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In the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, Congress authorized the creation of a surface transportation environmental cooperative research program, to be guided by an independent advisory board. Although the program was approved, funding was not provided. A TRB study, requested by the FHWA and FTA and funded by FHWA, resulted in the definition of a broad and ambitious research program to address and inform major public policy debates about the effects of surface transportation facilities and operations on the human and natural environments (Special Report 268: Surface Transportation Environmental Research: A Long-Term Strategy; TRB 2002). The committee that conducted the study identified major gaps in knowledge that could be filled through a cooperative program of research involving federal agencies, states, and environmental organizations. The committee recommended creation of a new cooperative research program to carry out its recommended research agenda. Congress adopted this recommendation in the 2005 reauthorization of surface transportation legislation and provided funding of about $17 million annually.