49 U.S.C. § 302

(a) The Secretary of Transportation is governed by the transportation policy of sections 10101 and 13101 of this title in addition to other laws. (b) This subtitle and chapters 221 and 315 of this title do not authorize, without appropriate action by Congress, the adoption, revision, or implementation of a transportation policy or investment standards or criteria. (c) The Secretary shall consider the needs— (1) for effectiveness and safety in transportation systems; and (2) of national defense. (d) (1) It is the policy of the United States to promote the construction and commercialization of high-speed ground transportation systems by— (A) conducting economic and technological research; (B) demonstrating advancements in high-speed ground transportation technologies; (C) establishing a comprehensive policy for the development of such systems and the effective integration of the various high-speed ground transportation technologies; and (D) minimizing the long-term risks of investors. (2) It is the policy of the United States to establish in the shortest time practicable a United States designed and constructed magnetic levitation transportation technology capable of operating along Federal-aid highway rights-of-way, as part of a national transportation system of the United States. (e) Intermodal Transportation .— It is the policy of the United States Government to encourage and promote development of a national intermodal transportation system in the United States to move people and goods in an energy-efficient manner, provide the foundation for improved productivity growth, strengthen the Nation’s ability to compete in the global economy, and obtain the optimum yield from the Nation’s transportation resources.