H.R. 8870
BUILD America 250 Act
Sponsor: Sam Graves
Official summary
Written by the Congressional Research Service.
Building Unrivaled Infrastructure and Long-term Development for America's 250th Act or the BUILD America 250 Act
This bill authorizes federal surface transportation (highway, public transportation, and rail) programs and activities through FY2031. The bill also establishes or modifies Department of Transportation (DOT) programs and policies that are a part of the federal-aid highway, transit, highway safety, motor carrier, research, hazardous materials, and rail programs.
For example, the bill authorizes appropriations through FY2031 out of the Highway Trust Fund for the federal-aid highway program, the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program, highway safety programs, and bridge programs. The bill also authorizes funding through FY2031 for Amtrak. Current authorization for these programs expires on September 30, 2026.
Among other provisions, the bill
- establishes a Surface Transportation Accelerator Grant (STAG) discretionary program to fund surface transportation projects in rural, urban, local, and regional communities;
- requires the Federal Highway Administration to impose a new annual electric vehicle (EV) registration fee, starting at $130 for a covered EV and $35 for a covered plug-in hybrid vehicle;
- exempts automated driving system technology and equipment from vehicle width requirements;
- establishes a consolidated state block grant program that allows DOT to allocate a lump sum to participating states to fund public transportation services in rural and urbanized areas;
- allows state rail safety inspectors to conduct railroad bridge inspections; and
- establishes a system for state, local, and tribal governments to report safety concerns about the condition of railroad bridges.
Text of the bill
I Federal-Aid Highways
A Authorizations and Programs
B Improved Project Delivery and Environmental Streamlining
C Miscellaneous
II Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation
III Public Transportation
A Reforms
B Miscellaneous
C Reorganization and Consolidation of Chapter 53
IV Highway Safety
V Motor Carriers
A General Provisions
B Commercial Motor Vehicle Operators
C Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety
D Household Goods Shipping Consumer Protection Reform
E Safe Integration of Autonomous Commercial Motor Vehicles
VI Innovation
VII Freight and Multimodal Transportation Programs
A Freight Policy
B Multimodal Policy and Programs
VIII Miscellaneous
IX Sport Fishing and Recreational Boating Safety
X Railroads and Hazardous Materials
A Authorization of Appropriations and Grant Reforms
B Amtrak Reforms
C Passenger Rail Policy
D Rail Safety and Innovation
(a) In general. The Secretary, in cooperation with the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, shall establish a pilot program to award grants on a competitive basis to eligible recipients described in subsection (b) for rail technology systems and assets to—
(1) improve rail transportation safety and efficiency;
(2) reduce cargo theft; or
(3) monitor rail network fluidity
(b) Eligible recipients. The following entities are eligible to receive a grant under this section:
(1) Railroad freight car owners or operators.
(2) Railroad freight car manufacturers.
(3) Rail network data platform firms.
(4) A State or the District of Columbia.
(5) A group of States.
(6) An interstate compact.
(7) A federally recognized Indian Tribe.
(8) A public agency or publicly chartered authority established by 1 or more States.
(9) A political subdivision of a State.
(c) Eligible use of funds. Funds provided under this section may be used by an eligible recipient for a project to carry out activities to purchase, install, maintain, or replace—
(1) telematics systems or gateway devices;
(2) positive train control upgrade systems;
(3) wheel and bearing integrity and alignment failure detection and monitoring systems;
(4) sensor-based systems, including train inspection portals;
(5) locomotives used in switching service;
(6) Tier III or higher locomotives used in switching service; and
(7) technologies to allow train crew members to communicate while inspecting and riding equipment.
(d) Applications
(1) In general. An eligible entity may submit to the Secretary an application for a grant under this section at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require that relate to the purposes described in subsection (a).
(2) Transparency. The Secretary shall include, in any notice of funding availability relating to a grant under this section, a full description of the method by which applications under paragraph (1) will be evaluated.
(e) Prioritization for telematics systems and gateway devices grants
(1) In general. In selecting an eligible recipient for a grant under this section, the Secretary shall prioritize an eligible recipient that proposes to carry out a project described under subsection (c)(1).
(2) Projects. Of the prioritized projects under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall further prioritize, in the order listed, the following:
(A) Newly built railroad freight cars by a qualified manufacturer in a qualified facility.
(B) Railroad freight cars entering a certification event in a qualified facility.
(C) Railroad freight cars entering a shopping event or maintenance event in a qualified facility.
(3) Freight railcar type. The Secretary shall ensure that each recipient receiving a grant for tank cars selects railroad freight cars for project activities in the following order of priority:
(A) Tank cars in the TIH/PIH (toxic inhalation products) service.
(B) Tank cars in Class I, II, and III flammable service.
(C) Tank cars in hazardous materials service.
(D) Tank cars in specialized service.
(E) Freight cars in hazardous materials service.
(F) Other freight cars.
(f) Limitations
(1) Requirements for railroad freight cars. No funds provided by a grant under this section may be used for an activity relating to railroad freight cars that does not meet the requirements of section 20171 of title 49, United States Code.
(2) Awards to entities. The Secretary may not award more than 20 percent of amounts made available in this section for grants for each fiscal year to a single recipient.
(3) Application costs. The Secretary may not reimburse an eligible entity that receives funding under this section for any application preparation costs for a grant under this section.
(g) Reports
(1) Eligible entities. Not later than 2 years after the date on which an eligible entity receives a grant under this section, and annually thereafter until the date on which the grant is expended, the eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary an implementation report that describes—
(A) the deployment of each project carried out by the eligible entity; and
(B) the means by which each project carried out by the eligible entity has met or addressed its intended outcome, as projected in the grant application, including—
(i) data describing the means by which the project met the specific goals for the project; and
(ii) recommendations for future deployment strategies to improve safety or reduce cargo theft.
(2) Secretary
(A) Report to Congress. Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the implementation and effects of the grant pilot program established under this section.
(B) Contents. The report under subparagraph (A) shall include—
(i) a description of each eligible entity and award issued pursuant to this section;
(ii) the number of railroad freight cars equipped with telematic systems or gateway devices using funds provided under this section;
(iii) the number of freight railroad routes equipped with telematic systems or gateway devices using funds provided under this section;
(iv) the cost of equipping such cars or rail right-of-way or adjacent right-of-way with such systems or devices referenced in clause (ii) or (iii) and any ongoing software licensing or other maintenance and lifecycle replacement costs;
(v) the number of safety incidents involving such railcars reported to the Federal Railroad Administration using funds provided under this section;
(vi) anecdotal experience of grant recipients relating to the deployment of any technology or asset acquired under this section; and
(vii) any legislative recommendations related to the pilot program established under this section.
(C) Public availability. The report required under subparagraph (A) shall, to the maximum extent practicable, be made publicly available on the website of the Department without compromising confidentiality or security.
(D) Consultation. In preparing the report required under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall consult with Federal agencies and stakeholders, as appropriate, to gather technical, operational, and safety-related data.
(h) Cost share. The Federal share of the cost of a grant award under this section shall be 50 percent of the total cost of the project.
(i) Definitions. In this section:
(1) Certification event. The term certification event means a railroad freight car that is required by regulation to be recertified in a maintenance facility or qualified facility.
(2) Gateway device. The term gateway device means a network hardware or software node used in railroad monitoring telecommunications that—
(A) connects at least 2 networks with different transmission protocols together;
(B) serves as an entry and exit point for a network as all data collected from the railcar must pass through or communicate with the gateway prior to being routed;
(C) are distinct from routers or switches in that such nodes communicate using more than 1 protocol to connect multiple networks; and
(D) may be any device on a railroad freight car that is embedded with electronics, software, sensors, or other connectivity, that enables the device to connect to, collect data from, or exchange data with another device, including—
(i) railcar onboard telematics;
(ii) global positioning system satellite and cellular location tracking systems;
(iii) railcar event status sensors;
(iv) railcar predictive component condition and performance monitoring sensors; and
(v) similar technologies embedded into railroad freight car components and sub-assemblies.
(3) Positive train control systems. The term positive train control system has the meaning given such term in section 20157(i) of title 49, United States Code.
(4) Shopping event. The term shopping event means a railroad freight car that is undergoing regular or routine maintenance by a railcar maintenance facility or qualified facility.
(5) Telematics system. The term telematics system means a technology that—
(A) relies on telecommunications, informatics, and computer and data processing;
(B) generates data and informatics from gateway or sensor devices fixed to railroad freight cars or property on or adjacent to rail right-of-way and provides for the exchange of information over a distance that may use battery or solar-powered wireless connections; and
(C) includes the method upon which railroad freight cars are monitored by using global positioning system technology through a gateway device or sensor using onboard or wayside camera diagnostics to plot the movements of such cars and, if applicable, gather railcar equipment and train health and condition data from other onboard or wayside camera railcar sensors when applied.
(6) Other terms. The terms railroad freight car, qualified facility, qualified manufacturer, and state-owned enterprise have the meaning given such terms in section 20171(a) of title 49, United States Code.
E Project Delivery
F Hazardous Materials Transportation