H.R.4552

TITLE I

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office Of The Secretary

salaries and expenses

(including transfer of funds)

For necessary expenses of the Office of the Secretary, $204,568,000, to remain available until September 30, 2027: Provided, That of such amount—

1. (1) $3,763,000 shall be available for the immediate Office of the Secretary;
2. (2) $1,348,000 shall be available for the immediate Office of the Deputy Secretary;
3. (3) $26,511,000 shall be available for the Office of the General Counsel;
4. (4) $23,358,000 shall be available for the Office of the Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy, of which $7,000,000 shall be for the Office for Multimodal Freight Infrastructure and Policy;
5. (5) $20,522,000 shall be available for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Budget and Programs;
6. (6) $3,633,000 shall be available for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Governmental Affairs: Provided,That funds made available for similar activities within the Operating Administrations may be transferred to this office: Provided further,That the Secretary of Transportation (referred to in this title as the “Secretary”) must notify the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations 30 days in advance of any such transfer and submit such transfer for approval to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations prior to executing any such transfer;
7. (7) $19,109,000 shall be available for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration: Provided,That funds made available for similar activities within the Operating Administrations may be transferred to this office: Provided further,That the Secretary must submit such transfer for approval to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations prior to executing any such transfer;
8. (8) $5,632,000 shall be available for the Office of Public Affairs and Public Engagement: Provided,That funds made available for similar activities within the Operating Administrations may be transferred to this office: Provided further,That the Secretary must submit such transfer for approval to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations prior to executing any such transfer;
9. (9) $2,226,000 shall be available for the Office of the Executive Secretariat;
10. (10) $14,777,000 shall be available for the Office of Intelligence, Security, and Emergency Response;
11. (11) $16,182,000 shall be available for the Office of the Chief Information Officer: Provided,That funds made available for similar activities within the Operating Administrations may be transferred to this office: Provided further,That the Secretary must submit such transfer for approval to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations prior to executing any such transfer;
12. (12) $1,517,000 shall be available for the Office of Tribal Government Affairs;
13. (13) $13,654,000 shall be available for the Office of Civil Rights: Provided,That funds made available for similar activities within the Operating Administrations may be transferred to this office: Provided further,That the Secretary must submit such transfer for approval to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations prior to executing any such transfer;
14. (14) $3,001,000 shall be available for the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization and Outreach: Provided,That appropriations made available under this heading shall be available for any purpose consistent with prior year appropriations that were made available under the headings “Office of the Secretary—Minority Business Resource Center Program”and“Office of the Secretary—Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization and Outreach”;
15. (15) $45,335,000 shall be available for shared services pursuant to section 327 of title 49, United States Code, for the Office of the Secretary that would otherwise be provided by the Working Capital Fund, in addition to amounts otherwise available for such purposes; and
16. (16) $4,000,000 shall be available for information technology development, modernization, and enhancement, in addition to amounts otherwise available for such purposes:

Provided further, That the Secretary is authorized to transfer funds appropriated under this heading for any office or activity of the Office of the Secretary listed under this heading to any other office or activity under this heading: Provided further, That “activity” as used in the provisos of this paragraph is defined as shared services otherwise provided by the Working Capital Fund and information technology development, modernization, and enhancement: Provided further, That such transfers combined shall not increase or decrease the amount appropriated for any office or activity listed under this heading by more than 7 percent unless the Secretary submits such transfer for approval to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations: Provided further, That not to exceed $70,000 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, there may be credited to this appropriation up to $2,500,000 in funds received in user fees.

research and technology

For necessary expenses related to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, $44,117,000, of which $20,000,000 shall remain available until expended: Provided, That of the amounts made available under this heading, $10,000,000 shall be for the Drone Infrastructure Inspection Grant Program authorized in section 912 of Public Law 118–63: Provided further, That, notwithstanding subsection (g)(2) of such section 912, amounts made available under section 106(k) of title 49, United States Code, shall not be available to carry out such program: Provided further,That of amounts made available for the drone infrastructure inspection grant program, $1,000,000 shall be available for administrative expenses: 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 surface transportation and innovative finance bureau

For necessary expenses of the National Surface Transportation and Innovative Finance Bureau as authorized by 49 U.S.C. 116, $9,277,000, to remain available until expended: Provided, That the Secretary may collect and spend fees, as authorized by title 23, United States Code, to cover the costs of services of expert firms, including counsel, in the field of municipal and project finance to assist in the underwriting and servicing of Federal credit instruments and all or a portion of the costs to the Federal Government of servicing such credit instruments: Provided further, That such fees are available until expended to pay for such costs: Provided further, That such amounts are in addition to other amounts made available for such purposes and are not subject to any obligation limitation or the limitation on administrative expenses under section 608 of title 23, United States Code.

railroad rehabilitation and improvement financing program

The Secretary is authorized to issue direct loans and loan guarantees pursuant to chapter 224 of title 49, United States Code, and such authority shall exist as long as any such direct loan or loan guarantee is outstanding.

financial management capital

For necessary expenses for upgrading and enhancing the Department of Transportation’s financial systems and re-engineering business processes, $5,000,000, to remain available through September 30, 2027.

cyber security initiatives

For necessary expenses for cyber security initiatives, including necessary upgrades to network and information technology infrastructure, improvement of identity management and authentication capabilities, securing and protecting data, implementation of Federal cyber security initiatives, and implementation of enhanced security controls on agency computers and mobile devices, $74,600,000, to remain available until September 30, 2027.

transportation planning, research, and development

(including transfer of funds)

For necessary expenses for conducting transportation planning, research, systems development, development activities, and making grants, $22,991,000, to remain available until expended: Provided, That of such amount, $8,506,000 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 in accordance with the preceding proviso.

working capital fund

(including transfer of funds)

For necessary expenses for operating costs and capital outlays of the Working Capital Fund as authorized by Section 327 of title 49, United States Code, not to exceed $532,608,000, 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 limitation in the preceding proviso on operating expenses shall not apply to entities external to the Department of Transportation or for funds provided in Public Law 117–58: Provided further, That no funds made available by 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.

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 sections 41731 through 41742 of title 49, United States Code, $514,000,000, 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 section 41732(b)(3) of title 49, United States Code: Provided further, That amounts authorized to be distributed for the essential air service program under section 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: Provided further, That, notwithstanding section 41733 of title 49, United States Code, for fiscal year 2026, the requirements established under subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section 41731(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code, and the subsidy cap established by section 332 of the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000, shall not apply to maintain eligibility under section 41731 of title 49, United States Code.

administrative provisions—office of the secretary of transportation

(including transfer of funds)