H.R. 8653

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8653 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8653

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a grant program 
for demonstration projects that make critical transportation 
infrastructure resilient to natural hazards, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 4, 2026

Mr. Garamendi (for himself and Mr. Thompson of California) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a grant program 
for demonstration projects that make critical transportation 
infrastructure resilient to natural hazards, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Accelerating Demonstration 
Approaches for Protecting Transportation Assets Act'' or the ``ADAPT 
Assets Act''.

SEC. 2. ACCELERATING DEMONSTRATION APPROACHES FOR PROTECTING 
TRANSPORTATION ASSETS PROGRAM.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of Transportation shall establish 
and carry out a competitive grant program, to be known as the 
``Accelerating Demonstration Approaches for Protecting Transportation 
Assets Program'' (in this section referred to as the ``Program''), to 
provide up to 10 grants to eligible applicants for demonstration 
projects that make critical transportation infrastructure resilient to 
natural hazards.
(b) Eligible Applicants.--An eligible applicant under the Program 
is--
(1) a metropolitan planning organization (as defined in 
section 134 of title 23, United States Code);
(2) a State;
(3) a unit of local government;
(4) a public transportation agency or authority;
(5) a port or public toll authority that owns or operates 
eligible transportation assets;
(6) a Tribal government; or
(7) a consortium of 2 or more entities described in 
paragraphs (1) through (5), including a consortium led by a 
metropolitan planning organization, so long as the applicants 
demonstrate a regional partnership and governance structure for 
project delivery.
(c) Application Requirements.--To be eligible for a grant under the 
Program, an eligible applicant shall submit to the Secretary an 
application at such time and containing such information as the 
Secretary may require.
(d) Project Selection Criteria.--In selecting projects under the 
Program, the Secretary shall consider, at a minimum, the extent to 
which the project--
(1) addresses existing or predicted recurring damage or 
asset failure of a high-risk transportation asset or corridor 
based on documented exposure to hazard risk;
(2) provides transportation system benefits, including 
preserving or enhancing regional or statewide mobility, 
economy, goods movement, safety, and emergency response access;
(3) provides additional benefits, including enhancing 
resilience of adjacent communities, the environment, and other 
critical infrastructure;
(4) is consistent with a resilience improvement plan 
authorized under this Act;
(5) demonstrates readiness to proceed, including through--
(A) demonstrating that it is supported by a 
regional partnership and governance plan that 
identifies roles, responsibilities, and decision-making 
processes across affected facility owners, land owners, 
funders, jurisdictions; and modes; and
(B) completion of planning activities carried out 
in a manner consistent with section 168 of title 23, 
United States Code, or other key predevelopment 
milestones, or a credible schedule to complete such 
milestones; and
(6) advances innovation and replicability, including 
approaches that can be scaled by other regions.
(e) Eligible Uses.--
(1) In general.--Grants under the Program may be used for a 
project or suite of projects within a region that, taken 
together, constitute a large-scale resilience investment to 
protect, elevate, adapt, relocate, or otherwise improve the 
resilience of transportation assets eligible for assistance 
under title 23, United States Code.
(2) Eligible uses.--Funds provided by a grant under the 
Program may be used for--
(A) predevelopment activities, including data 
collection, engineering and design, environmental 
review, permitting, right-of-way activities, and 
procurement planning; and
(B) capital construction and implementation 
activities to harden or adapt transportation assets, 
including--
(i) protective features described in 
section 119(k) of title 23, United States Code;
(ii) system resilience improvements 
described in section 176(c)(3)(C) of title 23, 
United States Code;
(iii) levees, including engineered levees 
and levees utilizing natural infrastructure; 
and
(iv) other resilience improvements that are 
functionally connected to making an eligible 
transportation asset more resilient to extreme 
weather, natural hazards, and disaster risks.
(f) Multiyear Project Requirements.--
(1) Multiyear agreements.--The Secretary may enter into 
multiyear grant agreements to fund an eligible project under 
the Program across multiple fiscal years, including agreements 
that provide predictable funding for programmatic delivery of 
related resilience improvements.
(2) In general.--To be eligible for funding under a 
multiyear grant agreement described in paragraph (1), the 
project or suite of projects shall--
(A) have an estimated total cost of not less than 
$500,000,000, except that the Secretary may reduce such 
threshold for Tribal applicants, rural regions, or 
insular areas; and
(B) involve delivery challenges or institutional, 
regulatory, or funding barriers that are not routinely 
addressed through existing surface transportation 
programs and, if successfully resolved through the 
demonstration, would provide a replicable model for 
other projects.
(3) Eligible barriers.--To be considered eligible under 
paragraph (2)(B), the barriers described in such paragraph 
shall include 1 or more of the following:
(A) Multiowner or multioperator governance and 
delivery structures.
(B) Integration of natural or nature-based 
infrastructure into transportation projects subject to 
Federal environmental review or permitting.
(C) Resilience investments located outside the 
transportation right-of-way that reduce risk to an 
eligible transportation asset.
(D) Projects that protect or enhance transportation 
assets while also benefitting communities and other 
critical infrastructure systems.
(E) Projects requiring coordinated funding across 
two or more Federal departments.
(g) Federal Share.--
(1) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost of a 
project carried out with a grant under this section may not 
exceed 80 percent.
(2) Other federal funds.--Other Federal funds may be used 
to satisfy the non-Federal share only to the extent 
specifically provided for under the law authorizing the use of 
such Federal funds.
(h) Administration.--
(1) Notice of funding opportunity.--Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 
thereafter, the Secretary shall publish a notice of funding 
opportunity for grants under the Program.
(2) Interagency coordination.--In carrying out the Program, 
the Secretary shall coordinate with other Federal departments 
and agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, 
Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Interior, 
Department of Commerce, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to 
ensure Federal activities related to resiliency and Federal 
funding are streamlined and coordinated to allow for 
comprehensive solutions across Federal agencies to mitigate 
impacts from natural hazards on infrastructure, the economy, 
and the United States population.
(3) Relationship to other federal programs.--A grant under 
this section may be used in combination with funds made 
available under other provisions of law administered by the 
Department of Transportation, including funds for formula, 
discretionary, and emergency relief programs.
(4) Dashboard.--
(A) In general.--In carrying out this section, the 
Secretary shall make publicly available in an easily 
identifiable location on the website of the Department 
of Transportation a dashboard containing the following 
information for each project in a grant agreement under 
this section:
(i) Project name.
(ii) Project sponsor.
(iii) City or urbanized area and State in 
which the project will be located.
(iv) Project type.
(v) Anticipated total project cost.
(vi) Anticipated share of project costs to 
be sought under this section.
(vii) Date of compliance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.).
(viii) Date on which the project entered 
the project development phase.
(ix) Date on which the project entered the 
engineering phase, if applicable.
(x) Status of each permit necessary for the 
project to proceed, the Federal agency with 
principal responsibility for review of each 
necessary permit, and any participating 
agencies involved in the review of each 
necessary permit.
(xi) Status of the project sponsor in 
securing non-federal matching funds.
(xii) Date on which a project grant 
agreement is anticipated to be executed.
(xiii) Federal grant programs for which the 
project would also be eligible, if applicable.
(B) Updates.--The Secretary shall update the 
information provided under subparagraph (A) not less 
frequently than monthly.
(C) Project profiles.--The Secretary shall continue 
to make profiles for projects that are receiving 
assistance under this section publicly available in an 
easily identifiable location on the website of the 
Department of Transportation.
(i) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary shall establish an interagency working group to 
develop and submit to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report not later 
than 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years 
thereafter that--
(1) describes projects selected and funded under the 
Program;
(2) evaluates the benefits of the projects' integration of 
natural and nature-based features in improving infrastructure 
resiliency;
(3) evaluates program outcomes and best practices;
(4) provides recommendations regarding whether and how to 
scale the Program; and
(5) provides a benefit-cost analysis of each project 
selected and funded under the Program that uses the best 
available data, including--
(A) annual maintenance costs necessary for the 
upkeep of the project's components;
(B) risk to structures and infrastructure mitigated 
by the project;
(C) level of protection provided by the project;
(D) historical damage at the project location;
(E) information on the benefitting area of the 
project; and
(F) additional data, as applicable.
(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $2,000,000,000 for each of 
fiscal years 2027 through 2031, to remain available until expended, of 
which not more than 2 percent may be used for administrative expenses 
and technical assistance.
(k) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Eligible transportation asset.--The term ``eligible 
transportation asset'' means--
(A) a highway project eligible for assistance under 
title 23, United States Code;
(B) a public transportation facility or service 
eligible for assistance under chapter 53 of title 49, 
United States Code; or
(C) a port facility, including a facility that--
(i) connects a port to other modes of 
transportation;
(ii) improves the efficiency of evacuations 
and disaster relief; or
(iii) aids transportation.
(2) Region.--The term ``region'' means--
(A) the geographic area served by a metropolitan 
planning organization;
(B) a multijurisdictional area defined by a 
consortium of eligible applicants; or
(C) such other area as the Secretary determines 
appropriate to address transportation system risk at a 
corridor or system scale.
<all>