I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2725

To authorize the Secretary of Transportation to establish a grant program 

for the rehabilitation, preservation, or improvement of railroad track. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 15, 2003

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska (for himself, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. QUINN, and Ms. 

CORRINE BROWN of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of Transportation to establish 

a grant program for the rehabilitation, preservation, or 

improvement of railroad track.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Railroad Track Mod5 ernization Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CAPITAL GRANTS FOR RAILROAD TRACK. 

7 (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 223 of title 49, United 

8 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 
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1 ‘‘CHAPTER 223—CAPITAL GRANTS FOR 

2 RAILROAD TRACK

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘22301. Capital grants for railroad track.

3 ‘‘§ 22301. Capital grants for railroad track

4 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—

5 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of 

6 Transportation shall establish a program of capital 

7 grants for the rehabilitation, preservation, or im8 provement of railroad track (including roadbed, 

9 bridges, and related track structures) of class II and 

10 class III railroads. Such grants shall be for rehabili11 tating, preserving, or improving track used primarily 

12 for freight transportation to a standard ensuring 

13 that the track can be operated safely and efficiently, 

14 including grants for rehabilitating, preserving, or im15 proving track to handle 286,000 pound rail cars. 

16 Grants may be provided under this chapter—

17 ‘‘(A) directly to the class II or class III 

18 railroad; or 

19 ‘‘(B) with the concurrence of the class II 

20 or class III railroad, to a State or local govern21 ment. 

22 ‘‘(2) STATE COOPERATION.—Class II and class 

23 III railroad applicants for a grant under this chap24 ter are encouraged to utilize the expertise and assist-
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1 ance of State transportation agencies in applying for 

2 and administering such grants. State transportation 

3 agencies are encouraged to provide such expertise 

4 and assistance to such railroads. 

5 ‘‘(3) INTERIM REGULATIONS.—Not later than 

6 December 31, 2003, the Secretary shall issue tem7 porary regulations to implement the program under 

8 this section. Subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5 

9 does not apply to a temporary regulation issued 

10 under this paragraph or to an amendment to such 

11 a temporary regulation. 

12 ‘‘(4) FINAL REGULATIONS.—Not later than Oc13 tober 1, 2004, the Secretary shall issue final regula14 tions to implement the program under this section. 

15 ‘‘(b) MAXIMUM FEDERAL SHARE.—The maximum 

16 Federal share for carrying out a project under this section 

17 shall be 80 percent of the project cost. The non-Federal 

18 share may be provided by any non-Federal source in cash, 

19 equipment, or supplies. Other in-kind contributions may 

20 be approved by the Secretary on a case by case basis con21 sistent with this chapter. 

22 ‘‘(c) PROJECT ELIGIBILITY.—For a project to be eli23 gible for assistance under this section the track must have 

24 been operated or owned by a class II or class III railroad 
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1 as of the date of the enactment of the Railroad Track 

2 Modernization Act of 2003. 

3 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants provided under this 

4 section shall be used to implement track capital projects 

5 as soon as possible. In no event shall grant funds be con6 tractually obligated for a project later than the end of the 

7 third Federal fiscal year following the year in which the 

8 grant was awarded. Any funds not so obligated by the end 

9 of such fiscal year shall be returned to the Secretary for 

10 reallocation. 

11 ‘‘(e) EMPLOYEE PROTECTION.—The Secretary shall 

12 require as a condition of any grant made under this sec13 tion that the recipient railroad provide a fair arrangement 

14 at least as protective of the interests of employees who 

15 are affected by the project to be funded with the grant 

16 as the terms imposed under section 11326(a), as in effect 

17 on the date of the enactment of the Railroad Track Mod18 ernization Act of 2003. 

19 ‘‘(f) LABOR STANDARDS.—

20 ‘‘(1) PREVAILING WAGES.—The Secretary shall 

21 ensure that laborers and mechanics employed by 

22 contractors and subcontractors in construction work 

23 financed by a grant made under this section will be 

24 paid wages not less than those prevailing on similar 

25 construction in the locality, as determined by the 
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1 Secretary of Labor under the Act of March 3, 1931 

2 (known as the Davis-Bacon Act; 40 U.S.C. 276a et 

3 seq.). The Secretary shall make a grant under this 

4 section only after being assured that required labor 

5 standards will be maintained on the construction 

6 work. 

7 ‘‘(2) WAGE RATES.—Wage rates in a collective 

8 bargaining agreement negotiated under the Railway 

9 Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) are deemed for 

10 purposes of this subsection to comply with the Act 

11 of March 3, 1931 (known as the Davis-Bacon Act; 

12 40 U.S.C. 276a et seq.). 

13 ‘‘(g) STUDY.—The Secretary shall conduct a study 

14 of the projects carried out with grant assistance under this 

15 section to determine the public interest benefits associated 

16 with the light density railroad networks in the States and 

17 their contribution to a multimodal transportation system. 

18 Not later than March 31, 2005, the Secretary shall report 

19 to Congress any recommendations the Secretary considers 

20 appropriate regarding the eligibility of light density rail 

21 networks for Federal infrastructure financing. 

22 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

24 Transportation $350,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 

25 2004 through 2006 for carrying out this section.’’. 
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item relating 

2 to chapter 223 in the table of chapters of subtitle V of 

3 title 49, United States Code, is amended to read as fol4 lows:

‘‘223. CAPITAL GRANTS FOR RAILROAD TRACK .......................... 22301’’.

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