This division may be cited as the “Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015”.
Division K — Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015
DIVISION K Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015
TITLE I Department of Transportation
Office of the Secretary
Sec. 101. administrative provisions—office of the secretary of transportation
None of the funds made available in this Act to the Department of Transportation may be obligated for the Office of the Secretary of Transportation to approve assessments or reimbursable agreements pertaining to funds appropriated to the modal administrations in this Act, except for activities underway on the date of enactment of this Act, unless such assessments or agreements have completed the normal reprogramming process for Congressional notification.
Sec. 102.
The Secretary or his designee may engage in activities with States and State legislators to consider proposals related to the reduction of motorcycle fatalities.
Sec. 103.
Notwithstanding section 3324 of title 31, United States Code, in addition to authority provided by section 327 of title 49, United States Code, the Department’s Working Capital Fund is hereby authorized to provide payments in advance to vendors that are necessary to carry out the Federal transit pass transportation fringe benefit program under Executive Order 13150 and section 3049 of Public Law 109–59: Provided, That the Department shall include adequate safeguards in the contract with the vendors to ensure timely and high-quality performance under the contract.
Sec. 104.
The Secretary shall post on the Web site of the Department of Transportation a schedule of all meetings of the Credit Council, including the agenda for each meeting, and require the Credit Council to record the decisions and actions of each meeting.
Federal Aviation Administration
Sec. 110. administrative provisions—federal aviation administration
None of the funds in this Act may be used to compensate in excess of 600 technical staff-years under the federally funded research and development center contract between the Federal Aviation Administration and the Center for Advanced Aviation Systems Development during fiscal year 2015.
Sec. 111.
None of the funds in this Act shall be used to pursue or adopt guidelines or regulations requiring airport sponsors to provide to the Federal Aviation Administration without cost building construction, maintenance, utilities and expenses, or space in airport sponsor-owned buildings for services relating to air traffic control, air navigation, or weather reporting: Provided, That the prohibition of funds in this section does not apply to negotiations between the agency and airport sponsors to achieve agreement on “below-market” rates for these items or to grant assurances that require airport sponsors to provide land without cost to the FAA for air traffic control facilities.
Sec. 112.
The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration may reimburse amounts made available to satisfy 49 U.S.C. 41742(a)(1) from fees credited under 49 U.S.C. 45303 and any amount remaining in such account at the close of that fiscal year may be made available to satisfy section 41742(a)(1) for the subsequent fiscal year.
Sec. 113.
Amounts collected under section 40113(e) of title 49, United States Code, shall be credited to the appropriation current at the time of collection, to be merged with and available for the same purposes of such appropriation.
Sec. 114.
None of the funds in this Act shall be available for paying premium pay under subsection 5546(a) of title 5, United States Code, to any Federal Aviation Administration employee unless such employee actually performed work during the time corresponding to such premium pay.
Sec. 115.
None of the funds in this Act may be obligated or expended for an employee of the Federal Aviation Administration to purchase a store gift card or gift certificate through use of a Government-issued credit card.
Sec. 116.
The Secretary shall apportion to the sponsor of an airport that received scheduled or unscheduled air service from a large certified air carrier (as defined in part 241 of title 14 Code of Federal Regulations, or such other regulations as may be issued by the Secretary under the authority of section 41709) an amount equal to the minimum apportionment specified in 49 U.S.C. 47114(c), if the Secretary determines that airport had more than 10,000 passenger boardings in the preceding calendar year, based on data submitted to the Secretary under part 241 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations.
Sec. 117.
None of the funds in this Act may be obligated or expended for retention bonuses for an employee of the Federal Aviation Administration without the prior written approval of the Assistant Secretary for Administration of the Department of Transportation.
Sec. 118.
Subparagraph (D) of section 47124(b)(3) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking “ benefit.” and inserting “ benefit, with the maximum allowable local cost share capped at 20 percent.”.
Sec. 119.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the funds made available under this Act or any prior Act may be used to implement or to continue to implement any limitation on the ability of any owner or operator of a private aircraft to obtain, upon a request to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, a blocking of that owner’s or operator’s aircraft registration number from any display of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Aircraft Situational Display to Industry data that is made available to the public, except data made available to a Government agency, for the noncommercial flights of that owner or operator.
Sec. 119A.
None of the funds in this Act shall be available for salaries and expenses of more than 9 political and Presidential appointees in the Federal Aviation Administration.
Sec. 119B.
None of the funds made available under this Act may be used to increase fees pursuant to section 44721 of title 49, United States Code, until the FAA provides to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations a report that justifies all fees related to aeronautical navigation products and explains how such fees are consistent with Executive Order 13642.
Sec. 119C.
None of the funds appropriated or limited by this Act may be used to change weight restrictions or prior permission rules at Teterboro airport in Teterboro, New Jersey.
Sec. 119D.
None of the funds in this Act may be used to close a regional operations center of the Federal Aviation Administration or reduce its services unless the Administrator notifies the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations not less than 90 full business days in advance.
Sec. 119E.
Section 916 of Public Law 112–95 is amended by striking “ Advanced Materials in Transport Aircraft” and inserting “ Joint Advanced Materials and Structures”.
Sec. 119F.
Subsection 47109(c)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding before the period “ , except that at a primary non-hub airport located in a State as set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection that is within 15 miles of another State as set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Government’s share shall be an average of the Government share applicable to any project in each of the States”.
Federal Highway Administration
Sec. 120. administrative provisions—federal highway administration
For fiscal year 2015, the Secretary of Transportation shall—
not distribute from the obligation limitation for Federal-aid Highways—
amounts authorized for administrative expenses and programs by section 104(a) of title 23, United States Code; and
amounts authorized for the Bureau of Transportation Statistics;
not distribute an amount from the obligation limitation for Federal-aid Highways that is equal to the unobligated balance of amounts—
made available from the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) for Federal-aid Highways and highway safety construction programs for previous fiscal years the funds for which are allocated by the Secretary (or apportioned by the Secretary under section 202 or 204 of title 23, United States Code); and
for which obligation limitation was provided in a previous fiscal year;
determine the proportion that—
the obligation limitation for Federal-aid Highways, less the aggregate of amounts not distributed under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection; bears to
the total of the sums authorized to be appropriated for the Federal-aid Highways and highway safety construction programs (other than sums authorized to be appropriated for provisions of law described in paragraphs (1) through (12) of subsection (b) and sums authorized to be appropriated for section 119 of title 23, United States Code, equal to the amount referred to in subsection (b)(13) for such fiscal year), less the aggregate of the amounts not distributed under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection;
distribute the obligation limitation for Federal-aid Highways, less the aggregate amounts not distributed under paragraphs (1) and (2), for each of the programs (other than programs to which paragraph (1) applies) that are allocated by the Secretary under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act and title 23, United States Code, or apportioned by the Secretary under sections 202 or 204 of that title, by multiplying—
the proportion determined under paragraph (3); by
the amounts authorized to be appropriated for each such program for such fiscal year; and
distribute the obligation limitation for Federal-aid Highways, less the aggregate amounts not distributed under paragraphs (1) and (2) and the amounts distributed under paragraph (4), for Federal-aid Highways and highway safety construction programs that are apportioned by the Secretary under title 23, United States Code (other than the amounts apportioned for the National Highway Performance Program in section 119 of title 23, United States Code, that are exempt from the limitation under subsection (b)(13) and the amounts apportioned under sections 202 and 204 of that title) in the proportion that—
amounts authorized to be appropriated for the programs that are apportioned under title 23, United States Code, to each State for such fiscal year; bears to
the total of the amounts authorized to be appropriated for the programs that are apportioned under title 23, United States Code, to all States for such fiscal year.
Exceptions From Obligation Limitation.— The obligation limitation for Federal-aid Highways shall not apply to obligations under or for—
section 147 of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1978 (23 U.S.C. 144 note; 92 Stat. 2714);
section 9 of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1981 (95 Stat. 1701);
subsections (b) and (j) of section 131 of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 (96 Stat. 2119);
subsections (b) and (c) of section 149 of the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987 (101 Stat. 198);
sections 1103 through 1108 of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (105 Stat. 2027);
section 157 of title 23, United States Code (as in effect on June 8, 1998);
section 105 of title 23, United States Code (as in effect for fiscal years 1998 through 2004, but only in an amount equal to $639,000,000 for each of those fiscal years);
Federal-aid Highways programs for which obligation authority was made available under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (112 Stat. 107) or subsequent Acts for multiple years or to remain available until expended, but only to the extent that the obligation authority has not lapsed or been used;
section 105 of title 23, United States Code (as in effect for fiscal years 2005 through 2012, but only in an amount equal to $639,000,000 for each of those fiscal years);
section 1603 of SAFETEA–LU (23 U.S.C. 118 note; 119 Stat. 1248), to the extent that funds obligated in accordance with that section were not subject to a limitation on obligations at the time at which the funds were initially made available for obligation; and
section 119 of title 23, United States Code (as in effect for fiscal years 2013 and 2014, but only in an amount equal to $639,000,000 for each of those fiscal years); and
section 119 of title 23, United States Code (but, for fiscal year 2015, only in an amount equal to $639,000,000).
Redistribution of Unused Obligation Authority.— Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Secretary shall, after August 1 of such fiscal year—
revise a distribution of the obligation limitation made available under subsection (a) if an amount distributed cannot be obligated during that fiscal year; and
redistribute sufficient amounts to those States able to obligate amounts in addition to those previously distributed during that fiscal year, giving priority to those States having large unobligated balances of funds apportioned under sections 144 (as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of Public Law 112–141) and 104 of title 23, United States Code.
Applicability of Obligation Limitations to Transportation Research Programs.—
In general.— Except as provided in paragraph (2), the obligation limitation for Federal-aid Highways shall apply to contract authority for transportation research programs carried out under—
chapter 5 of title 23, United States Code; and
division E of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act.
Exception.— Obligation authority made available under paragraph (1) shall—
remain available for a period of 4 fiscal years; and
be in addition to the amount of any limitation imposed on obligations for Federal-aid Highways and highway safety construction programs for future fiscal years.
Redistribution of Certain Authorized Funds.—
In general.— Not later than 30 days after the date of distribution of obligation limitation under subsection (a), the Secretary shall distribute to the States any funds (excluding funds authorized for the program under section 202 of title 23, United States Code) that—
are authorized to be appropriated for such fiscal year for Federal-aid Highways programs; and
the Secretary determines will not be allocated to the States (or will not be apportioned to the States under section 204 of title 23, United States Code), and will not be available for obligation, for such fiscal year because of the imposition of any obligation limitation for such fiscal year.
Ratio.— Funds shall be distributed under paragraph (1) in the same proportion as the distribution of obligation authority under subsection (a)(5).
Availability.— Funds distributed to each State under paragraph (1) shall be available for any purpose described in section 133(b) of title 23, United States Code.
Sec. 121.
Notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302, funds received by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics from the sale of data products, for necessary expenses incurred pursuant to chapter 63 of title 49, United States Code, may be credited to the Federal-aid Highways account for the purpose of reimbursing the Bureau for such expenses: Provided, That such funds shall be subject to the obligation limitation for Federal-aid Highways and highway safety construction programs.
Sec. 122.
Not less than 15 days prior to waiving, under his or her statutory authority, any Buy America requirement for Federal-aid Highways projects, the Secretary of Transportation shall make an informal public notice and comment opportunity on the intent to issue such waiver and the reasons therefor: Provided, That the Secretary shall provide an annual report to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations on any waivers granted under the Buy America requirements.
Sec. 123.
In General.— Except as provided in subsection (b), none of the funds made available, limited, or otherwise affected by this Act shall be used to approve or otherwise authorize the imposition of any toll on any segment of highway located on the Federal-aid system in the State of Texas that—
as of the date of enactment of this Act, is not tolled;
is constructed with Federal assistance provided under title 23, United States Code; and
is in actual operation as of the date of enactment of this Act.
Exceptions.—
Number of toll lanes.— Subsection (a) shall not apply to any segment of highway on the Federal-aid system described in that subsection that, as of the date on which a toll is imposed on the segment, will have the same number of nontoll lanes as were in existence prior to that date.
High-occupancy vehicle lanes.— A high-occupancy vehicle lane that is converted to a toll lane shall not be subject to this section, and shall not be considered to be a nontoll lane for purposes of determining whether a highway will have fewer nontoll lanes than prior to the date of imposition of the toll, if—
high-occupancy vehicles occupied by the number of passengers specified by the entity operating the toll lane may use the toll lane without paying a toll, unless otherwise specified by the appropriate county, town, municipal or other local government entity, or public toll road or transit authority; or
each high-occupancy vehicle lane that was converted to a toll lane was constructed as a temporary lane to be replaced by a toll lane under a plan approved by the appropriate county, town, municipal or other local government entity, or public toll road or transit authority.
Sec. 124.
None of the funds in this Act to the Department of Transportation may be used to provide credit assistance unless not less than 3 days before any application approval to provide credit assistance under sections 603 and 604 of title 23, United States Code, the Secretary of Transportation provides notification in writing to the following committees: the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations; the Committee on Environment and Public Works and the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs of the Senate; and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives: Provided, That such notification shall include, but not be limited to, the name of the project sponsor; a description of the project; whether credit assistance will be provided as a direct loan, loan guarantee, or line of credit; and the amount of credit assistance.
Sec. 125.
Section 127 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(j) Operation of Vehicles on Certain Other Wisconsin Highways.—If any segment of the United States Route 41 corridor, as described in section 1105(c)(57) of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, is designated as a route on the Interstate System, a vehicle that could operate legally on that segment before the date of such designation may continue to operate on that segment, without regard to any requirement under subsection (a).
“(k) Operation of Vehicles on Certain Mississippi Highways.—If any segment of United States Route 78 in Mississippi from mile marker 0 to mile marker 113 is designated as part of the Interstate System, no limit established under this section may apply to that segment with respect to the operation of any vehicle that could have legally operated on that segment before such designation.
“(l) Operation of Vehicles on Certain Kentucky Highways.—
“(1) In general.—If any segment of highway described in paragraph (2) is designated as a route on the Interstate System, a vehicle that could operate legally on that segment before the date of such designation may continue to operate on that segment, without regard to any requirement under subsection (a).
“(2) Description of highway segments.—The highway segments referred to in paragraph (1) are as follows:
“(A) Interstate Route 69 in Kentucky (formerly the Wendell H. Ford (Western Kentucky) Parkway) from the Interstate Route 24 Interchange, near Eddyville, to the Edward T. Breathitt (Pennyrile) Parkway Interchange.
“(B) The Edward T. Breathitt (Pennyrile) Parkway (to be designated as Interstate Route 69) in Kentucky from the Wendell H. Ford (Western Kentucky) Parkway Interchange to near milepost 77, and on new alignment to an interchange on the Audubon Parkway, if the segment is designated as part of the Interstate System.”
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Sec. 130. administrative provisions—federal motor carrier safety administration
Funds appropriated or limited in this Act shall be subject to the terms and conditions stipulated in section 350 of Public Law 107–87 and section 6901 of Public Law 110–28.
Sec. 131.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shall send notice of 49 CFR section 385.308 violations by certified mail, registered mail, or another manner of delivery, which records the receipt of the notice by the persons responsible for the violations.
Sec. 132.
None of the funds limited or otherwise made available under this Act shall be used by the Secretary to enforce any regulation prohibiting a State from issuing a commercial learner’s permit to individuals under the age of eighteen if the State had a law authorizing the issuance of commercial learner’s permits to individuals under eighteen years of age as of May 9, 2011.
Sec. 133.
Temporary Suspension of Enforcement.— None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act or any other Act shall be used to enforce sections 395.3(c) and 395.3(d) of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, and such sections shall have no force or effect from the date of enactment of this Act until the later of September 30, 2015, or upon submission of the final report issued by the Secretary under this section. The restart provisions in effect on June 30, 2013, shall be in effect during this period.
Public Notification.— As soon as possible after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall publish a Notice in the Federal Register and on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration website announcing that the provisions in the rule referred to in subsection (a) shall have no force or effect from the date of enactment of this Act through September 30, 2015, and the restart rule in effect on June 30, 2013, shall immediately be in effect.
Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Driver Restart Study.— Within 90 days of the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall initiate a naturalistic study of the operational, safety, health and fatigue impacts of the restart provisions in sections 395.3(c) and 395.3(d) of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, on commercial motor vehicle drivers. The study required under this subsection shall—
compare the work schedules and assess operator fatigue between the following two groups of commercial motor vehicle drivers, each large enough to produce statistically significant results:
commercial motor vehicle drivers who operate under such provisions, in effect between July 1, 2013, and the day before the date of enactment of this Act, and
commercial motor vehicle drivers who operate under the provisions in effect on June 30, 2013.
compare, at a minimum, the 5-month work schedules, and assess safety critical events (crashes, near crashes and crash-relevant conflicts) and operator fatigue between the commercial motor vehicle drivers identified under subsection (c)(1) of this section from a statistically significant sample of drivers comprised of fleets of all sizes, including long-haul, regional and short-haul operations in various sectors of the industry, including flat-bed, refrigerated, tank, and dry-van, to the extent practicable;
assess drivers’ safety critical events, fatigue and levels of alertness, and driver health outcomes by using both electronic and captured record of duty status, including the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT), e-logging data, actigraph watches and cameras or other on-board monitoring systems that record or measure safety critical events and driver alertness;
utilize data from electronic logging devices, consistent to the extent practicable, with the anticipated requirements for such devices in section 31137(b) of title 49, United States Code, from motor carriers and drivers of commercial motor vehicles, notwithstanding any limitation on the use of such data under section 31137(e) of title 49, United States Code; and
include the development of an initial study plan and final report, each of which shall be subject to an independent peer review by a panel of individuals with relevant medical and scientific expertise.
Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General Review.— Prior to the study required under this subsection commencing and within 60 days of the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a plan outlining the scope and methodology for the study to the Department of Transportation Inspector General.
Within 30 days of receiving the plan, the Office of Inspector General shall review and report whether it includes—
a sufficient number of participating drivers to produce statistically significant results consistent with subsection (c)(2);
the use of reliable technologies to assess the operational, safety and fatigue components of the study to produce consistent and valid results;
appropriate performance measures to properly evaluate the study outcomes; and
an appropriate selection of the independent review panel under subsection (c)(5).
The Office of Inspector General shall report its findings, conclusions and any recommendations to the Secretary and to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations within 30 days of receipt of the plan.
Reporting Requirements.— The Secretary shall submit a final report on the findings and conclusions of the study and the Department’s recommendations on whether the provisions in effect on July 1, 2013, provide a greater net benefit for the operational, safety, health and fatigue impacts of the restart provisions to the Inspector General within 210 days of receiving the Office of the Inspector General report required in subsection (d)(2).
Within 60 days of receipt of the Secretary’s findings and recommendations in subsection (e), the Inspector General shall report to the Secretary and the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations on the study’s compliance with the requirements outlined under subsection (c).
Upon submission of the Office of the Inspector General report in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit its report to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations and make the report publically available on its website.
Certification.— The Secretary of Transportation shall certify in writing in a manner addressing the Inspector General’s findings and recommendations in subsection (d)(1) and (e)(1) of this section that the Secretary has met the requirements as described in section (c) and (d).
Paperwork Reduction Act Exception.— The study and the Office of the Inspector General reviews shall not be subject to section 3506 or 3507 of title 44, United States Code.
Sec. 134.
None of the funds limited or otherwise made available under the heading “Motor Carrier Safety Operations and Programs” may be used to deny an application to renew a Hazardous Materials Safety Program permit for a motor carrier based on that carrier’s Hazardous Materials Out-of-Service rate, unless the carrier has the opportunity to submit a written description of corrective actions taken, and other documentation the carrier wishes the Secretary to consider, including submitting a corrective action plan, and the Secretary determines the actions or plan is insufficient to address the safety concerns that resulted in that Hazardous Materials Out-of-Service rate.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Sec. 140. administrative provisions—national highway traffic safety administration
An additional $130,000 shall be made available to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, out of the amount limited for section 402 of title 23, United States Code, to pay for travel and related expenses for State management reviews and to pay for core competency development training and related expenses for highway safety staff.
Sec. 141.
The limitations on obligations for the programs of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration set in this Act shall not apply to obligations for which obligation authority was made available in previous public laws but only to the extent that the obligation authority has not lapsed or been used.
Sec. 142.
None of the funds in this Act shall be used to implement section 404 of title 23, United States Code.
Federal Railroad Administration
Sec. 150. administrative provisions—federal railroad administration
The Secretary of Transportation may receive and expend cash, or receive and utilize spare parts and similar items, from non-United States Government sources to repair damages to or replace United States Government owned automated track inspection cars and equipment as a result of third-party liability for such damages, and any amounts collected under this section shall be credited directly to the Safety and Operations account of the Federal Railroad Administration, and shall remain available until expended for the repair, operation and maintenance of automated track inspection cars and equipment in connection with the automated track inspection program.
Sec. 151.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation, the Secretary of Transportation is authorized to allow the issuer of any preferred stock heretofore sold to the Department to redeem or repurchase such stock upon the payment to the Department of an amount to be determined by the Secretary.
Sec. 152.
None of the funds provided to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation may be used to fund any overtime costs in excess of $35,000 for any individual employee: Provided, That the President of Amtrak may waive the cap set in the previous proviso for specific employees when the President of Amtrak determines such a cap poses a risk to the safety and operational efficiency of the system: Provided further, That the President of Amtrak shall report to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations each quarter of the calendar year on waivers granted to employees and amounts paid above the cap for each month within such quarter and delineate the reasons each waiver was granted: Provided further, That the President of Amtrak shall report to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations by March 1, 2015, a summary of all overtime payments incurred by the Corporation for 2014 and the three prior calendar years: Provided further, That such summary shall include the total number of employees that received waivers and the total overtime payments the Corporation paid to those employees receiving waivers for each month for 2014 and for the three prior calendar years.
Sec. 153.
For an additional amount, $10,000,000 shall be made available until expended for the Secretary to make grants for grade crossing and track improvements on rail routes that transport energy products.
Federal Transit Administration
Sec. 160. administrative provisions—federal transit administration
The limitations on obligations for the programs of the Federal Transit Administration shall not apply to any authority under 49 U.S.C. 5338, previously made available for obligation, or to any other authority previously made available for obligation.
Sec. 161.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds appropriated or limited by this Act under the heading “Fixed Guideway Capital Investment” of the Federal Transit Administration for projects specified in this Act or identified in reports accompanying this Act not obligated by September 30, 2019, and other recoveries, shall be directed to projects eligible to use the funds for the purposes for which they were originally provided.
Sec. 162.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any funds appropriated before October 1, 2014, under any section of chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code, that remain available for expenditure, may be transferred to and administered under the most recent appropriation heading for any such section.
Sec. 163.
The Secretary may not enforce regulations related to charter bus service under part 604 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, for any transit agency that during fiscal year 2008 was both initially granted a 60-day period to come into compliance with part 604, and then was subsequently granted an exception from said part.
Sec. 164.
For purposes of applying the project justification and local financial commitment criteria of 49 U.S.C. 5309(d) to a New Starts project, the Secretary may consider the costs and ridership of any connected project in an instance in which private parties are making significant financial contributions to the construction of the connected project; additionally, the Secretary may consider the significant financial contributions of private parties to the connected project in calculating the non-Federal share of net capital project costs for the New Starts project.
Sec. 165.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the funds made available in this Act shall be used to enter into a full funding grant agreement for a project with a New Starts share greater than 60 percent.
Sec. 166.
None of the funds in this or any other Act may be available to advance in any way a new light or heavy rail project towards a full funding grant agreement as defined by 49 U.S.C. 5309 for the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas if the proposed capital project is constructed on or planned to be constructed on Richmond Avenue west of South Shepherd Drive or on Post Oak Boulevard north of Richmond Avenue in Houston, Texas.
Sec. 167.
In developing guidance implementing 49 U.S.C. 5309(i) Program of Interrelated Projects, the Secretary shall consider projects eligible under section 5309(h) Small Starts Projects, including streetcars.
Sec. 168.
Of the unobligated balance of amounts made available for fiscal year 2011 or prior fiscal years to carry out the discretionary bus and bus facilities program under 49 U.S.C. 5309, $27,989,839 shall be used for new bus rapid transit projects recommended, in the President’s fiscal year 2015 budget request, to be funded under the heading “Department of Transportation-Federal Transit Administration-Capital Investment Grants”: Provided, That all such projects shall remain subject to the requirements of 49 U.S.C. 5309 for New Starts, Small Starts, or Core Capacity projects, as applicable, under the Capital Investment Grants Program: Provided further, That such funds shall be in addition to the amounts otherwise made available by this Act for “Department of Transportation-Federal Transit Administration-Capital Investment Grants”.
Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation
The Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation is hereby authorized to make such expenditures, within the limits of funds and borrowing authority available to the Corporation, and in accord with law, and to make such contracts and commitments without regard to fiscal year limitations as provided by section 104 of the Government Corporation Control Act, as amended, as may be necessary in carrying out the programs set forth in the Corporation’s budget for the current fiscal year.
Maritime Administration
Sec. 170. administrative provisions—maritime administration
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Maritime Administration is authorized to furnish utilities and services and make necessary repairs in connection with any lease, contract, or occupancy involving Government property under control of the Maritime Administration: Provided, That payments received therefor shall be credited to the appropriation charged with the cost thereof and shall remain available until expended: Provided further, That rental payments under any such lease, contract, or occupancy for items other than such utilities, services, or repairs shall be covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.
Sec. 171.
None of the funds available or appropriated in this Act shall be used by the United States Department of Transportation or the United States Maritime Administration to negotiate or otherwise execute, enter into, facilitate or perform fee-for-service contracts for vessel disposal, scrapping or recycling, unless there is no qualified domestic ship recycler that will pay any sum of money to purchase and scrap or recycle a vessel owned, operated or managed by the Maritime Administration or that is part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet: Provided, That such sales offers must be consistent with the solicitation and provide that the work will be performed in a timely manner at a facility qualified within the meaning of section 3502 of Public Law 106–398: Provided further, That nothing contained herein shall affect the Maritime Administration’s authority to award contracts at least cost to the Federal Government and consistent with the requirements of 16 U.S.C. 5405(c), section 3502, or otherwise authorized under the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
Office of Inspector General
Surface Transportation Board
General Provisions—Department of Transportation
This title may be cited as the “Department of Transportation Appropriations Act, 2015”.
TITLE II Department of Housing and Urban Development
Management and Administration
Program Office Salaries and Expenses
Public and Indian Housing
Community Planning and Development
Housing Programs
Federal Housing Administration
Government National Mortgage Association
Policy Development and Research
Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes
Information Technology Fund
For the development of, modifications to, and infrastructure for Department-wide and program-specific information technology systems, for the continuing operation and maintenance of both Department-wide and program-specific information systems, and for program-related maintenance activities, $250,000,000, which shall remain available until September 30, 2016: Provided, That any amounts transferred to this Fund under this Act shall remain available until expended: Provided further, That any amounts transferred to this Fund from amounts appropriated by previously enacted appropriations Acts may be used for the purposes specified under this Fund, in addition to any other information technology purposes for which such amounts were appropriated.
Office of Inspector General
For necessary salaries and expenses of the Office of Inspector General in carrying out the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, $126,000,000: Provided, That the Inspector General shall have independent authority over all personnel issues within this office.
General Provisions—Department of Housing and Urban Development
This title may be cited as the “Department of Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2015”.
TITLE III Related Agencies
Access Board
Federal Maritime Commission
National Railroad Passenger Corporation
National Transportation Safety Board
Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness
TITLE IV General Provisions—this Act
Sec. 401.
None of the funds in this Act shall be used for the planning or execution of any program to pay the expenses of, or otherwise compensate, non-Federal parties intervening in regulatory or adjudicatory proceedings funded in this Act.
Sec. 402.
None of the funds appropriated in this Act shall remain available for obligation beyond the current fiscal year, nor may any be transferred to other appropriations, unless expressly so provided herein.
Sec. 403.
The expenditure of any appropriation under this Act for any consulting service through a procurement contract pursuant to section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, shall be limited to those contracts where such expenditures are a matter of public record and available for public inspection, except where otherwise provided under existing law, or under existing Executive order issued pursuant to existing law.
Sec. 404.
None of the funds made available in this Act may be obligated or expended for any employee training that—
does not meet identified needs for knowledge, skills, and abilities bearing directly upon the performance of official duties;
contains elements likely to induce high levels of emotional response or psychological stress in some participants;
does not require prior employee notification of the content and methods to be used in the training and written end of course evaluation;
contains any methods or content associated with religious or quasi-religious belief systems or “new age” belief systems as defined in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Notice N–915.022, dated September 2, 1988; or
is offensive to, or designed to change, participants’ personal values or lifestyle outside the workplace.
Nothing in this section shall prohibit, restrict, or otherwise preclude an agency from conducting training bearing directly upon the performance of official duties.
Sec. 405.
Except as otherwise provided in this Act, none of the funds provided in this Act, provided by previous appropriations Acts to the agencies or entities funded in this Act that remain available for obligation or expenditure in fiscal year 2015, or provided from any accounts in the Treasury derived by the collection of fees and available to the agencies funded by this Act, shall be available for obligation or expenditure through a reprogramming of funds that:
creates a new program;
eliminates a program, project, or activity;
increases funds or personnel for any program, project, or activity for which funds have been denied or restricted by the Congress;
proposes to use funds directed for a specific activity by either the House or Senate Committees on Appropriations for a different purpose;
augments existing programs, projects, or activities in excess of $5,000,000 or 10 percent, whichever is less;
reduces existing programs, projects, or activities by $5,000,000 or 10 percent, whichever is less; or
creates, reorganizes, or restructures a branch, division, office, bureau, board, commission, agency, administration, or department different from the budget justifications submitted to the Committees on Appropriations or the table accompanying the explanatory statement accompanying this Act, whichever is more detailed, unless prior approval is received from the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations: Provided, That not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, each agency funded by this Act shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and of the House of Representatives to establish the baseline for application of reprogramming and transfer authorities for the current fiscal year: Provided further, That the report shall include:
a table for each appropriation with a separate column to display the prior year enacted level, the President’s budget request, adjustments made by Congress, adjustments due to enacted rescissions, if appropriate, and the fiscal year enacted level;
a delineation in the table for each appropriation and its respective prior year enacted level by object class and program, project, and activity as detailed in the budget appendix for the respective appropriation; and
an identification of items of special congressional interest: Provided further, That the amount appropriated or limited for salaries and expenses for an agency shall be reduced by $100,000 per day for each day after the required date that the report has not been submitted to the Congress.
Sec. 406.
Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, not to exceed 50 percent of unobligated balances remaining available at the end of fiscal year 2015 from appropriations made available for salaries and expenses for fiscal year 2015 in this Act, shall remain available through September 30, 2016, for each such account for the purposes authorized: Provided, That a request shall be submitted to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations for approval prior to the expenditure of such funds: Provided further, That these requests shall be made in compliance with reprogramming guidelines under section 405 of this Act.
Sec. 407.
No funds in this Act may be used to support any Federal, State, or local projects that seek to use the power of eminent domain, unless eminent domain is employed only for a public use: Provided, That for purposes of this section, public use shall not be construed to include economic development that primarily benefits private entities: Provided further, That any use of funds for mass transit, railroad, airport, seaport or highway projects, as well as utility projects which benefit or serve the general public (including energy-related, communication-related, water-related and wastewater-related infrastructure), other structures designated for use by the general public or which have other common-carrier or public-utility functions that serve the general public and are subject to regulation and oversight by the government, and projects for the removal of an immediate threat to public health and safety or brownsfields as defined in the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownsfield Revitalization Act (Public Law 107–118) shall be considered a public use for purposes of eminent domain.
Sec. 408.
All Federal agencies and departments that are funded under this Act shall issue a report to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations on all sole-source contracts by no later than July 30, 2015. Such report shall include the contractor, the amount of the contract and the rationale for using a sole-source contract.
Sec. 409.
None of the funds made available in this Act may be transferred to any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government, except pursuant to a transfer made by, or transfer authority provided in, this Act or any other appropriations Act.
Sec. 410.
No part of any appropriation contained in this Act shall be available to pay the salary for any person filling a position, other than a temporary position, formerly held by an employee who has left to enter the Armed Forces of the United States and has satisfactorily completed his or her period of active military or naval service, and has within 90 days after his or her release from such service or from hospitalization continuing after discharge for a period of not more than 1 year, made application for restoration to his or her former position and has been certified by the Office of Personnel Management as still qualified to perform the duties of his or her former position and has not been restored thereto.
Sec. 411.
No funds appropriated pursuant to this Act may be expended by an entity unless the entity agrees that in expending the assistance the entity will comply with sections 2 through 4 of the Act of March 3, 1933 (41 U.S.C. 10a–10c, popularly known as the “Buy American Act”).
Sec. 412.
No funds appropriated or otherwise made available under this Act shall be made available to any person or entity that has been convicted of violating the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. 10a–10c).
Sec. 413.
None of the funds made available in this Act may be used for first-class airline accommodations in contravention of sections 301–10.122 and 301–10.123 of title 41, Code of Federal Regulations.
Sec. 414.
None of the funds made available by this Act may be used in contravention of the 5th or 14th Amendment to the Constitution or title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Sec. 415.
None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to approve a new foreign air carrier permit under sections 41301 through 41305 of title 49, United States Code, or exemption application under section 40109 of that title of an air carrier already holding an air operators certificate issued by a country that is party to the U.S.–E.U.–Iceland–Norway Air Transport Agreement where such approval would contravene United States law or Article 17 bis of the U.S.–E.U.–Iceland–Norway Air Transport Agreement.
Nothing in this section shall prohibit, restrict or otherwise preclude the Secretary of Transportation from granting a foreign air carrier permit or an exemption to such an air carrier where such authorization is consistent with the U.S.-E.U.-Iceland-Norway Air Transport Agreement and United States law.
Sec. 416.
None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to obligate or award funds for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s National Roadside Survey.
Sec. 417.
None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to mandate global positioning system (GPS) tracking in private passenger motor vehicles without providing full and appropriate consideration of privacy concerns under 5 U.S.C. chapter 5, subchapter II.
Sec. 418.
None of the funds made available in this Act may be used by the Federal Transit Administration to implement, administer, or enforce section 18.36(c)(2) of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, for construction hiring purposes.
Sec. 419.
None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to lease or purchase new light duty vehicles for any executive fleet, or for an agency’s fleet inventory, except in accordance with Presidential Memorandum—Federal Fleet Performance, dated May 24, 2011.
Sec. 420.
It is the sense of the Congress that the Congress should not pass any legislation that authorizes spending cuts that would increase poverty in the United States.
Sec. 421.
All agencies and departments funded by the Act shall send to Congress at the end of the fiscal year a report containing a complete inventory of the total number of vehicles owned, leased, permanently retired, and purchased during fiscal year 2015, as well as the total cost of the vehicle fleet, including maintenance, fuel, storage, purchasing, and leasing.
Sec. 422.
None of the funds made available in this Act may be used to send or otherwise pay for the attendance of more than 50 employees of a single agency or department of the United States Government, who are stationed in the United States, at any single international conference unless the relevant Secretary reports to the Committees on Appropriations at least 5 days in advance that such attendance is important to the national interest: Provided, That for purposes of this section the term “international conference” shall mean a conference occurring outside of the United States attended by representatives of the United States Government and of foreign governments, international organizations, or nongovernmental organizations.
Sec. 423.
Any agency receiving funds made available in this Act, shall, subject to subsections (b) and (c), post on the public website of that agency any report required to be submitted by the Committee in this or any other Act, upon the determination by the head of the agency that it shall serve the national interest.
Subsection (a) shall not apply to a report if--
the public posting of the report compromises national security; or
the report contains proprietary information.
The head of the agency posting such report shall do so only after such report has been made available to the requesting Committee or Committees of Congress for no less than 45 days.
Sec. 424.
Any Federal agency or department that is funded under this Act shall respond to any recommendation made to such agency or department by the Government Accountability Office in a timely manner.