Office of the Secretary.

Office of the Secretary. salaries and expenses For necessary expenses of the Office of the Secretary, $112,813,000, of which not to exceed $3,001,000 shall be available for the immediate Office of the Secretary; not to exceed $1,040,000 shall be available for the immediate Office of the Deputy Secretary; not to exceed $20,555,000 shall be available for the Office of the General Counsel; not to exceed $10,331,000 shall be available for the Office of the Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy; not to exceed $14,019,000 shall be available for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Budget and Programs; not to exceed $2,546,000 shall be available for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Governmental Affairs; not to exceed $29,356,000 shall be available for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration; not to exceed $2,142,000 shall be available for the Office of Public Affairs; not to exceed $1,760,000 shall be available for the Office of the Executive Secretariat; not to exceed $11,318,000 shall be available for the Office of Intelligence, Security, and Emergency Response; and not to exceed $16,745,000 shall be available for the Office of the Chief Information Officer: Provided, That the Secretary of Transportation is authorized to transfer funds appropriated for any office of the Office of the Secretary to any other office of the Office of the Secretary: Provided further, That no appropriation for any office shall be increased or decreased by more than 7 percent by all such transfers: Provided further, That notice of any change in funding greater than 7 percent shall be submitted for approval to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations: Provided further, That not to exceed $60,000 shall be for allocation within the Department for official reception and representation expenses as the Secretary may determine: Provided further, That notwithstanding any other provision of law, excluding fees authorized in Public Law 107-71, there may be credited to this appropriation up to $2,500,000 in funds received in user fees: Provided further, That none of the funds provided in this Act shall be available for the position of Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs. [49 U.S.C. 112 note] research and technology For necessary expenses related to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, $23,465,109, of which $2,618,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2020, and of which $15,000,000, to remain available until expended, is for new competitive grants under 49 U.S.C. 5505 to a national center for congestion research and a national center for infrastructure research: Provided, That such amounts are in addition to amounts previously provided for such program: Provided further, That such amounts for additional national centers are provided notwithstanding 49 U.S.C. 5505(c)(2)(A): Provided further, That there may be credited to this appropriation, to be available until expended, funds received from States, counties, municipalities, other public authorities, and private sources for expenses incurred for training: Provided further, That any reference in law, regulation, judicial proceedings, or elsewhere to the Research and Innovative Technology Administration shall continue to be deemed to be a reference to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology of the Department of Transportation. national infrastructure investments For capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure, $1,500,000,000, to remain available through September 30, 2020: Provided, That the Secretary of Transportation shall distribute funds provided under this heading as discretionary grants to be awarded to a State, local government, transit agency, or a collaboration among such entities on a competitive basis for projects that will have a significant local or regional impact: Provided further, That projects eligible for funding provided under this heading shall include, but not be limited to, highway or bridge projects eligible under title 23, United States Code; public transportation projects eligible under chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code; passenger and freight rail transportation projects; and port infrastructure investments (including inland port infrastructure and land ports of entry): Provided further, That of the amount made available under this heading, the Secretary may use an amount not to exceed $15,000,000 for the planning, preparation or design of projects eligible for funding under this heading: Provided further, That grants awarded under the previous proviso shall not be subject to a minimum grant size: Provided further, That the Secretary may use up to 20 percent of the funds made available under this heading for the purpose of paying the subsidy and administrative costs of projects eligible for Federal credit assistance under chapter 6 of title 23, United States Code, if the Secretary finds that such use of the funds would advance the purposes of this paragraph: Provided further, That in distributing funds provided under this heading, the Secretary shall take such measures so as to ensure an equitable geographic distribution of funds, an appropriate balance in addressing the needs of urban and rural areas, and the investment in a variety of transportation modes: Provided further, That a grant funded under this heading shall be not less than $5,000,000 and not greater than $25,000,000: Provided further, That not more than 10 percent of the funds made available under this heading may be awarded to projects in a single State: Provided further, That the Federal share of the costs for which an expenditure is made under this heading shall be, at the option of the recipient, up to 80 percent: Provided further, That the Secretary shall give priority to projects that require a contribution of Federal funds in order to complete an overall financing package: Provided further, That not less than 30 percent of the funds provided under this heading shall be for projects located in rural areas: Provided further, That for projects located in rural areas, the minimum grant size shall be $1,000,000 and the Secretary may increase the Federal share of costs above 80 percent: Provided further, That projects conducted using funds provided under this heading must comply with the requirements of subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code: Provided further, That the Secretary shall conduct a new competition to select the grants and credit assistance awarded under this heading: Provided further, That the Secretary may retain up to $25,000,000 of the funds provided under this heading, and may transfer portions of those funds to the Administrators of the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, and the Maritime Administration to fund the award and oversight of grants and credit assistance made under the National Infrastructure Investments program: Provided further, That none of the funds provided in the previous proviso may be used to hire additional personnel: Provided further, That the Secretary shall not use the Federal share as a selection criteria in awarding projects: Provided further, That the Secretary shall issue the Notice of Funding Opportunity under the previous proviso no later than 60 days after enactment of this Act: Provided further, That the Notice of Funding Opportunity shall require application submissions 90 days after the publishing of such Notice: Provided further, That of the applications submitted under the previous two provisos, the Secretary shall make grants no later than 270 days after enactment of this Act in such amounts that the Secretary determines. national surface transportation and innovative finance bureau For necessary expenses for the administration of the National Surface Transportation and Innovative Finance Bureau (the Bureau) within the Office of the Secretary of Transportation, $3,000,000, to remain available until expended: Provided, That the Secretary of Transportation shall use such amount for the necessary expenses to fulfill the responsibilities of the Bureau, as detailed in section 9001 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (Public Law 114-94) (49 U.S.C. 116): Provided further, That the Secretary is required to receive the advance approval of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations prior to exercising the authorities of 49 U.S.C. 116(h): Provided further, That the program be available to other Federal agencies, States, municipalities and project sponsors seeking Federal transportation expertise in obtaining financing. financial management capital For necessary expenses for upgrading and enhancing the Department of Transportation’s financial systems and re-engineering business processes, $6,000,000, to remain available through September 30, 2020. cyber security initiatives For necessary expenses for cyber security initiatives, including necessary upgrades to wide area network and information technology infrastructure, improvement of network perimeter controls and identity management, testing and assessment of information technology against business, security, and other requirements, implementation of Federal cyber security initiatives and information infrastructure enhancements, and implementation of enhanced security controls on network devices, $15,000,000, to remain available through September 30, 2019. office of civil rights For necessary expenses of the Office of Civil Rights, $9,500,000. transportation planning, research, and development For necessary expenses for conducting transportation planning, research, systems development, development activities, and making grants, to remain available until expended, $14,000,000: Provided, That of such amount, $1,500,000 shall be for necessary expenses of the Interagency Infrastructure Permitting Improvement Center (IIPIC): Provided further, That there may be transferred to this appropriation, to remain available until expended, amounts transferred from other Federal agencies for expenses incurred under this heading for IIPIC activities not related to transportation infrastructure: Provided further, That the tools and analysis developed by the IIPIC shall be available to other Federal agencies for the permitting and review of major infrastructure projects not related to transportation only to the extent that other Federal agencies provide funding to the Department as provided for under the previous proviso. working capital fund For necessary expenses for operating costs and capital outlays of the Working Capital Fund, not to exceed $202,245,000, shall be paid from appropriations made available to the Department of Transportation: Provided, That such services shall be provided on a competitive basis to entities within the Department of Transportation: Provided further, That the above limitation on operating expenses shall not apply to non-DOT entities: Provided further, That no funds appropriated in this Act to an agency of the Department shall be transferred to the Working Capital Fund without majority approval of the Working Capital Fund Steering Committee and approval of the Secretary: Provided further, That no assessments may be levied against any program, budget activity, subactivity or project funded by this Act unless notice of such assessments and the basis therefor are presented to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations and are approved by such Committees. minority business resource center program For necessary expenses of the Minority Business Resource Center, the provision of financial education outreach activities to eligible transportation-related small businesses, the monitoring of existing loans in the guaranteed loan program, and the modification of such loans of the Minority Business Resource Center, $500,301, as authorized by 49 U.S.C. 332; Provided, That notwithstanding that section, these funds may be for business opportunities related to any mode of transportation. small and disadvantaged business utilization and outreach For necessary expenses for small and disadvantaged business utilization and outreach activities, $4,646,000, to remain available until September 30, 2019: Provided, That notwithstanding 49 U.S.C. 332, these funds may be used for business opportunities related to any mode of transportation. payments to air carriers (airport and airway trust fund) In addition to funds made available from any other source to carry out the essential air service program under 49 U.S.C. 41731 through 41742, $155,000,000, to be derived from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, to remain available until expended: Provided, That in determining between or among carriers competing to provide service to a community, the Secretary may consider the relative subsidy requirements of the carriers: Provided further, That basic essential air service minimum requirements shall not include the 15-passenger capacity requirement under subsection 41732(b)(3) of title 49, United States Code: Provided further, That none of the funds in this Act or any other Act shall be used to enter into a new contract with a community located less than 40 miles from the nearest small hub airport before the Secretary has negotiated with the community over a local cost share: Provided further, That amounts authorized to be distributed for the essential air service program under subsection 41742(b) of title 49, United States Code, shall be made available immediately from amounts otherwise provided to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration: Provided further, That the Administrator may reimburse such amounts from fees credited to the account established under section 45303 of title 49, United States Code.