119-hr3663

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3663 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 3663

 To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish requirements for 
 owners of certain bridges, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 May 29, 2025

Mr. Van Drew (for himself and Ms. Titus) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
 Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish requirements for 
 owners of certain bridges, 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 ``Bridge Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR BRIDGE PROJECTS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``

Sec. 180. Requirements for certain bridges
 ``

    (a) In General.--As a condition for receiving funds under this 
title, the Secretary of Transportation shall require any owner of a 
covered bridge to conduct vessel collision vulnerability assessments 
using the American Association of State Highway and Transportation 
Officials Method II and submit the results of such assessment to the 
Secretary.
 ``

    (b) Results.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--If a covered bridge assessed under 
 subsection

    (a) exceeds the American Association of State 
 Highway and Transportation Officials risk threshold for such 
 bridge, the owner shall develop and implement a risk reduction 
 plan not later than 1 year after the completion of the 
 assessment under subsection

    (a) .
 ``

    (2) Ineligibility for future grants.--Beginning on 
 October 1, 2026, if an owner of a bridge required to develop a 
 risk reduction plan under paragraph

    (1) fails to develop and 
 implement such plan, the owner shall be ineligible for any 
 Federal grant relating to such bridge, unless such owner 
 receives an extension to implement such plan from the Secretary 
 of Transportation.
 ``
            (c) Integration of Data.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the 
 completion of an assessment under subsection

    (a) , the Secretary 
 of Transportation shall integrate the results of such 
 assessment into the National Bridge Inventory of the Department 
 of Transportation.
 ``

    (2) Protection of sensitive data.--In integrating results 
 under paragraph

    (1) , the Secretary may withhold any sensitive 
 secure data that the Secretary determines appropriate to 
 preserve the security of the bridges involved in such 
 assessments.
 ``
            (d) Covered Bridge Defined.--In this section, the term `covered 
bridge' means a bridge over navigable water that was built before 1996.
``

Sec. 181. Interdisciplinary Bridge Safety team
 ``

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Transportation shall establish 
an interdisciplinary bridge safety team within the Department of 
Transportation to provide guidance, oversee compliance, and maintain a 
national vulnerability database for bridges.
 ``

    (b) Membership.--The team established under subsection

    (a) shall 
be comprised of detailees from the Federal Highway Administration, the 
Coast Guard, and the Corps of Engineers.
``

Sec. 182. Bridge vulnerability grant program
 ``

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Transportation shall establish 
a program to provide grants on a competitive basis for assessments and 
physical improvements for covered bridges.
 ``

    (b) Applications.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section, an owner of a covered bridge shall submit to the Secretary an 
application in such form, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may require.
 ``
            (c) Use of Funds.--A recipient of a grant under this section may 
use the grant provided to carry out assessments or make physical 
improvements to a covered bridge.
 ``
            (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out the program under this section, $500,000,000 
for fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
 ``

    (e) Covered Bridge Defined.--In this section, the term `covered 
bridge' means a bridge over navigable water that was built before 
1996.''.

    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 1 of title 23, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

``180. Requirements for certain bridges.
``181. Interagency Bridge Safety Office.
``182. Bridge vulnerability grant program.''.
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