SURFACE TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH STRATEGIC PLANNING.

SEC. 5108. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH STRATEGIC PLANNING. Chapter 5 of title 23, United States Code (as added by section 5101 of this title), is amended by adding at the end the following: “§508. Surface transportation research strategic planning “(a) In General.— The Secretary shall— “(1) establish a strategic planning process, consistent with section 306 of title 5 for the Department of Transportation to determine national transportation research and technology development priorities related to surface transportation; “(2) coordinate Federal surface transportation research and technology development activities; “(3) measure the results of those activities and how they impact the performance of the surface transportation systems of the United States; and 112 STAT. 436 “(4) ensure that planning and reporting activities carried out under this section are coordinated with all other surface transportation planning and reporting requirements. “(b) Implementation.— The Secretary shall— “(1) provide for the integrated planning, coordination, and consultation among the operating administrations of the Department of Transportation, all other Federal agencies with responsibility for surface transportation research and technology development, State and local governments, institutions of higher education, industry, and other private and public sector organizations engaged in surface transportation-related research and development activities; “(2) ensure that the surface transportation research and technology development programs of the Department do not duplicate other Federal, State, or private sector research and development programs; and “(3) provide for independent validation of the scientific and technical assumptions underlying the surface transportation research and technology development programs of the Department. “(c) Surface Transportation Research and Technology Development Strategic Plan.— “(1) Development.— The Secretary shall develop an integrated surface transportation research and technology development strategic plan. “(2) Contents.— The plan shall include— “(A) an identification of the general goals and objectives of the Department of Transportation for surface transportation research and development; “(B) a description of the roles of the Department and other Federal agencies in achieving the goals identified under subparagraph (A), in order to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort; “(C) a description of the overall strategy of the Department, and the role of each of the operating administrations of the Department, in carrying out the plan over the next 5 years, including a description of procedures for coordination of the efforts of the Secretary with the efforts of the operating administrations of the Department and other Federal agencies; “(D) an assessment of how State and local research and technology development activities are contributing to the achievement of the goals identified under subparagraph (A); “(E) 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 as described in section 1115(a) of title 31, United States Code, for the next 5 years for each area of research and technology development; “(F) significant comments on the plan obtained from outside sources; and “(G) responses to significant comments obtained from the National Research Council and other advisory bodies, and a description of any corrective actions taken pursuant to such comments. 112 STAT. 437 “(3) National research council review.— The Secretary shall enter into an agreement for the review by the National Research Council of the details of each— “(A) strategic plan or revision required under section 306 of title 5; “(B) performance plan required under section 1115 of title 31; and “(C) program performance report required under section 1116, with respect to surface transportation research and technology development. “(4) Performance plans and reports.— In reports submitted under sections 1115 and 1116 of title 31, the Secretary shall include— “(A) a summary of the results for the previous fiscal year of surface transportation research and technology development programs to which the Department of Transportation contributes, along with— “(i) an analysis of the relationship between those results and the goals identified under paragraph (2)(A); and “(ii) a description of the methodology used for assessing the results; and “(B) a description of significant surface transportation research and technology development initiatives, if any, undertaken during the previous fiscal year that were not in the plan developed under paragraph (1), and any significant changes in the plan from the previous year’s plan. “(d) Merit Review and Performance Measurement.— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall transmit to Congress a report describing competitive merit review procedures for use in selecting grantees and contractors in the programs covered by the plan developed under subsection (c) and performance measurement procedures for evaluating the programs. “(e) Procurement Procedures.— The Secretary shall— “(1) develop model procurement procedures that encourage the use of advanced technologies; and “(2) develop model transactions for carrying out and coordinating Federal and State surface transportation research and technology development activities. “(f) Consistency With Government Performance and Results Act of 1993.— The plans and reports developed under this section shall be consistent with and incorporated as part of the plans developed under section 306 of title 5 and sections 1115 and 1116 of title 31.”.