To provide for competitive development and operation of high-speed rail corridor projects.

Summary: Directs the Secretary of Transportation to solicit proposals for projects for the financing, design, construction, and operation of an initial high-speed rail system between Washington, DC, and New York City, New York (Northeast Corridor).

Requires the Secretary to: (1) determine whether a proposal is feasible; and (2) establish a commission for each corridor for which one or more feasible proposals are submitted.

Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on the results of an economic development study of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor service.

SECTION 1. SOLICITATION OF PROPOSALS.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Northeast corridor.--Not later than 60 days after the 
        date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation 
        shall issue a request for proposals for projects for the 
        financing, design, construction, and operation of an initial 
        high-speed rail system operating between Washington, DC, and 
        New York City. Such proposals shall be submitted to the 
        Secretary not later than 150 days after the publication of such 
        request for proposals.
            (2) Other projects.--After a report is transmitted under 
        section 5 with respect to projects described in paragraph (1), 
        the Secretary of Transportation may issue a request for 
        proposals for additional projects for the financing, design, 
        construction, and operation of a high-speed rail system 
        operating on any other corridor in the United States. Such 
        proposals shall be submitted to the Secretary not later than 
        150 days after the publication of such request for proposals.
    (b) Contents.--A proposal submitted under subsection (a) shall 
include--
            (1) the names and qualifications of the persons submitting 
        the proposal;
            (2) a detailed description of the proposed route and its 
        engineering characteristics;
            (3) the peak and average operating speeds to be attained;
            (4) the type of equipment to be used, including any 
        technologies for--
                    (A) maintaining an operating speed the Secretary 
                determines appropriate; or
                    (B) in the case of a proposal submitted under 
                subsection (a)(1), achieving less than 2-hour express 
                service between Washington, DC, and New York City;
            (5) the locations of proposed stations;
            (6) a detailed description of any proposed legislation 
        needed to facilitate the project;
            (7) a financing plan identifying--
                    (A) sources of revenue;
                    (B) the amount of any proposed public contribution 
                toward capital costs or operations;
                    (C) ridership projections; and
                    (D) the amount of private investment;
            (8) a description of how the project would contribute to 
        the development of a national high-speed rail system, and an 
        intermodal plan describing how the system will connect with 
        other transportation links;
            (9) labor protections for existing railroad employees;
            (10) provisions to ensure that the proposal will be 
        designed to operate in harmony with existing and projected 
        future commuter and freight service; and
            (11) provisions for full fair market compensation for any 
        asset or service acquired from a private person or entity, 
        except as otherwise agreed to by the private person or entity.
    (c) Documents.--Documents submitted or developed pursuant to this 
section shall not be subject to section 552 of title 5, United States 
Code.

SEC. 2. DETERMINATION OF FEASIBILITY AND ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSIONS.

    Not later than 60 days after receipt of a proposal under section 1, 
the Secretary of Transportation shall--
            (1) make a determination as to whether the proposal is 
        feasible; and
            (2) for each corridor for which one or more feasible 
        proposals are received, establish a commission under section 3.

SEC. 3. COMMISSIONS.

    A commission referred to in section 2(2) shall consist of not more 
than 19 members, including--
            (1) the governor of the affected State or States, or their 
        respective designees;
            (2) a rail labor representative, and a representative from 
        a rail freight carrier using the relevant corridor, appointed 
        by the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the 
        chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on 
        Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
        Transportation of the Senate;
            (3) the Secretary of Transportation or his designee;
            (4) the president of Amtrak or his designee;
            (5) the mayors of the three largest municipalities serviced 
        by the proposed high-speed rail corridor; and
            (6) any other person the Secretary of Transportation 
        considers appropriate.

SEC. 4. COMMISSION CONSIDERATION.

    (a) In General.--Each commission established under section 2(2) 
shall be responsible for reviewing the proposal or proposals with 
respect to which the commission was established, and not later than 90 
days after the establishment of the commission, shall transmit to the 
Secretary, and to the chairman and ranking minority member of the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate, a report which includes--
            (1) a summary of each proposal received;
            (2) a ranking of the order of the proposals according to 
        feasibility, and cost and benefit to the public;
            (3) an indication of which proposal or proposals are 
        recommended by the commission; and
            (4) an identification of any proposed legislative 
        provisions which would facilitate implementation of the 
        recommended project.
    (b) Verbal Presentation.--Proposers shall be given an opportunity 
to make a verbal presentation to the commission to explain their 
proposals.

SEC. 5. SELECTION BY SECRETARY.

    Not later than 60 days after receiving a report from a commission 
under section 4(a), the Secretary of Transportation shall transmit to 
the Congress a report that ranks all of the recommended proposals 
according to feasibility, and cost and benefit to the public.

SEC. 6. NORTHEAST CORRIDOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STUDY.

    Not later than 9 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Transportation shall transmit to the Congress the 
results of an economic development study of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor 
service between Washington, DC, and New York City. Such study shall 
examine how to achieve maximum utilization of the Northeast Corridor, 
including--
            (1) maximizing the assets of the Northeast Corridor for 
        potential economic development purposes;
            (2) real estate improvement and financial return;
            (3) improved commuter and freight services;
            (4) optimum utility utilization in conjunction with 
        potential separated high-speed rail passenger services; and
            (5) any other means of maximizing the economic potential of 
        the Northeast Corridor.