49 USC 119 – Advanced Research Projects Agency-Infrastructure
(a)
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(A) a unit of State or local government;
(B) an institution of higher education;
(C) a commercial entity;
(D) a research foundation;
(E) a trade or industry research collaborative;
(F) a federally funded research and development center;
(G) a research facility owned or funded by the Department;
(H) a collaborative that includes relevant international entities; and
(I) a consortia of 2 or more entities described in any of subparagraphs (A) through (H).
(5)
(A)
(B)
(i) roads;
(ii) highways;
(iii) bridges;
(iv) airports;
(v) rail lines;
(vi) harbors; and
(vii) pipelines.
(6)
Terms Used In 49 USC 119
- Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
- Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
- State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7
(b)
(1) to overcome long-term challenges; and
(2) to advance the state of the art for United States transportation infrastructure.
(c)
(1)
(A) to advance the transportation infrastructure of the United States by developing innovative science and technology solutions that—
(i) lower the long-term costs of infrastructure development, including costs of planning, construction, and maintenance;
(ii) reduce the lifecycle impacts of transportation infrastructure on the environment, including through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions;
(iii) contribute significantly to improving the safe, secure, and efficient movement of goods and people; and
(iv) promote the resilience of infrastructure from physical and cyber threats; and
(B) to ensure that the United States is a global leader in developing and deploying advanced transportation infrastructure technologies and materials.
(2)
(A) advance novel, early-stage research with practicable application to transportation infrastructure;
(B) translate techniques, processes, and technologies, from the conceptual phase to prototype, testing, or demonstration;
(C) develop advanced manufacturing processes and technologies for the domestic manufacturing of novel transportation-related technologies; and
(D) accelerate transformational technological advances in areas in which industry entities are unlikely to carry out projects due to technical and financial uncertainty.
(d)
(1)
(2)
(3)
(A) be located within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology; and
(B) report to the Secretary.
(4)
(5)
(A) approving new programs within ARPA-I;
(B) developing funding criteria, and assessing the success of programs, to achieve the goals described in subsection (c)(1) through the establishment of technical milestones;
(C) administering available funding by providing to eligible entities assistance to achieve the goals described in subsection (c)(1);
(D) terminating programs carried out under this section that are not achieving the goals of the programs; and
(E) establishing a process through which eligible entities can submit to ARPA-I unsolicited research proposals for assistance under this section in accordance with subsection (f).
(e)
(1)
(2)
(A)
(B)
(i) establishing research and development goals for the applicable program, including by convening workshops and conferring with outside experts;
(ii) publicizing the goals of the applicable program;
(iii) soliciting applications for specific areas of particular promise, especially in areas that the private sector or the Federal Government are not likely to carry out absent assistance from ARPA-I;
(iv) establishing research collaborations for carrying out the applicable program;
(v) selecting on the basis of merit each project to be supported under the applicable program, taking into consideration—
(I) the novelty and scientific and technical merit of proposed projects;
(II) the demonstrated capabilities of eligible entities to successfully carry out proposed projects;
(III) the extent to which an eligible entity took into consideration future commercial applications of a proposed project, including the feasibility of partnering with 1 or more commercial entities; and
(IV) such other criteria as the Director may establish;
(vi) identifying innovative cost-sharing arrangements for projects carried out or funded by ARPA-I;
(vii) monitoring the progress of projects supported under the applicable program;
(viii) identifying mechanisms for commercial application of successful technology development projects, including through establishment of partnerships between eligible entities and commercial entities; and
(ix) as applicable, recommending—
(I) program restructuring; or
(II) termination of applicable research partnerships or projects.
(C)
(i) shall serve for a term of 3 years; and
(ii) may be reappointed for any subsequent term of service.
(3)
(A)
(i) make appointments of scientific, engineering, and professional personnel, without regard to the civil service laws;
(ii) fix the basic pay of such personnel at such rate as the Director may determine, but not to exceed level II of the Executive Schedule, without regard to the civil service laws; and
(iii) pay an employee appointed under this subparagraph payments in addition to basic pay, subject to the condition that the total amount of those additional payments for any 12-month period shall not exceed the least of—
(I) $25,000;
(II) an amount equal to 25 percent of the annual rate of basic pay of the employee; and
(III) the amount of the applicable limitation for a calendar year under section 5307(a)(1) of title 5.
(B)
(C)
(f)
(1)
(A) the extent of current and prior efforts with respect to the project proposed to be carried out using the assistance, if applicable; and
(B) any current or prior investments in the technology area for which funding is requested, including as described in subsection (c)(2)(D).
(2)
(A) shall review each unsolicited research proposal submitted under paragraph (1), taking into consideration—
(i) the novelty and scientific and technical merit of the research proposal;
(ii) the demonstrated capabilities of the applicant to successfully carry out the research proposal;
(iii) the extent to which the applicant took into consideration future commercial applications of the proposed research project, including the feasibility of partnering with 1 or more commercial entities; and
(iv) such other criteria as the Director may establish;
(B) may approve a research proposal if the Director determines that the research—
(i) is in accordance with—
(I) the goals described in subsection (c)(1); or
(II) an applicable transportation research and development strategic plan developed under section 6503; and
(ii) would not duplicate any other Federal research being conducted or funded by another Federal agency; and
(C)(i) if funding is denied for the research proposal, shall provide to the eligible entity that submitted the proposal a written notice of the denial that, as applicable—
(I) explains why the research proposal was not selected, including whether the research proposal fails to cover an area of need; and
(II) recommends that the research proposal be submitted to another research program; or
(ii) if the research proposal is approved for funding, shall provide to the eligible entity that submitted the proposal—
(I) a written notice of the approval; and
(II) assistance in accordance with subsection (g) for the proposed research.
(g)
(1) a grant;
(2) a contract;
(3) a cooperative agreement;
(4) a cash prize; or
(5) another, similar form of funding.
(h)
(1)
(A) the projects that received assistance from ARPA-I, including—
(i) each such project that was funded as a result of an unsolicited research proposal; and
(ii) each such project that examines topics or technologies closely related to other activities funded by the Department, including an analysis of whether the Director achieved compliance with subsection (i)(1) in supporting the project; and
(B) the instances of, and reasons for, the provision of assistance under this section for any projects being carried out by industry entities.
(2)
(i)
(1) the activities of ARPA-I are coordinated with, and do not duplicate the efforts of, programs and laboratories within—
(A) the Department; and
(B) other relevant research agencies; and
(2) no funding is provided by ARPA-I for a project, unless the eligible entity proposing the project—
(A) demonstrates sufficient attempts to secure private financing; or
(B) indicates that the project is not independently commercially viable.
(j)
(k)
(1) to accomplish the goals of ARPA-I;
(2) to develop institutional capacity in advanced transportation infrastructure technologies and materials;
(3) to engage underserved populations in developing, demonstrating, and deploying those technologies and materials; and
(4) to otherwise address the needs of ARPA-I.
(l)
(1) partner with university transportation centers under section 5505 to accomplish the goals, and address the needs, of ARPA-I; and
(2) sponsor and select for funding, in accordance with section 5505, competitively selected university transportation center grants, in addition to the assistance provided under section 5505, to address targeted technology and material goals of ARPA-I.
(m)
(1)
(A) an existing advisory committee, office, or other group within the Department; and
(B) a new advisory committee organized to support the programs of ARPA-I by providing advice and assistance regarding—
(i) specific program tasks; or
(ii) the overall direction of ARPA-I.
(2)
(A) the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology;
(B) the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy; and
(C) any professional or scientific organization with expertise relating to specific processes or technologies under development by ARPA-I.
(n)
(1)
(2)
(A) a recommendation regarding whether ARPA-I should be continued;
(B) a recommendation regarding whether ARPA-I, or the Department generally, should continue to allow entities to submit unsolicited research proposals; and
(C) a description of—
(i) the lessons learned from the operation of ARPA-I; and
(ii) the manner in which those lessons may apply to the operation of other programs of the Department.
(3)
(A) Congress; and
(B) the public.
(o)
(1)
(A) commercial and financial information obtained from a person;
(B) privileged or confidential; and
(C) not subject to disclosure under section 552(b)(4) of title 5.
(2)
(A) information relating to plans for commercialization of technologies developed using assistance provided under this section, including business plans, technology-to-market plans, market studies, and cost and performance models;
(B) information relating to investments provided to an eligible entity from a third party (such as a venture capital firm, a hedge fund, and a private equity firm), including any percentage of ownership of an eligible entity provided in return for such an investment;
(C) information relating to additional financial support that the eligible entity—
(i) plans to invest, or has invested, in the technology developed using assistance provided under this section; or
(ii) is seeking from a third party; and
(D) information relating to revenue from the licensing or sale of a new product or service resulting from research conducted using assistance provided under this section.
(p)
(1) shall be in addition to any existing authority provided to the Secretary; and
(2) shall not supersede or modify any other existing authority.
(q)
(1)
(2)
(A)
(B)
(3)
(A) not less than 5 percent shall be used for technology transfer and outreach activities—
(i) in accordance with the goal described in subsection (c)(2)(D); and
(ii) within the responsibilities of the program directors described in subsection (e)(2)(B)(viii); and
(B) none may be used for the construction of any new building or facility during the 5-year period beginning on the date of enactment of the Surface Transportation Investment Act of 2021.