ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS—DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

SEC. 160. During the current fiscal year applicable appropriations to the Department of Transportation shall be available for maintenance and operation of aircraft; hire of passenger motor vehicles and aircraft; purchase of liability insurance for motor vehicles operating in foreign countries on official department business; and uniforms or allowances therefor, as authorized by law (5 U.S.C. 5901–5902). 

1. Section 160 retains the provision as proposed by both the House and Senate that allows the Department of Transportation (DOT) to use funds for aircraft, motor vehicles, liability insurance, uniforms, or allowances, as authorized by law.

SEC. 161. Appropriations contained in this Act for the Department of Transportation shall be available for services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109, but at rates for individuals not to exceed the per diem rate equivalent to the rate for an Executive Level IV. 

1. Section 161 retains the provision that limits appropriations for services authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109 to the rate for an Executive Level IV, as proposed by the House and Senate.

SEC. 162. None of the funds in this Act shall be available for salaries and expenses of more than 113 political and Presidential appointees in the Department of Transportation.

1. Section 162 retains the provision that prohibits funds to be used for salaries and expenses of more than 108 political and Presidential appointees in DOT, instead of 100 appointees as proposed by the House and 109 appointees as proposed by the Senate. The provision also requires that none of the personnel covered by this provision may be assigned on temporary detail outside DOT, as proposed by the House and Senate.

SEC. 163. None of the funds in this Act shall be used to implement section 404 of title 23, United States Code.

1. Section 163 retains the provision as proposed by the House and Senate that prohibits funds from being used to implement section 404 of title 23, United States Code.

SEC. 164. (a) No recipient of funds made available in this Act shall disseminate personal information (as defined in 18 U.S.C. 2725(3)) obtained by a State department of motor vehicles in connection with a motor vehicle record as defined in 18 U.S.C. 2725(1), except as provided in 18 U.S.C. 2721 for a use permitted under 18 U.S.C. 2721.
 (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Secretary shall not withhold funds provided in this Act for any grantee if a State is in noncompliance with this provision.

1. Section 164 retains the provision as proposed by the House and Senate that prohibits recipients of funds made available in this Act from releasing certain personal information and photographs from a driver’s license or motor vehicle record, without express consent of the person to whom such information pertains; and prohibits the withholding of funds provided in this Act for any grantee if a State is in noncompliance with this provision.

SEC. 165. Funds received by the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, and Federal Railroad Administration from States, counties, municipalities, other public authorities, and private sources for expenses incurred for training may be credited respectively to the Federal Highway Administration’s ‘‘Federal-Aid Highways’’ account, the Federal Transit Administration’s ‘‘Research
and University Research Centers’’ account, and to the Federal Railroad Administration’s ‘‘Safety and Operations’’ account, and used for such expenses, except for State rail safety inspectors participating in training pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 20105.

1. Section 165 retains the provision that permits funds received by specified DOT agencies from States or other private or public sources for expenses incurred for training to be credited to certain specified agency accounts, as proposed by the House and Senate.

SEC. 166. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, rule or regulation, the Secretary of Transportation is authorized to allow the issuer of any preferred stock heretofore sold to the Department to redeem or repurchase such stock upon the payment to the Department of an amount determined by the Secretary.

1. Section 166 retains the provision as proposed by the House and Senate that authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to allow issuers of any preferred stock sold to the Department to redeem or repurchase such stock upon the payment to the Department of an amount determined by the Secretary.

SEC. 167. None of the funds in this Act to the Department of Transportation may be used to make a grant unless the Secretary of Transportation notifies the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations not less than 3 full business days before any discretionary grant award, letter of intent, or full funding grant agreement totaling $2,000,000 or more is announced by the department or its modal administrations from: (1) any discretionary grant program of the Federal Highway Administration other than the emergency relief program;(2) the airport improvement program of the Federal Aviation Administration;
or (3) any program of the Federal Transit Administration other than the formula grants and fixed guideway modernization programs: Provided, That no notification shall involve funds that are not available for obligation.

1. Section 167 retains the provision as proposed by the House and Senate that prohibits funds from being used to make a grant unless the Secretary of Transportation notifies the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations no less than three days in advance of any discretionary grant award, letter of intent, or full funding grant agreement totaling $1,000,000 or more.

SEC. 168. Rebates, refunds, incentive payments, minor fees and other funds received by the Department of Transportation from travel management centers, charge card programs, the subleasing of building space, and miscellaneous sources are to be credited to appropriations of the Department of Transportation and allocated to elements of the Department of Transportation using fair and equitable criteria and such funds shall be available until expended.

1. Section 168 retains the provision that allows funds received from rebates, refunds, and similar sources to be credited to appropriations of the DOT, as proposed by the House and Senate.

SEC. 169. Amounts made available in this or any other Act that the Secretary determines represent improper payments by the Department of Transportation to a third party contractor under a financial assistance award, which are recovered pursuant to law, shall be available—

(1) to reimburse the actual expenses incurred by the Department of Transportation in recovering improper payments; and
(2) to pay contractors for services provided in recovering improper payments or contractor support in the implementation of the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002: Provided, That amounts in excess of that required for paragraphs (1) and (2)—
(A) shall be credited to and merged with the appropriation from which the improper payments were made, and shall be available for the purposes and period for which such appropriations are available; or
(B) if no such appropriation remains available, shall be deposited
in the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts: Provided, That the Secretary shall report annually to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations the amount and reasons for these transfers: Provided further, That for purposes of this section, the term ‘‘improper payments’’, has the same meaning as that provided in section 2(d)(2) of Public Law 107–300.

1. Section 169 retains the provision as proposed by the House and Senate that allows amounts from improper payments to a third party contractor that are lawfully recovered by the DOT to be available to cover expenses incurred in the recovery of such payments.

SEC. 170. The Secretary of Transportation is authorized to transfer the unexpended balances available for the bonding assistance program from ‘‘Office of the Secretary, Salaries and expenses’’ to ‘‘Minority Business Outreach’’.

1. Section 170 retains the provision that allows the Secretary of Transportation to transfer unexpended sums from ‘‘Office of the Secretary, Salaries and Expenses’’ to ‘‘Minority Business Outreach’’, as proposed by the House and Senate.

SEC. 171. Funds appropriated in this Act to the modal administrations may be obligated for the Office of the Secretary of Transportation for the costs related to assessments or reimbursable agreements only when such amounts are for the costs of goods and services that are purchased to provide a direct benefit to the applicable modal administration or administrations.

1. Section 171 retains the provision as proposed by the House and Senate that prohibits the Office of the Secretary of Transportation from approving assessments or reimbursable agreements pertaining to funds appropriated to the modal administrations in this Act, unless such assessments or agreements have completed the normal reprogramming process for Congressional notification.

SEC. 172. Notwithstanding any provision of law, the Secretary of Transportation is authorized and directed to make project grants under chapter 471 of title 49, United States Code, from funds available for fiscal year 2008 and thereafter under 49 U.S.C. 48103, for the cost of acquisition of land, or reimbursement of the cost of land if purchased prior to enactment of this provision and prior to a grant agreement, for non-exclusive use aeronautical purposes on an airport layout plan that has been approved by the Secretary on January 23, 2004, pursuant to section 49 U.S.C. 47107(a)(16), for any small hub airport as defined in 49 U.S.C. 47102, and had scheduled or chartered direct international flights totaling at least 200 million pounds gross aircraft landed weight for calendar year 2002.

1. Section 172 retains a Senate provision making eligible for the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program a project meeting certain specified requirements.  The House did not include a similar provision.

SEC. 173. Notwithstanding subchapter II of chapter 417, title 49, United States Code, and section 332 of Public Law 106–69, subsidies for essential air service (EAS), or ground or other services supporting such transportation, shall be provided as follows:
(A) A community is eligible for subsidized EAS if it is: (1) receiving subsidized EAS as of the date of enactment of the Act; (2) more than 70 highway miles from the nearest medium or large hub airport; and (3) for a community that is more than 70 miles, but less than 210 miles from the nearest medium or large hub airport, the subsidy per passenger does not exceed $200. As used herein, ‘‘highway miles’’ means the shortest driving distance as determined by the Federal Highway Administration.
(B) The Secretary shall rank all EAS compensated communities in their order of relative decreasing driving distance from the nearest large or medium hub airport.
(C) The Secretary shall provide subsidy first to the eligible communities that do not have highway access to a medium or large hub airport, then to the most isolated community, as determined in accordance with subsection (b), that requires compensation, and then to the next most isolated community requiring compensation, and so on, in order, until the Secretary has obligated not more than $50,000,000 for compensation in fiscal year 2008. Such funds shall come from the amounts received by the Federal Aviation Administration credited to the account established under 49 U.S.C. 45303, which shall remain available until expended.
(D) 49 U.S.C. 41733(e) is amended by inserting a period after ‘‘level of service’’ and striking the remainder.
(E) There are no minimum service requirements for eligible places. Service may consist, among others, of ground transportation, single engine, single-pilot operations, air taxi, charter service, or regionalized service.
(F) In determining between or among carriers competing to provide service to a community, the Secretary shall consider the relative subsidy requirements of the carriers.

1. This provision provides for changes to the Essential Air Service Program that are consistent with the proposed FAA reauthorization bill and allow the program to continue subsidizing air service to the most isolated communities within the budget requested.

SEC. 174. During fiscal year 2008, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration may reimburse, from fees credited under 49 U.S.C. 45303, those accounts from which funds have been made available for the Essential air service program under 49 U.S.C. 41742(a)(1): Provided, That 49 U.S.C. 41472(b) shall not apply, and any such fees remaining at the close of fiscal year 2008 may be made available for the Essential air service program for fiscal year 2009.

1. This provision provides a repayment mechanism so that resources can be readjusted as fees are collected.

SEC. 175. No assessments may be levied against any program, budget activity, subactivity or project funded by this Act for the Working Capital Fund unless notice of such assessments is transmitted to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations not less than 5 full business days prior to such assessments.

1. This provision assures that no Working Capital Fund assessments will be made without prior notification to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations.

Note.—A regular 2007 appropriation for this account had not been enacted at the time the budget was prepared; therefore, this account is operating under a continuing resolution.