,,ii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #chdb ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,may #ba1 #bjbj,mr4 ,wicker introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,secretary of ,transportation to establish a pilot program to provide assistance to certain entities in rural communities1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,rural ,infrastructure ,advancement ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,rural ,assistance ,pilot ,program 7a7 ,establishment 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall establish within the ,build ,america ,bureau a pilot program1 to be known as the ,rural ,assistance ,pilot ,program1 to provide to eligible entities1 through the services of expert firms described in subsection 7c71 assistance and information described in paragraph 7#b74 7#b7 ,assistance and information ,in carrying out the ,rural ,assistance ,pilot ,program1 the ,secretary may provide the following3 7,a7 ,financial1 technical1 and legal assistance to evaluate potential projects eligible to receive funding or financing assistance under an eligible program4 7,b7 ,assistance with development phase activities1 including-- 7i7 project planning2 7ii7 feasibility studies2 7iii7 revenue forecasting and funding and financing options analysis2 7iv7 environmental review2 7v7 preliminary engineering and design work2 7vi7 economic assessments and cost-benefit analyses2 7vii7 public benefit studies2 7viii7 statutory and regulatory framework analyses2 7ix7 value for money studies2 7x7 evaluations of costs to sustain the project2 7xi7 evaluating opportunities for private financing and project bundling2 and 7xii7 any other activity determined to be appropriate by the ,secretary4 7,c7 ,information about innovative financing best practices and case studies if the eligible entity is interested in using innovative financing methods4 7b7 ,eligible entities ,an entity eligible for assistance under the ,rural ,assistance ,pilot ,program is an entity that-- 7#a7 is located in an area that is outside of an urbanized area 7as defined by the ,bureau of the ,census7 with a population greater than #aej1jjj individuals2 or 7#b7 may pursue a project located in an area described in paragraph 7#a74 7c7 ,assistance from expert firms ,the ,secretary may retain the services of expert firms1 including counsel1 in the field of municipal and project finance to assist in providing financial1 technical1 and legal assistance to eligible entities4 7d7 ,website 7#a7 ,description of program 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall make publicly available on the website of the ,department a description of the ,rural ,assistance ,pilot ,program1 including the resources available to eligible entities4 7,b7 ,clearinghouse ,the ,secretary may establish a clearinghouse for tools1 templates1 and best practices on the page of the website of the ,department that contains the information described in subparagraph 7,a74 7#b7 ,application processes 7,a7 ,in general ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall establish a process for submitting an application4 7,b7 ,online portal ,the ,secretary shall develop and make available to the public an online portal through which the ,secretary may receive1 on a rolling basis1 applications4 7,c7 ,review of applications 7i7 ,in general ,not later than #fj days after the date on which the ,secretary receives an application1 the ,secretary shall notify each eligible entity that submitted the application of the approval or disapproval of the application4 7ii7 ,additional written notification 7,i7 ,in general ,not later than #cj days after the date on which the ,secretary initially notifies an eligible entity under clause 7i71 the ,secretary shall provide to the eligible entity an additional written notification of the approval or disapproval of the application4 7,,ii7 ,disapproved applications ,if an application is not approved1 a written notification under subclause 7,i7 shall include an offer for a written or telephonic debrief by the ,secretary that will provide an explanation of1 and guidance on1 the reasons that the application was not approved4 7iii7 ,incomplete applications ,the ,secretary shall not approve an application if the application does not meet the criteria established under this section4 7#c7 ,dashboard ,the ,secretary shall post on the website of the ,department a monthly report that includes1 for each application-- 7,a7 the type of entity that submitted the application2 7,b7 the location of the potential project or projects2 7,c7 a brief description of the assistance requested2 7,d7 the date on which the ,secretary received the application2 and 7,e7 the date on which the ,secretary provided notice of approval or disapproval under paragraph 7#b77;,c77i74 7e7 ,experts ,an eligible entity that receives assistance under the ,rural ,assistance ,pilot ,program may retain the services of any expert for any phase of a project1 including project development1 regardless of whether the expert was retained by the ,secretary under subsection 7c74 7f7 ,funding 7#a7 ,in general ,for each of fiscal years #bjba through #bjbe1 the ,secretary may use to carry out the ,rural ,assistance ,pilot ,program1 including to retain the services of expert firms1 any amounts made available to the ,secretary that are used to provide credit assistance under eligible programs and not otherwise obligated1 not to exceed-- 7,a7 #b1jjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjba2 7,b7 #b1djj1jjj for fiscal year #bjbb2 7,c7 #c1bjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjbc2 7,d7 #d1jjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjbd2 and 7,e7 #e1bjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjbe4 7#b7 ,geographic distribution ,not more than #bj percent of the amounts made available for grants under this subsection for a fiscal year may be used to make grants for projects in any #a ,state4 7g7 ,sunset ,the ,rural ,assistance ,pilot ,program shall terminate on the date that is #e years after the date of enactment of this ,act4 7h7 ,administration of application process by the ,build ,america ,bureau ,section #aaf7;d77#a7 of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7,e7 ,the ,rural ,assistance ,pilot ,program established under the ,rural ,infrastructure ,advancement ,act of #bjbj4 4 7i7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,application ,the term application means an application for assistance under the ,rural ,assistance ,pilot ,program submitted by an eligible entity to the ,secretary in such form and containing such information as the ,secretary may require4 7#b7 ,build ,america ,bureau ,the term ,build ,america ,bureau means the ,national ,surface ,transportation and ,innovative ,finance ,bureau established under section #aaf of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#c7 ,department ,the term ,department means the ,department of ,transportation4 7#d7 ,eligible entity ,the term eligible entity means an entity described in subsection 7b74 7#e7 ,eligible program ,the term eligible program means a program described in any of subparagraphs 7,a71 7,b71 and 7,d7 of section #aaf7;d77#a7 of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#f7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,transportation4