I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 259

To amend title 49, United States Code, to eliminate provisions of Federal

law that provide special support for, or burdens on, the operation of

Amtrak as a passenger rail carrier, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 4, 1995

Mr. HEFLEY (for himself, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. BARTON

of Texas, Mr. COMBEST, and Mr. SCHAEFER) introduced the following

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

A BILL

To amend title 49, United States Code, to eliminate provisions of Federal law that provide special support for,

or burdens on, the operation of Amtrak as a passenger

rail carrier, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

4 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

5 (1) in 1970, Amtrak was created as a 2-year,

6 federally assisted experiment that was to become an
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1 independent and self-sufficient entity shortly there2 after;

3 (2) although Amtrak is not a department, agen4 cy, or instrumentality of the Federal Government, it

5 cannot operate without large, annual Federal sub6 sidies;

7 (3) while Amtrak carries only .3 percent of all

8 intercity travelers, it has cost the American tax9 payers over $15,000,000,000 in subsidies since its

10 creation;

11 (4) Amtrak has been appropriated nearly

12 $1,000,000,000 in Federal subsidies for fiscal year

13 1995, and General Accounting Office estimates show

14 it could require another $10,000,000,000 in sub15 sidies over the next 5 years to remain viable;

16 (5) the General Accounting Office has con17 cluded that Amtrak’s expenses will continue to in18 crease steadily over the next few years due to its

19 need to—

20 (A) renegotiate its operating agreements

21 with the freight railroads;

22 (B) renegotiate work rules and labor com23 pensation with the 14 unions that represent its

24 employees; and
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1 (C) invest in modern locomotives and pas2 senger cars;

3 (6) the General Accounting Office has con4 cluded that Amtrak’s financial condition has deterio5 rated to the point that its future costs make recov6 ery difficult;

7 (7) the statutory requirements imposed on Am8 trak ensure that its rail passenger service will be

9 costly, inefficient, and unable to post a profit; and

10 (8) the application of the Railway Labor Act

11 and the Federal Employers’ Liability Act to rail pas12 senger service employees is excessive, costly, and

13 burdensome and should be reduced to a more realis14 tic level.

15 (b) REPEAL.—Section 24101 of title 49, United

16 States Code, and the item relating thereto in the table of

17 sections of chapter 241 of such title, are repealed.

18 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

19 Section 24102 of such title is amended—

20 (1) by striking paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (6),

21 (7), (10), and (11); and

22 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), (8),

23 and (9) as paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4), respec24 tively.
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1 SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT.

2 Section 24103 of such title is amended—

3 (1) by repealing subsection (b); and

4 (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub5 section (b).

6 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

7 Section 24104 of such title is amended to read as

8 follows:

9 ‘‘§ 24104. Authorization of appropriations

10 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec11 retary of Transportation for the benefit of Amtrak—

12 ‘‘(1) $902,000,000 for fiscal year 1996;

13 ‘‘(2) $652,000,000 for fiscal year 1997;

14 ‘‘(3) $402,000,000 for fiscal year 1998; and

15 ‘‘(4) $152,000,000 for fiscal year 1999.’’.

16 SEC. 5. CHAPTER 243 AMENDMENTS.

17 Chapter 243 of such title is amended—

18 (1) in the table of sections—

19 (A) by striking the items relating to sec20 tions 24302 through 24315; and

21 (B) by inserting after the item relating to

22 section 24301 the following new item:

‘‘24302. Relinquishment of rights to stock, notes, and mortgages.’’;

23 (2) in section 24301—

24 (A) by repealing subsections (b), (c), (d),

25 (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), and (n); and
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1 (B) by redesignating subsection (m) as

2 subsection (b);

3 (3) by repealing sections 24302 through 25315;

4 and

5 (4) by adding at the end the following new sec6 tion:

7 ‘‘§ 24302. Relinquishment of rights to stock, notes,

8 and mortgages

9 ‘‘The United States relinquishes any rights held by

10 virtue of any stock, note of indebtedness, or mortgage is11 sued by or entered into with Amtrak.’’.

12 SEC. 6. CHAPTER 245 AMENDMENTS.

13 (a) SECTION 24501(g) AMENDMENT.—Section

14 24501(g) of such title is amended by striking ‘‘Amtrak

15 is exempt’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Amtrak Com16 muter is exempt’’.

17 (b) SECTION 24504(c) REPEAL.—Section 24504(c)

18 of such title is repealed.

19 SEC. 7. CHAPTERS 247 AND 249 REPEALED.

20 Chapters 247 and 249 of such title are repealed.

21 SEC. 8. SERVICE DISCONTINUANCE.

22 (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 241 of such title is

23 amended by adding at the end the following new section:
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1 ‘‘§ 24105. Service discontinuance

2 ‘‘(a) WAGE CONTINUATION OR SEVERANCE BENE3 FIT.—Notwithstanding any arrangement in effect before

4 the date of enactment of this section, no employee of a

5 rail carrier providing rail passenger transportation whose

6 employment is terminated as a result of a discontinuance

7 of intercity rail passenger service shall receive any wage

8 continuation or severance benefit in excess of 6 months

9 pay. This subsection shall not affect the obligations of rail

10 carriers under section 11347 of this title.

11 ‘‘(b) TRANSFER.—Notwithstanding any arrangement

12 in effect before the date of enactment of this section, a

13 rail carrier providing rail passenger transportation may

14 require an employee whose position is eliminated as a re15 sult of a discontinuance of intercity rail passenger service

16 to transfer to any vacant position for which the employee

17 can be made qualified on any part of such rail carrier’s

18 system. If such transfer requires a change in residence or

19 seniority district, the employee shall choose—

20 ‘‘(1) to transfer to the position and be covered

21 by the collective bargaining agreement applicable to

22 the seniority district to which he is transferred; or

23 ‘‘(2) to voluntarily furlough himself at his home

24 location and receive protective benefits not in excess

25 of the amount authorized under subsection (a).
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1 For purposes of this subsection, a transfer shall be consid2 ered to require a change in residence if the new employ3 ment is more than 30 miles from the employee’s place of

4 residence and is farther from that residence than was the

5 former work location.’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections of

7 chapter 241 of such title is amended by adding at the end

8 the following new item:

‘‘24105. Service Discontinuance.’’.

9 SEC. 9. FEDERAL EMPLOYERS’ LIABILITY ACT.

10 The Act entitled ‘‘An Act relating to the liability of

11 common carriers by railroad to their employees in certain

12 cases.’’, enacted April 22, 1908 (45 U.S.C. 51 et seq.; pop13 ularly referred to as the ‘‘Federal Employers’ Liability

14 Act’’ or the ‘‘Employers’ Liability Act’’) is amended by

15 adding at the end the following new section:

16 ‘‘SEC. 11. This Act shall not apply to common car17 riers to the extent they provide rail passenger transpor18 tation.’’.

19 SEC. 10. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

20 (a) RAIL SERVICES PLANNING OFFICE DUTIES.—

21 Section 10362(b)(5) of title 49, United States Code, is

22 amended by striking ‘‘(except passenger transportation

23 compensation disputes subject to the jurisdiction of the

24 Commission under sections 24308(a) and 24903(c)(2) of

25 this title).’’.
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1 (b) AUTHORIZING ABANDONMENT AND DISCONTINU2 ANCE.—Section 10903(b)(2) of title 49, United States

3 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘and section 405(b) of the

4 Rail Passenger Service Act (45 U.S.C. 565(b))’’.

5 (c) EMPLOYEE PROTECTIVE ARRANGEMENTS.—Sec6 tion 11347 of title 49, United States Code, is amended

7 by striking ‘‘, and the terms established under section 405

8 of the Rail Passenger Service Act (45 U.S.C. 565)’’.

9 (d) TERMINAL FACILITIES.—Section 5567 of title

10 49, United States Code, and the item relating thereto in

11 the table of sections of chapter 55 of such title, are re12 pealed.

13 SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATES.

14 (a) GENERAL RULE.—Except as otherwise provided

15 in this section, this Act shall take effect 1 year after the

16 date of its enactment.

17 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—(1) Sections 4, 8, and 9 of this

18 Act shall take effect immediately upon enactment.

19 (2) The repeal of section 24909 of title 49, United

20 States Code, shall take effect on October 1, 1995.

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