PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.
H.R.1338 / 112th Congress

Focusing Resources, Economic Investment, and Guidance To Help Transportation Act of 2011

Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in House · Apr 1, 2011

Focusing Resources, Economic Investment, and Guidance to Help Transportation Act of 2011 - Declares U.S. policy with respect to freight transportation.

Establishes within the Office of the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) an Office of Freight Planning and Development.

Directs the Secretary to develop a long-term National Freight Freight Transportation Strategic Plan to guide planning and investments in the national transportation system to move freight.

Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.

Read full official summaryShow less

Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop new or improve existing tools to support an outcome-oriented, performance-based approach to evaluate proposed freight-related and other transportation projects; (2) facilitate the collection of transportation-related data to support a broad range of evaluation methods and techniques to assist in making transportation investment decisions; and (3) consider improvements to the Commodity Flow Survey that reduce identified freight data gaps and deficiencies and help evaluate forecasts of transportation demand.

Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a competitive grant program for capital investment projects that improve the efficiency of the national transportation system to move freight, and (2) give priority to projects with the highest system performance improvement relative to their benefit-cost analysis.

Limits the federal share of project net capital costs at 80%.

Requires a grant recipient to submit to the Secretary: (1) a project management plan and an annual financial plan for a project with a total cost of $500 million or more, and (2) an annual financial plan for a project with a total cost of $100 million or more.

Repeals specified prohibitions against the transfer of amounts from the Highway Trust Fund to the Port Infrastructure Development Fund.

Read the summary on Congress.gov
PlainBill analysis is coming later. This page presents official source data. We have not yet published a PlainBill explanation for this bill.

Who introduced it

Rep. Sires, Albio [D-NJ-13] · D–NJ

Committees

  • Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
9 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

Actions

A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.

  1. Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.

  2. Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.

  3. Referred to the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.

  4. Referred to the Subcommittee on Aviation.

  5. Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

  6. Introduced in House

  7. Introduced in House

Bill text & related measures

Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.

Related bills identified by Congress.gov

Source last updated: Aug 14, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.

Explore the bill from different angles

Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.

Neutral evidence review

Objective

Analyze H.R.1338 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.

View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact

Progressive lens

Examine H.R.1338 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.

View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope

Conservative lens

Examine H.R.1338 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.

View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power

Liberty lens

Examine H.R.1338 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.

View full prompt & sources