ADAPT Assets Act

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

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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.
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