H.R. 3684 — what changed
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
From Engrossed in House to Placed on Calendar Senate. 2 sections amended between Engrossed in House and Placed on Calendar Senate.
Sec. 1112 Buy America
In general— Section 313 of title 23, United States Code, is amended—
in subsection (a)—
by striking “Notwithstanding” and inserting “In general.—Notwithstanding”;
by striking “Secretary of Transportation” and inserting “Secretary”;
by striking “the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 (96 Stat. 2097) or”; and
by striking “and manufactured products” and inserting “manufactured products, and construction materials”;
in subsection (b) by inserting “Determination.—” before “The provisions”;
in subsection (c) by striking “For purposes” and inserting “Calculation.—For purposes”;
in subsection (d)—
by striking “The Secretary of Transportation” and inserting “Requirements.—The Secretary”; and
by striking “the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 (96 Stat. 2097) or”;
in subsection (g) by inserting “or within the scope of the applicable finding, determination, or environmental review decision made pursuant to authority granted by the Secretary under section 330, if applicable,” before “regardless of the”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(h) Waiver procedure
“(1) In general—Not later than 120 days after the submission of a request for a waiver, the Secretary shall make a determination under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b) as to whether subsection (a) shall apply.
“(2) Public notification and comment
“(A) In general—Not later than 30 days before making a determination regarding a waiver described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall provide notification and an opportunity for public comment on the request for such waiver.
“(B) Notification requirements—The notification required under subparagraph (A) shall—
“(i) describe whether the application is being made for a determination described in subsection (b)(1); and
“(ii) be provided to the public by electronic means, including on the public website of the Department of Transportation.
“(3) Determination—Before a determination described in paragraph (1) takes effect, the Secretary shall publish a detailed justification for such determination that addresses all public comments received under paragraph (2)—
“(A) on the public website of the Department of Transportation; and
“(B) if the Secretary issues a waiver with respect to such determination, in the Federal Register.
“(i) Review of nationwide waivers
“(1) In general—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this subsection, and at least every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall review any standing nationwide waiver issued by the Secretary under this section to ensure such waiver remains justified.
“(2) Public notification and opportunity for comment
“(A) In general—Not later than 30 days before the completion of a review under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall provide notification and an opportunity for public comment on such review.
“(B) Means of notification—Notification provided under this subparagraph shall be provided by electronic means, including on the public website of the Department of Transportation.
“(3) Detailed justification in Federal Register—After the completion of a review under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a detailed justification for the determination made under paragraph (1) that addresses all public comments received under paragraph (2).
“(4) Consideration—In conducting the review under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider the study on supply chains carried out under section 1112(c) of the INVEST in America Act.
“(j) Report—Not later than 120 days after the last day of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate a report on the waivers provided under subsection (h) during the previous fiscal year and the justifications for such waivers.
“(k) Construction materials defined—In this section, the term construction materials means primary materials, except for iron and steel, that are commonly used in highway construction, as determined by the Secretary.”
Construction materials—
Establishment of requirements—
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was (3)(2)(3)
In general— The Secretary shall issue such regulations as are necessary to implement the amendment made by subsection (a)(1)(D). Such regulations shall ensure the continued availability of construction materials to carry out projects under title 23, United States Code.
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was (3)(2)(4)
Considerations— The regulations issued pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall—
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was (3)(2)(4)(3)
ensure the continued availability of construction materials to carry out projects under title 23, United States Code;
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was (3)(2)(4)(4)
include authority for the Secretary to waive the applicability of the requirement under section 313(a) of title 23, United States Code, to procure domestic construction materials if the study conducted under subsection (c)(1) determines that the domestic supply of construction materials is insufficient to meet the demand for activities covered under section 313 of title 23, United States Code; and
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was (3)(2)(4)(5)
provide for efficient and timely—
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was (3)(2)(4)(5)(2)
project delivery for project sponsors; and
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was (3)(2)(4)(5)(3)
administration for the Secretary.
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was (3)(2)(5)
Final rule— The regulations issued pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall not be finalized until the study under subsection (c) has been completed and considered by the Secretary in the rulemaking process under such subparagraph.
Considerations— The requirements of this section, and the amendments made by this section—
shall seek to maximize jobs located in the United States;
may establish domestic content requirements that are less than 100 percent and that increase over time, based on the current and expected future domestic availability of construction materials; and
shall take into consideration the study conducted under subsection (c), including any potential—
disruption in the supply of construction materials to any State or isolated geographic region; and
impacts on the price of covered items.
Applicability— The amendment made by subsection (a)(1)(D) shall take effect beginning on the date that the Secretary establishes the regulations described under paragraph (1).
Study on supply chains—
In general— The Secretary shall conduct study on covered items that are commonly used or acquired under title 23, United States Code, including—
construction materials;
manufactured products;
vehicles; and
alternative fuel infrastructure and electric vehicle supply equipment.
Considerations— The study under paragraph (1) shall consider—
the current domestic availability of covered items of sufficient and reasonably available quantity and of a satisfactory quality (including any specific impacts in a State or isolated geographic region, as applicable) necessary to meet the demand for activities covered under section 313 of title 23, United States Code;
the current supply chain for covered items including the impacts of extracting, refining, manufacturing, and transporting domestically available covered items;
anticipated impacts to the environment, public health, and safety from transportation of domestically available covered items;
the estimated demand, in relation to total domestic demand from all sources, for covered items from—
procurement under the Federal-aid highway program;
procurement under other programs administered by the Secretary of Transportation; and
other Federal procurement; and
the delivery cost differential of domestic covered items, as compared to non-domestic alternatives, including any specific impacts in a State or isolated geographic region, as applicable.
Inspector general review— Not later than 120 days after the Secretary completes the study in paragraph (1), the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation shall—
review the extent to which the study under paragraph (1) addresses the considerations under paragraph (2); and
submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate a report on the findings of the review under subparagraph (A).
Domestic suppliers— As part of the review under this paragraph, the Secretary may establish and maintain a list of known domestic suppliers of covered items.
Definition of covered item— For the purposes of this section, the term covered item means any material or product (except for iron and steel) subject to the requirements of section 313(a) of title 23, United States Code, that is commonly used in highway construction or procured under the Federal-aid highway program.
Iron and steel— Subsections (b) and (c), shall not affect the requirements under section 635.410(b)(1)(ii) of title 23, Code of Federal Regulations, with respect to iron and steel.
Construction materials defined— In this section, the term “construction materials” has the meaning given such term in section 313 of title 23, United States Code.
SAFETEA–LU Technical Corrections Act of 2008— Section 117 of the SAFETEA–LU Technical Corrections Act of 2008 (23 U.S.C. 313 note) is repealed.
Sec. 9507 Border crossings
Border crossings— The Secretary of Transportation shall require that—
any railroad carrier that is operating a freight train across the southern border into the United States operates the train continually until the last car of the train passes through the scanning facility used for nonintrusive inspection by U.S. Customs and Border Protection located at such border;
when the last car of such train passes through such facility, the railroad carrier shall stop such train to conduct a crew interchange and any federally-mandated safety testing; and
the railroad carrier ensures that the only individuals that operate such trains after carrying out the activities described in paragraph (2) are individuals—
who are United States nationals or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States; and
whose primary reporting point is in the United States.
Funding—
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was (3)(3)
Set-aside— From the amounts made available to carry out section 22907 of title 49, United States Code, the Secretary shall set aside, for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026, $60,000,000 for projects to prevent blocked crossing incidents as a result of operations made necessary by subsection (a). Projects eligible for funding under this paragraph are—
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was (3)(3)(3)
highway-rail grade crossing separation projects eligible under such section that are located not further than 1.5 miles from a scanning facility described in subsection (a)(1); and
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was (3)(3)(4)
projects eligible under such section to relocate a rail line to prevent blocked crossing incidents resulting from trains crossing the southern border.
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was (3)(4)
Unobligated funds— Any funds provided under paragraph (1) that are unobligated at the end of the second fiscal year following the fiscal year in which such funds are set aside may be used for any eligible project under section 22907.
Agreement— The Secretary shall ensure that a recipient of funds made available under subsection (b)(1)(A) has a written agreement with any railroad carrier operating over the infrastructure constructed or improved with such funds that includes a requirement that any such railroad carrier may not operate trains over such infrastructure that, due to the length of the train, are likely to cause blocked crossing incidents.
Rule of construction— Nothing in this section shall be construed as amending any safety regulation of the Federal Railroad Administration or amending or revoking any waivers such Administration has granted under section 20103 of title 49, United States Code.
Definitions— In this section:
Railroad carrier— The term railroad carrier has the meaning given such term in section 20102 of title 49, United States Code.
Southern border— The term southern border means the international border between the United States and Mexico.
Blocked crossing incident— The term blocked crossing incident has the meaning given such term in section 20173 of title 49, United States Code.