49 U.S.C. § 302 — Policy standards for transportation

(a) The Secretary of Transportation is governed by the transportation policy set out in sections 10101 and 13101 of this title, in addition to other applicable laws. (b) This subtitle, and chapters 221 and 315 of this title, do not by themselves authorize adopting, revising, or carrying out a transportation policy, or investment standards or criteria — that still requires appropriate action by Congress. (c) The Secretary must consider the country's need for (1) effective and safe transportation systems, and (2) national defense. (d) (1) It is U.S. policy to promote building and commercializing high-speed ground transportation systems by (A) conducting economic and technological research; (B) demonstrating advances in high-speed ground transportation technologies; (C) setting a comprehensive policy for developing these systems and integrating the different high-speed technologies; and (D) minimizing investors' long-term risk. (2) It is also U.S. policy to establish, as quickly as practical, a U.S.-designed and U.S.-built magnetic levitation transportation technology able to operate along federal-aid highway rights-of-way, as part of the national transportation system. (e) Intermodal transportation: It is U.S. government policy to encourage and promote a national intermodal transportation system — one combining different modes of transport — to move people and goods energy-efficiently, support improved productivity growth, strengthen the country's global competitiveness, and get the best value from the nation's transportation resources.