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SEC. 3037. JOB ACCESS AND REVERSE COMMUTE GRANTS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
        (1) two-thirds of all new jobs are in the suburbs, whereas
    three-quarters of welfare recipients live in rural areas or central
    cities;
        (2) even in metropolitan areas with excellent public transit
    systems, less than half of the jobs are accessible by transit;
        (3) in 1991, the median price of a new car was equivalent to 25
    weeks of salary for the average worker, and considerably more for
    the low-income worker;
        (4) not less than 9,000,000 households and 10,000,000 Americans
    of driving age, most of whom are low-income workers, do not own
    cars;
        (5) 94 percent of welfare recipients do not own cars;
        (6) nearly 40 percent of workers with annual incomes below
    $10,000 do not commute by car;
        (7) many of the 2,000,000 Americans who will have their
    Temporary Assistance to Needy Families grants (under the State
    program funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act
    (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.)) terminated by the year 2002 will be unable
    to get to jobs they could otherwise hold;
        (8) increasing the transit options for low-income workers,
    especially those who are receiving or who have recently received
    welfare benefits, will increase the likelihood of those workers
    getting and keeping jobs; and
        (9) many residents of cities and rural areas would like to take
    advantage of mass transit to gain access to suburban employment
    opportunities.
    (b) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions shall
apply:
        (1) Eligible low-income individual.--The term ``eligible low-
    income individual'' means an individual whose family income is at
    or below 150 percent of the poverty line (as that term is defined
    in section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42
    U.S.C. 9902(2)), including any revision required by that section)
    for a family of the size involved.
        (2) Eligible project and related terms.--
            (A) In general.--The term ``eligible project'' means an
        access to jobs project or a reverse commute project.
            (B) Access to jobs project.--The term ``access to jobs
        project'' means a project relating to the development of
        transportation services designed to transport welfare
        recipients and eligible low-income individuals to and from jobs
        and activities related to their employment. The Secretary may
        make access to jobs grants for--
                (i) capital projects and to finance operating costs of
            equipment, facilities, and associated capital maintenance
            items related to providing access to jobs under this
            section;
                (ii) promoting the use of transit by workers with
            nontraditional work schedules;
                (iii) promoting the use by appropriate agencies of
            transit vouchers for welfare recipients and eligible low-
            income individuals under specific terms and conditions
            developed by the Secretary; and
                (iv) promoting the use of employer-provided
            transportation, including the transit pass benefit program
            under section 132 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
            (C) Reverse commute project.--The term ``reverse commute
        project'' means a project related to the development of
        transportation services designed to transport residents of
        urban areas, urbanized areas, and areas other than urbanized
        areas to suburban employment opportunities, including any
        project to--
                (i) subsidize the costs associated with adding reverse
            commute bus, train, carpool, van routes, or service from
            urban areas, urbanized areas, and areas other than
            urbanized areas, to suburban workplaces;
                (ii) subsidize the purchase or lease by a nonprofit
            organization or public agency of a van or bus dedicated to
            shuttling employees from their residences to a suburban
            workplace; or
                (iii) otherwise facilitate the provision of mass
            transportation services to suburban employment
            opportunities.
        (3) Existing transportation service providers.--The term
    ``existing transportation service providers'' means mass
    transportation operators and governmental agencies and nonprofit
    organizations that receive assistance from Federal, State, or local
    sources for nonemergency transportation services.
        (4) Qualified entity.--The term ``qualified entity'' means--
            (A) with respect to any proposed eligible project in an
        urbanized area with a population of at least 200,000, the
        applicant or applicants selected by the appropriate
        metropolitan planning organization that meets the requirements
        of this section, including the planning and coordination
        requirements in subsection (i), from among local governmental
        authorities and agencies and nonprofit organizations; and
            (B) with respect to any proposed eligible project in an
        urbanized area with a population of at least 200,000, or an
        area other than an urbanized area, the applicant or applicants
        selected by the chief executive officer of the State in which
        the area is located that meets the requirements of this
        section, including the planning and coordination requirements
        in subsection (i), from among local governmental authorities
        and nonprofit organizations.
        (5) Welfare recipient.--The term ``welfare recipient'' means an
    individual who receives or received aid or assistance under a State
    program funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act
    (whether in effect before or after the effective date of the
    amendments made by title I of the Personal Responsibility and Work
    Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-193; 110
    Stat. 2110)) at any time during the 3-year period before the date
    on which the applicant applies for a grant under this section.
    (c) General Authority.--
        (1) In general.--The Secretary may make access to jobs grants
    and reverse commute grants under this section to assist qualified
    entities in financing eligible projects.
        (2) Coordination.--The Secretary shall coordinate activities
    under this section with related activities under programs of other
    Federal departments and agencies.
    (d) Applications.--Each qualified entity seeking to receive a grant
under this section for an eligible project shall submit to the
Secretary an application in such form and in accordance with such
requirements as the Secretary shall establish.
    (e) Prohibition.--Grants awarded under this section may not be used
for planning or coordination activities.
    (f) Factors for Consideration.--In awarding grants under this
section to applicants under subsection (d), the Secretary shall
consider--
        (1) the percentage of the population in the area to be served
    by the applicant that are welfare recipients;
        (2) in the case of an applicant seeking assistance to finance
    an access to jobs project, the need for additional services in the
    area to be served by the applicant (including bicycling) to
    transport welfare recipients and eligible low-income individuals to
    and from specified jobs, training, and other employment support
    services, and the extent to which the proposed services will
    address those needs;
        (3) the extent to which the applicant demonstrates--
            (A) coordination with, and the financial commitment of,
        existing transportation service providers; and
            (B) coordination with the State agency that administers the
        State program funded under part A of title IV of the Social
        Security Act;
        (4) the extent to which the applicant demonstrates maximum
    utilization of existing transportation service providers and
    expands transit networks or hours of service, or both;
        (5) the extent to which the applicant demonstrates an
    innovative approach that is responsive to identified service needs;
        (6) the extent to which the applicant--
            (A) in the case of an applicant seeking assistance to
        finance an access to jobs project, presents a regional
        transportation plan for addressing the transportation needs of
        welfare recipients and eligible low-income individuals; and
            (B) identifies long-term financing strategies to support
        the services under this section;
        (7) the extent to which the applicant demonstrates that the
    community to be served has been consulted in the planning process;
    and
        (8) in the case of an applicant seeking assistance to finance a
    reverse commute project, the need for additional services
    identified in a regional transportation plan to transport
    individuals to suburban employment opportunities, and the extent to
    which the proposed services will address those needs.
    (g) Competitive Grant Selection.--The Secretary shall conduct a
national solicitation for applications for grants under this section.
Grantees shall be selected on a competitive basis.
    (h) Cost Sharing.--
        (1) Maximum amount.--The amount of a grant under this section
    may not exceed 50 percent of the total project cost.
        (2) Nongovernmental share.--
            (A) In general.--The portion of the total cost of an
        eligible project that is not funded under this section--
                (i) shall be provided in cash from sources other than
            revenues from providing mass transportation, but may
            include amounts received under a service agreement; and
                (ii) may be derived from amounts appropriated to or
            made available to a department or agency of the Federal
            Government (other than the Department of Transportation)
            that are eligible to be expended for transportation.
            (B) Inapplicability.--For purposes of subparagraph (A)(ii),
        the prohibitions on the use of funds for matching requirements
        under section 403(a)(5)(C)(ii) of the Social Security Act shall
        not apply to Federal or State funds to be used for
        transportation services.
    (i) Planning Requirements.--
        (1) In general.--The requirements of sections 5303 through 5306
    of title 49, United States Code, apply to any grant made under this
    section.
        (2) Coordination.--Each application for a grant under this
    section shall reflect coordination with and the approval of
    affected transit grant recipients. The eligible access to jobs
    projects financed under this section shall be part of a coordinated
    public transit-human services transportation planning process.
    (j) Grant Requirements.--A grant under this section shall be
subject to--
        (1) all of the terms and conditions to which a grant made under
    section 5307 of title 49, United States Code, is subject; and
        (2) such other terms and conditions as are determined by the
    Secretary.
    (k) Program Evaluation.--
        (1) Comptroller general.--Beginning 6 months after the date of
    enactment of this Act, and every 6 months thereafter, the
    Comptroller General of the United States shall--
            (A) conduct a study to evaluate the grant program
        authorized under this section; and
            (B) submit to the Committee on Transportation and
        Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the
        Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate
        a report describing the results of each study under
        subparagraph (A).
        (2) Department of transportation.--Not later than 2 years after
    the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall--
            (A) conduct a study to evaluate the access to jobs grant
        program authorized under this section; and
            (B) submit to the Committee on Transportation and
        Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the
        Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate
        a report describing the results of the study under subparagraph
        (A).
    (l) Authorization and Allocation.--
        (1) In general.--
            (A) From the trust fund.--There shall be available from the
        Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund to carry out
        this section--
                (i) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 1999;
                (ii) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;
                (iii) $80,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;
                (iv) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2002; and
                (v) $120,000,000 for fiscal year 2003.
            (B) From the general fund.--In addition to amounts made
        available under subparagraph (A), there are authorized to be
        appropriated to carry out this section--
                (i) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1999;
                (ii) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;
                (iii) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;
                (iv) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2002; and
                (v) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2003.
            (C) Additional amounts from the general fund.--In addition
        to amounts made available under subparagraphs (A) and (B),
        there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
        section--
                (i) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 1999;
                (ii) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;
                (iii) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2001; and
                (iv) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2002.
        (2) Set-aside for reverse commute projects.--Of amounts made
    available by or appropriated under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of
    paragraph (1) to carry out this section in each fiscal year, not
    more than $10,000,000 shall be used for grants for reverse commute
    projects.
        (3) Allocation.--The amounts made available by or appropriated
    under paragraph (1) to carry out this section in each fiscal year
    shall be allocated as follows:
            (A) 60 percent shall be allocated for eligible projects in
        urbanized areas with populations of at least 200,000.
            (B) 20 percent shall be allocated for eligible projects in
        urbanized areas with populations of at least 200,000.
            (C) 20 percent shall be allocated for eligible projects in
        areas other than urbanized areas.

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