328. Transportation Systems Center working capital fund.

329. Transportation information.

330. Research contracts.

331. Service, supplies, and facilities at remote places.

332. Minority Resource Center.

333. Responsibility for rail transportation unification and coordination projects. 334. Limit on aviation charges.

335. Authorization of appropriations.

SUBCHAPTER I-DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY OF
TRANSPORTATION

Sec. 301. Leadership, consultation, and cooperation.

The Secretary of Transportation shall

(1) under the direction of the President, exercise leadership in transportation matters, including those matters affecting national defense and those matters involving national or regional emergencies;

(2) provide leadership in the development of transportation policies and programs, and make recommendations to the President and Congress for their consideration and implementation;

(3) promote and undertake the development, collection, and dissemination of technological, statistical, economic, and other information relevant to domestic and international transportation;

(4) consult and cooperate with the Secretary of Labor in compiling information regarding the status of labor-management contracts and other labor-management problems and in promoting industrial harmony and stable employment conditions in all modes of transportation;

(5) promote and undertake research and development related to transportation, including noise abatement, with particular attention to aircraft noise;

(6) consult with the heads of other departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States Government on the transportation requirements of the Government, including encouraging them to establish and observe policies consistent with maintaining a coordinated transportation system in procuring transportation or in operating their own transport services; and

(7) consult and cooperate with State and local governments, carriers, labor, and other interested persons, including, when appropriate, holding informal public hearings.

Sec. 302. Policy standards for transportation.

(a) The Secretary of Transportation is governed by the transportation policy of sections 10101 and 10101a of this title in addition to other laws.

(b) Subtitle I and chapter 31 of subtitle II of this title and the Department of Transportation Act (49 U.S.C. 1651 et seq.) do not

authorize, without appropriate action by Congress, the adoption, revision, or implementation of a transportation policy or investment standards or criteria.

(c) The Secretary shall consider the needs

(1) for effectiveness and safety in transportation systems; and (2) of national defense.

Sec. 303. Policy on lands, wildlife and waterfowl refuges, and historic sites.

(a) It is the policy of the United States Government that special effort should be made to preserve the natural beauty of the countryside and public park and recreation lands, wildlife and waterfowl refuges, and historic sites.

(b) The Secretary of Transportation shall cooperate and consult with the Secretaries of the Interior, Housing and Urban Development, and Agriculture, and with the States, in developing transportation plans and programs that include measures to maintain or enhance the natural beauty of lands crossed by transportation activities or facilities.

(c) The Secretary may approve a transportation program or project requiring the use of publicly owned land of a public park, recreation area, or wildlife and waterfowl refuge of national, State, or local significance, or land of an historic site of national, State, or local significance (as determined by the Federal, State, or local officials having jurisdiction over the park, area, refuge, or site) only if—

(1) there is no prudent and feasible alternative to using that land; and

(2) the program or project includes all possible planning to minimize harm to the park, recreation area, wildlife and waterfowl refuge, or historic site resulting from the use.

Sec. 304. Joint activities with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

(a) The Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall

(1) consult and exchange information about their respective transportation policies and activities;

(2) carry out joint planning, research, and other activities;

(3) coordinate assistance for local transportation projects; and (4) jointly study methods by which policies and programs of the United States Government can ensure that urban transportation systems most effectively serve both transportation needs of the United States and the comprehensively planned development of

urban areas.

(b) The Secretaries shall report on April 1 of each year to the President, for submission to Congress, on their studies and other activities under this section, including legislative recommendations they consider desirable.

Sec. 305. Transportation investment standards and criteria.

(a) Subject to sections 301-304 of this title, the Secretary of Transportation shall develop standards and criteria to formulate and economically evaluate all proposals for investing amounts of the United States Government in transportation facilities and equipment. Based on experience, the Secretary shall revise the standards and criteria. When approved by Congress, the Secretary shall prescribe standards and criteria developed or revised under this subsection. This subsection does not apply to

(1) the acquisition of transportation facilities or equipment by a department, agency, or instrumentality of the Government to provide transportation for its use;

(2) an inter-oceanic canal located outside the 48 contiguous States;

(3) defense features included at the direction of the Department of Defense in designing and constructing civil air, sea, or land transportation;

(4) foreign assistance programs;

(5) water resources projects; or

(6) grant-in-aid programs authorized by law.

(b) A department, agency, or instrumentality of the Government preparing a survey, plan, or report that includes a proposal about which the Secretary has prescribed standards and criteria under subsection (a) of this section shall—

(1) prepare the survey, plan, or report under those standards and criteria and on the basis of information provided by the Secretary on the

(A) projected growth of transportation needs and traffic in the affected area;

(B) the relative efficiency of various modes of transportation;

(C) the available transportation services in the area; and (D) the general effect of the proposed investment on existing modes of transportation and on the regional and national

economy;

(2) coordinate the survey, plan, or report—

(A) with the Secretary and include the views and comments of the Secretary; and

(B) as appropriate, with other departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Government, States, and local governments, and include their views and comments; and

(3) send the survey, plan, or report to the President for disposition under law and procedure established by the President.

Sec. 306. Prohibited discrimination.

(a) In this section, "financial assistance" includes obligation guaran

tees.

(b) A person in the United States may not be excluded from participating in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under, a project, program, or activity because of race, color, national origin, or sex when any part of the project, program, or activity is financed through financial assistance under section 332 of this title, section 211 or 216 of the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973 (45 U.S.C. 721, 726), title V or VII of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 821 et seq., 851 et seq.), or section 4(i) or 5 of the Department of Transportation Act (49 U.S.C. 1653(i), 1654).

(c) When the Secretary of Transportation decides that a person receiving financial assistance under a law referred to in subsection (b) of this section has not complied with that subsection, a Federal civil rights law, or an order or regulation issued under a Federal civil rights law, the Secretary shall notify the person of the decision and require the person to take necessary action to ensure compliance with that subsection.

(d) If a person does not comply with subsection (b) of this section within a reasonable time after receiving a notice under subsection (c) of this section, the Secretary shall take at least one of the following actions:

(1) direct that no more Federal financial assistance be provided the person.

(2) refer the matter to the Attorney General with a recommendation that a civil action be brought against the person.

(3) carry out the duties and powers provided by title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.).

(4) take other action provided by law.

(e) When a matter is referred to the Attorney General under subsection (d)(2) of this section, or when the Attorney General has reason to believe that a person is engaged in a pattern or practice violating this section, the Attorney General may begin a civil action in a district court of the United States for appropriate relief.

Sec. 307. Safety information and intervention in Interstate Commerce Commission proceedings.

(a) The Secretary of Transportation shall inspect promptly the safety compliance record in the Department of Transportation of each person applying to the Interstate Commerce Commission for authority to provide transportation or freight forwarder service. The Secretary shall report the findings of the inspection to the Commission.

(b) When the Secretary is not satisfied with the safety record of a person applying for permanent authority to provide transportation or

freight forwarder service, or for approval of a proposed transfer of permanent authority, the Secretary shall intervene and present evidence of the fitness of the person to the Commission in its proceedings. (c) When requested by the Commission, the Secretary shall

(1) provide the Commission with a complete report on the safety compliance of a carrier providing transportation or freight forwarder service subject to its jurisdiction;

(2) provide promptly a statement of the safety record of a person applying to the Commission for temporary authority to provide transportation;

(3) intervene and present evidence in a proceeding in which a finding of fitness is required; and

(4) make additional safety compliance surveys and inspections the Commission decides are desirable to allow it to act on an application or to make a finding on the fitness of a carrier.

Sec. 308. Annual reports.

(a) As soon as practicable after the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary of Transportation shall report to the President, for submission to Congress, on the activities of the Department of Transportation during the prior fiscal year. The report shall include a complete statement on the effectiveness of the United States Railway Association and the Consolidated Rail Corporation in carrying out the purposes of the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973 (45 U.S.C. 701 et seq.).

(b) The Secretary shall submit to the President and Congress each year a report on the aviation activities of the Department. The report shall include

(1) collected information the Secretary considers valuable in deciding questions about

(A) the development and regulation of civil aeronautics; (B) the use of airspace of the United States; and

(C) the improvement of the air navigation and traffic con

trol systems; and

(2) recommendations for additional legislation and other action the Secretary considers necessary.

(c) The Secretary shall submit to Congress each year a report on the conditions of the public ports of the United States, including the— (1) economic and technological development of the ports;

(2) extent to which the ports contribute to the national welfare and security; and

(3) factors that may impede the continued development of the ports.