Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 119.djvu/1798

 119 STAT. 1780

PUBLIC LAW 109–59—AUG. 10, 2005

by this Act (including the amendments made by this Act) or otherwise determined by the Secretary, and such funds shall remain available until expended and shall not be transferable. SEC. 5102. OBLIGATION CEILING.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the total of all obligations from amounts made available from the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) by section 5101(a) of this Act shall be $410,888,888 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2009. SEC. 5103. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following: (1) Research and development are critical to developing and maintaining a transportation system that meets the goals of safety, mobility, economic vitality, efficiency, equity, and environmental protection. (2) Federally sponsored surface transportation research and development has produced many successes. The development of rumble strips has increased safety; research on materials has increased the lifespan of pavements, saving money and reducing the disruption caused by construction; and Geographic Information Systems have improved the management and efficiency of transit fleets. (3) Despite these important successes, the Federal surface transportation research and development investment represents less than 1 percent of overall Government spending on surface transportation. (4) While Congress increased funding for overall transportation programs by about 40 percent in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, funding for transportation research and development remained relatively flat. (5) The Federal investment in research and development should be balanced between short-term applied and long-term fundamental research and development. The investment should also cover a wide range of research areas, including research on materials and construction, research on operations, research on transportation trends and human factors, and research addressing the institutional barriers to deployment of new technologies. (6) That it is in the United States interest to increase the Federal investment in transportation research and development, and to conduct research in critical research gaps, in order to ensure that the transportation system meets the goals of safety, mobility, economic vitality, efficiency, equity, and environmental protection.

Subtitle B—Research, Technology, and Education SEC. 5201. RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY, AND EDUCATION.

(a) RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY, AND EDUCATION.—Title 23, United States Code, is amended— (1) in the table of chapters by striking the item relating to chapter 5 and inserting the following: ‘‘5. Research, Technology, and Education .................................................... 501’’;

VerDate 14-DEC-2004

13:51 Oct 26, 2006

Jkt 039194

PO 00002

Frm 00637

Fmt 6580

Sfmt 6581

E:\PUBLAW\PUBL002.119

APPS06

PsN: PUBL002

�