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be
necessary to carry out this Act.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Aviation.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
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