Strategic Planning and Research

Strategic Planning and Research
Current Law	Administration Proposal H.R. 2088 & S. 1072 as Modified SAFETEA of 2003	House H.R. 3 as Passed House TEA-LU	Senate H.R. 3 as Passed House SAFETEA of 2005
Surface Transportation Research Strategic Planning
Section 5108		Section 5213	Section 2101
Requires establishment of a strategic planning process to determine, coordinate, and measure transportation research priorities.	Same as current law	No comparable provision	Establishes a Surface Transportation Research Technology Deployment and Strategic Planning Program to coordinate Federal surface transportation research, technology development, and deployment activities.
Funded out of the Surface Transportation Research authorization; no specific funding amount is designated.	Same as current law	Same as current law	Same as current law
No comparable provision	No comparable provision	No comparable provision	Authorizes $187,726 per year for a Surface Transportation Research Technology Advisory Committee to be made up of 12 members appointed by the Secretary.
No comparable provision	No comparable provision	No comparable provision	Committee members shall have expertise in the areas of safety, operations, planning & environment, infrastructure, policy, & asset management.
No comparable provision	No comparable provision	No comparable provision	The Committee shall provide advice and guidance relating to the determination of surface transportation research priorities.
Requires development of an R&T strategic plan that will identify and describe DOT goals and objectives for surface transportation research and development.	Same as current law	Requires development, NLT 1 year after date of enactment, of a 5-year transportation research and development strategic plan to guide Federal transportation R&D activities. [5213]	Requires development of a strategic plan for each of the core surface transportation research areas, due one year after date of enactment and periodically thereafter.
Plan must include details of the surface transportation research and technology development programs of the Department, including performance goals, resources needed to achieve those goals, and performance indicators for the next 5 years for each area of research and technology development.	No comparable provision	The 5-year strategic plan shall describe the primary purposes of the transportation R&D program; list the primary topics designed to accomplish each purpose; and describe the anticipated costs of and information to be gained from each topic. [5213]	The plan shall specify specific transportation research projects to be conducted; recommended technology transfer activities; and short and long term deployment activities.
Requires the Secretary to enter into an agreement for the review by the National Research Council of the details of each strategic plan or revision.	No comparable provision	Requires the Secretary to contract with the National Research Council to review the R&D strategic plan, the performance plan required by Section 1115 of Title 31, and the program performance report required by Section 1116 of Title 31. [5213]	No comparable provision
The Strategic Plan must be consistent with the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993.	Same as current law	No comparable provision	Same as current law
No comparable provision	No comparable provision	Requires the Secretary to submit a report to Congress, with the annual budget request, describing the amount spent in the last fiscal year on R&D activities, and the amount proposed in the current budget for transportation R&D. [5213]	Requires the Secretary to submit to Congress, within 60 days after completion of the Strategic Plan, written responses to each of the recommendations of the Research & Technology Coordinating Committee.
Study of Future Strategic Highway Research Program
Section 5112
Requires a study to determine the goals, purposes, agenda, administrative structure, projects, and fiscal needs for a new strategic highway research program.	No comparable provision	No comparable provision	No comparable provision
Study is funded out of the Surface Transportation Research authorization; no specific funding amount is designated.	No comparable provision	No comparable provision	No comparable provision
Future Strategic Highway Research Program
		Section 5209	Sect 2101 (509)
No comparable provision	No comparable provision	Directs the Secretary, in consultation with AASHTO and acting through the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, to establish the Future Strategic Highway Research Program.	Creates a New Strategic Highway Research Program to be established and administered by the National Research Council.
No comparable provision	No comparable provision	Funding for the Future Strategic Highway Research Program is $17 million for FY 2004, $60 million for FY 2005, and $63 million each of FYs 2006-2009 from the Surface Transportation Research program authorization.	For each of FYs 2005-2009, authorizes deductions of $14,079,434 from IM, $17,833,949 from NHS, $12,202,176 from Bridge, $18,772,579 from STP, $4,693,145 from CMAQ, and $2,815,887 from HSIP to fund the New Strategic Highway Research Program.
No comparable provision	No comparable provision	The Secretary may make grants to AASHTO and NAS to carry out program activities.	The Secretary may make grants to NAS to carry out program activities.
No comparable provision	No comparable provision	Program research shall be based on NRC Special REport 260, and include analysis of: renewal of aging infrastructure with minimal impact to users; non-recurring congestion reduction; and planning and designing new road capacity to meet mobility, economic, and environmental needs.	Program research priorities are to examine: the roles of transportation infrastructure, drivers, vehicles and high-risk areas in fatalities; most effective long and short term life-saving measures; renewal of aging infrastructure having minimal impact to users; and non-recurring congestion reduction, among others.
No comparable provision	No comparable provision	Requires the NRC to enter into a contract with TRB by 10/1/2007 for a report on the strategies to be used for implementation of the results of the Future Strategic Highway Research Program. The Secretary is to transmit the report to Congress by 2/1/2009.	Requires the NRC to enter into a contract with TRB by 10/1/2007 for a report on the strategies to be used for implementation of the results of the New Strategic Highway Research Program. The Secretary is to transmit the report to Congress by 2/1/2009.
No comparable provision	No comparable provision	The Federal share shall be 100%. The bill has conflicting provisions re: availability of funds. Allows the Secretary to make advance payments as necessary.	No comparable provision
Security Related Research and Technology Strategic Plan
			Section 2101
No comparable provision	No comparable provision.	No comparable provision.	Requires the development, in consultation with the Dept. of Homeland Security, of a 5-year strategic plan pertaining to the security aspects of highway infrastructure and operations.
No comparable provision	No comparable provision	No comparable provision	The plan shall evaluate the research required to address emergency response and evacuation measures, traffic management during crises, integrated, interoperable emergency communications capability, and protection and reinforcement of key facilities.
No comparable provision.	No comparable provision.	No comparable provision.	The Secretary shall submit the completed plan to Congress not later than 180 days after date of enactment. No funding is authorized.

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