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108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3211

To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide for stable, productive, 

and efficient passenger rail service in the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 30, 2003

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska (for himself and Mr. OBERSTAR) (both by request) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL

To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide for stable, 

productive, and efficient passenger rail service in the 

United States, 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. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Passenger Rail Investment Reform Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Purposes; definitions. 
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TITLE I—NATIONAL PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE RESTRUCTURING 

Sec. 101. Board of directors of Amtrak. 

Sec. 102. Passenger rail service restructuring. 

Sec. 103. Northeast Corridor Compact. 

Sec. 104. Assistance to address capital needs. 

Sec. 105. Employee transition assistance; authorization. 

Sec. 106. Limit on operating assistance for long-distance routes. 

Sec. 107. Repeal of obsolete and executed provisions of law; other. 

TITLE II—FINANCIAL REFORMS 

Sec. 201. Limitations on availability of grants. 

Sec. 202. Spending plans for capital backlog reduction. 

Sec. 203. Redemption of common stock. 

Sec. 204. Retirement of preferred stock; transfer of assets. 

Sec. 205. Real estate and asset sales; other. 

Sec. 206. Management and transfer of secured debt. 

Sec. 207. Transition assistance. 

TITLE III—GRANTS AND OTHER ASSISTANCE FOR INTERCITY 

PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE 

Sec. 301. Capital assistance for intercity passenger rail service. 

Sec. 302. Final regulations on applications by States for development grants. 

Sec. 303. Authority for interstate compacts for corridor development.

1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES; DEFINITIONS. 

2 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to—

3 (1) preserve an intercity passenger rail service 

4 system in the United States that is driven by sound 

5 economics; 

6 (2) provide a transition from the existing struc7 ture for providing such service to a structure that is 

8 more aligned with existing and emerging transpor9 tation needs; 

10 (3) develop a system that provides high quality 

11 passenger rail service at a reasonable cost; 

12 (4) establish a long-term partnership among the 

13 states and the Federal Government to support inter14 city passenger rail service; and 
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1 (5) create an effective public-private partner2 ship, after a reasonable transition, to manage the 

3 capital assets of the Northeast Corridor. 

4 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act—

5 (1) the term ‘‘Year One’’ means the next Fed6 eral fiscal year to begin after the date of enactment 

7 of this Act, except that the term means the current 

8 Federal fiscal year if the date of enactment of the 

9 Act is within 60 days of the first day of the current 

10 Federal fiscal year; and 

11 (2) the terms ‘‘Year Two’’, ‘‘Year Three’’, 

12 ‘‘Year Four’’, ‘‘Year Five’’, and ‘‘Year Six’’ mean, 

13 respectively, the Federal fiscal year that follows Year 

14 One by one, two, three, four, and five years, respec15 tively. 

16 TITLE I—NATIONAL PASSENGER 

17 RAIL SERVICE RESTRUCTURING 

18 SEC. 101. BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF AMTRAK. 

19 Section 24302 of title 49, United States Code, is 

20 amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘§ 24302. Board of Directors 

22 ‘‘(a) MEMBERSHIP.—(1) The Transition Board of 

23 Directors of Amtrak shall consist of 11 voting members, 

24 including—
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1 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of Transportation, or an of2 ficer of the United States within the Department of 

3 Transportation compensated under the Executive 

4 Schedule under title 5, United States Code, who is 

5 designated by the Secretary (hereafter in this section 

6 the ‘Secretary’s delegate’); and 

7 ‘‘(B) 10 other members appointed by the Presi8 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen9 ate. 

10 ‘‘(2) The President of Amtrak shall serve as an ex 

11 officio, nonvoting member of the Board of Directors. 

12 ‘‘(b) COMPENSATION.—Each member of the Board of 

13 Directors shall not be compensated for service as such 

14 member, but shall receive with respect to such service 

15 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, 

16 in accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5. 

17 ‘‘(c) TERM OF OFFICE.—Members serving unexpired 

18 terms on the date of enactment of this section may con19 tinue to serve until the earlier of the expiration of their 

20 terms or the date on which the restructuring mandated 

21 under section 24310 of this title is implemented. Members 

22 appointed by the President under subsection (a)(1)(B) 

23 shall serve for a term that expires on the date the restruc24 turing mandated in section 24310 of this title is imple25 mented. At the expiration of their terms, members of the 
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1 Board shall be eligible to serve as members of the boards 

2 of successor corporations to Amtrak. 

3 ‘‘(d) QUORUM.—At any time after the date of enact4 ment of this section, a majority of the Board members 

5 who have been lawfully appointed shall constitute a 

6 quorum for purposes of conducting Board meetings and 

7 making all necessary decisions regarding the operations, 

8 structure, and business affairs of Amtrak. 

9 ‘‘(e) TRANSITION COMMITTEE.—(1) The Board of 

10 Directors shall form an Asset Transition Committee com11 prised of the Secretary, or the Secretary’s delegate, and 

12 two other members, or one other member if two other 

13 members are not lawfully appointed. 

14 ‘‘(2) In addition to other powers and duties assigned 

15 by the Board, the Asset Transition Committee has the 

16 duty to ensure that the public interest is served in Board 

17 decisions and Amtrak management actions that change 

18 the use of or status of—

19 ‘‘(A) the contractual right of access of Amtrak 

20 to rail lines of other railroads; 

21 ‘‘(B) Amtrak secured debt;

22 ‘‘(C) Northeast Corridor real property and as23 sets; and 

24 ‘‘(D) rolling stock. 
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1 ‘‘(3) The Board may not take an action with regard 

2 to the assets or secured debt specified in paragraph (2), 

3 or permit an Amtrak management action with regard to 

4 those assets, that is not approved by the Asset Transition 

5 Committee. 

6 ‘‘(f) MODIFICATION OF BOARD AFTER RESTRUC7 TURING.—(1) Upon the commencement of operations of 

8 the Passenger Rail Service Provider and the Passenger 

9 Rail Infrastructure Manager under section 24310 of this 

10 title, the Board of Directors of Amtrak shall consist of—

11 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of Transportation; 

12 ‘‘(B) the Federal Railroad Administrator or an13 other officer of the United States within the Depart14 ment of Transportation compensated under the Ex15 ecutive Schedule under title 5, United States Code, 

16 who is designated by the Secretary; and 

17 ‘‘(C) the Federal Transit Administrator or an18 other officer of the United States within the Depart19 ment of Transportation compensated under the Ex20 ecutive Schedule under title 5, United States Code, 

21 who is designated by the Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(2) Upon the designation of directors by the Sec23 retary under paragraph (1), and with the exception of the 

24 Secretary of Transportation, the members of the Transi25 tion Board of Directors shall no longer serve as appointees 
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1 of the President to the Amtrak Board of Directors, but 

2 shall instead become members of the Board of Directors 

3 of the entities referred to in Federal law as the Passenger 

4 Rail Service Provider or the Passenger Rail Infrastructure 

5 Manager.’’. 

6 SEC. 102. PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE RESTRUCTURING. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title 49, United States Code, is 

8 amended by inserting the following after section 24309: 

9 ‘‘§ 24310. Amtrak restructuring mandate 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Within 6 months after Year One 

11 begins, and notwithstanding any other provision of this 

12 title, the Board of Directors shall prepare a plan to re13 structure Amtrak management, personnel, assets, oper14 ations, and other activities and relationships to conform 

15 to the requirements of this section. The Board shall trans16 mit the completed plan to the Committee on Commerce, 

17 Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the Committee 

18 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

19 Representatives, and the Committees on Appropriations of 

20 the House of Representatives and Senate. 

21 ‘‘(b) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—At a minimum, the 

22 restructuring plan required under this section shall pro23 vide for the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) The filing of appropriate Articles of Incor25 poration under State law for two business corpora-
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1 tions that are entirely independent of Amtrak, here2 inafter referred to as the ‘Passenger Rail Service 

3 Provider’ and the ‘Passenger Rail Infrastructure 

4 Manager’ or collectively the ‘successor corporations’. 

5 ‘‘(2) The division of Amtrak into three func6 tionally independent entities that provide the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(A) A corporation, hereinafter referred to 

9 as ‘Amtrak’, that shall provide overall super10 vision of Amtrak restructuring and subsequent 

11 management of residual responsibilities, includ12 ing succeeding to the legal rights of the Na13 tional Railroad Passenger Corporation, and in14 cluding specifically Amtrak’s legal right of ac15 cess to other railroads, following transfer of rail 

16 operations and infrastructure management to 

17 the successor corporations established under 

18 paragraph (1). 

19 ‘‘(B) Passenger rail operating services na20 tionwide, including operation of the reservation 

21 centers and ownership and management of ex22 isting rolling stock and its maintenance. 

23 ‘‘(C) Passenger rail infrastructure manage24 ment. 
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1 ‘‘(3) The assignment of all Amtrak personnel 

2 by name to one of the entities specified in paragraph 

3 (2), with no loss of pay or benefits, including senior4 ity rights to employment within any entity, except 

5 that an employee who elects employment with the 

6 entity specified by paragraph (2)(A) shall become an 

7 employee of the corporation, with only such rights 

8 regarding pay and benefits as the corporation shall 

9 determine. 

10 ‘‘(4) The division of accounting, finance, budg11 et, assets, and personnel to provide for the operation 

12 and funding of each entity independently. 

13 ‘‘(5) A transition schedule that provides for 

14 completion of the restructuring not later than the 

15 last day of Year One. 

16 ‘‘(c) SUCCESSOR CORPORATIONS.—(1) Consistent 

17 with the business corporation law of the State of incorpo18 ration of the successor corporations specified by sub19 section (b)(1) of this section, each of the successor cor20 porations shall be qualified to undertake railroad activities 

21 of an operational or infrastructure nature on a contractual 

22 basis with Amtrak or any other entity. 

23 ‘‘(2) The Passenger Rail Service Provider—

24 ‘‘(A) shall have the exclusive right, until the 

25 last day of Year Three, to continue to provide the 
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1 intercity passenger service that is being provided by 

2 Amtrak on the date of enactment of the Passenger 

3 Rail Investment Reform Act, but after the last day 

4 of Year One, may operate such passenger rail service 

5 only under a contract; and 

6 ‘‘(B) shall provide interline reservations services 

7 to any other provider of intercity passenger rail serv8 ices on the same basis and rates as services are pro9 vided to the operational entities that provide service 

10 within Amtrak on the date of enactment. 

11 ‘‘(3) The Passenger Rail Infrastructure Manager—

12 ‘‘(A) shall have the exclusive right, until the 

13 last day of Year Six, to continue to provide the dis14 patching, maintenance, and infrastructure services 

15 that are being provided by Amtrak on the date of 

16 enactment of the Passenger Rail Investment Reform 

17 Act, but after the last day of Year One, may provide 

18 these services only under a contract; and

19 ‘‘(B) shall carry out the multiyear infrastruc20 ture plan prepared by Amtrak, to the extent funds 

21 are made available. 

22 ‘‘(4)(A) The successor corporations are not a depart23 ment, agency, or instrumentality of the United States 

24 Government nor are they Government corporations (as de25 fined in section 103 of title 5). 
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1 ‘‘(B) Chapter 105 of this title does not apply to the 

2 successor corporations. However, laws and regulations 

3 governing safety, employee representation for collective 

4 bargaining purposes, the handling of disputes between car5 riers and employees, employee retirement, annuity, and 

6 unemployment systems, and other dealings with employees 

7 that apply to a rail carrier providing transportation sub8 ject to subchapter I of chapter 105 apply to the successor 

9 corporations. The employee retirement, annuity, and un10 employment systems that apply to a rail carrier providing 

11 transportation subject to subchapter I of chapter 105 

12 apply to the entity specified by subsection (b)(2)(A) of this 

13 section. 

14 ‘‘(C) Subsections (c) through (l) of section 24301 of 

15 this title shall apply to the successor corporations. 

16 ‘‘(5) Subject to further action by the Board of Direc17 tors, the President of Amtrak on the date of enactment 

18 of the Passenger Rail Investment Reform Act shall be of19 fered the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Pas20 senger Rail Service Provider. 

21 ‘‘(6) The contractual rights of successor corporations 

22 to provide services may not be extended beyond the dates 

23 set forth in subsections (c)(2) and (c)(3), as applicable, 

24 without competitive bid. 
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1 ‘‘(7) The Passenger Rail Service Provider shall pro2 vide to the Secretary of Transportation not later than 18 

3 months after the enactment of the Passenger Rail Invest4 ment Reform Act, recommendations on the feasibility, ad5 vantages, and disadvantages of separation of the reserva6 tion centers into a free-standing entity that can become 

7 an element of an intermodal reservations service. 

8 ‘‘(8) The functionally independent entity specified by 

9 subsection (b)(2)(A) shall retain all legal rights pertaining 

10 to the name ‘Amtrak’, and may, at its option, license or 

11 otherwise make the name ‘Amtrak’ commercially available 

12 in connection with intercity passenger rail and related 

13 services. 

14 ‘‘(d) ROLLING STOCK AND SHOPS.—(1) With respect 

15 to any route on which intercity passenger rail service is 

16 provided on the date of enactment of the Passenger Rail 

17 Investment Reform Act, the Passenger Rail Service Pro18 vider shall make available to any replacement operator the 

19 legacy equipment that is associated with the service on the 

20 route. 

21 ‘‘(2) Such equipment and services shall be made 

22 available on such terms as Amtrak determines are fair, 

23 reasonable, and in the public interest. 

24 ‘‘(e) FREIGHT AND COMMUTER OPERATIONS.—(1) 

25 Amtrak shall ensure that the implementation of the re-
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1 structuring prescribed in this section gives due consider2 ation to the needs of freight and commuter rail operations 

3 that, as of the effective date of the Passenger Rail Invest4 ment Reform Act, operate in the Northeast Corridor on 

5 Amtrak right of way. 

6 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), commuter serv7 ices headquartered in a State or Commonwealth that is 

8 not a member of the Northeast Corridor Compact after 

9 the last day of Year Two shall pay the fully allocated costs 

10 incurred by the successor corporation or any successor en11 tity for access to and use of the Northeast Corridor for 

12 such services. 

13 ‘‘(3) The right of access by Amtrak to rail lines 

14 owned by other carriers is, as of the effective date of the 

15 Passenger Rail Investment Reform Act, restricted as fol16 lows: 

17 ‘‘(A) The terms and conditions for operation of 

18 an intercity passenger rail route or frequency to be 

19 added after the date of enactment of the Passenger 

20 Rail Investment Reform Act shall be determined by 

21 negotiation and mutual agreement between the host 

22 railroad and the operator of the route or frequency 

23 sought to be added, with no preferential right of ac24 cess. 
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1 ‘‘(B) If not utilized by Amtrak, Amtrak’s right 

2 of access to any segment of rail line owned by an3 other rail carrier may be assigned to no more than 

4 one intercity passenger rail operator during the term 

5 of the assignment, except by agreement among Am6 trak, its assignee, and the owner of the rail line.’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) The analysis 

8 of chapter 243 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

9 by inserting the following after the item relating to section 

10 24309:

‘‘24310. Amtrak restructuring mandate.’’.

11 (2) Section 24102 (Definitions) of title 49, United 

12 States Code, is amended—

13 (A) by inserting the following after section 

14 24102(5): 

15 ‘‘(5a) ‘legacy equipment’ means the rolling 

16 stock required to provide intercity passenger rail 

17 service owned or leased by the National Railroad 

18 Passenger Corporation on the date of enactment of 

19 this chapter.’’; and

20 (B) by inserting the following at the end: 

21 ‘‘(10) ‘Year One’ means the next Federal fiscal 

22 year to begin after the date of enactment of the Pas23 senger Rail Investment Reform Act, except that the 

24 term means the current Federal fiscal year if the 
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1 date of enactment of the Act is within 60 days of 

2 the first day of the current Federal fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(11) ‘Year Two’, ‘Year Three’, ‘Year Four’, 

4 ‘Year Five’, and ‘Year Six’ mean, respectively, the 

5 Federal fiscal year that follows year one by one, two, 

6 three, four, and five years, respectively.’’. 

7 SEC. 103. NORTHEAST CORRIDOR COMPACT. 

8 (a) CONSENT TO COMPACT.—(1) The States and Dis9 trict that constitute the Northeast Corridor, as defined in 

10 section 24102 of title 49, United States Code, may enter 

11 into an agreement, not in conflict with a law of the United 

12 States and titled the ‘‘Northeast Corridor Compact’’, to 

13 provide passenger rail service and to conduct related ac14 tivities in the Northeast Corridor. 

15 (2) The Northeast Corridor Compact shall be sub16 mitted to Congress for its consent, and it is the sense of 

17 Congress that rapid consent to the Compact shall be a 

18 priority of Congress. 

19 (b) COMPACT COMMISSION.—(1) There is hereby es20 tablished a commission to be known as the Northeast Cor21 ridor Compact Commission (hereinafter referred to in this 

22 section as the ‘‘Commission’’). The Commission shall be 

23 composed of five members as follows: 

24 (A) Two members (or their designees), to be se25 lected by the Secretary of Transportation. 
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1 (B) Two members (or their designees), to be se2 lected by agreement of the following government rep3 resentatives: 

4 (i) The governors of Maryland, Delaware, 

5 Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Con6 necticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. 

7 (ii) The mayor of the District of Columbia. 

8 (C) One member to be selected by the four 

9 members selected under subparagraphs (A) and (B) 

10 of this paragraph. 

11 (2) The following applies to the Commission: 

12 (A) Members shall be appointed for the life of 

13 the Commission. 

14 (B) A vacancy in the Commission shall be filled 

15 in the manner in which the original appointment was 

16 made. 

17 (C) Members shall serve without pay but shall 

18 receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 

19 subsistence, in accordance with sections 5702 and 

20 5703 of title 5, United States Code. 

21 (D) The Chairman of the Commission shall be 

22 elected by the members. 

23 (E) The Commission may appoint and fix the 

24 pay of such personnel as it considers appropriate. 
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1 (F) Upon request of the Commission, the head 

2 of any department or agency of the United States 

3 may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the per4 sonnel of that department or agency to the Commis5 sion to assist it in carrying out its duties under this 

6 section. 

7 (G) Upon the request of the Commission, the 

8 Administrator of General Services shall provide to 

9 the Commission, on a reimbursable basis, the admin10 istrative support services necessary for the Commis11 sion to carry out its responsibilities under this sec12 tion. 

13 (c) FUNCTIONS.—(1) The Commission shall prepare 

14 for the consideration of and adoption by participating 

15 States, the District of Columbia, and the Secretary of 

16 Transportation an interstate compact that provides for the 

17 following: 

18 (A) Full authority for 99 years to succeed to 

19 the responsibilities of the National Railroad Pas20 senger Corporation as operator of the Northeast 

21 Corridor, subject to the provisions of a lease from 

22 the Department of Transportation. 

23 (B) Execution of a lease of the Northeast Cor24 ridor from the Department of Transportation, for a 

25 period of 99 years, subject to appropriate provisions 
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1 protecting the lessor’s interests, including reversion 

2 of all lease interests to the lessor in the event the 

3 lessee fails to meet its financial obligations or other4 wise assume financial responsibility for Northeast 

5 Corridor functions. 

6 (C) Responsibility for Corridor maintenance 

7 and improvement. 

8 (D) Operation of intercity passenger rail serv9 ice. 

10 (E) Arrangements for operation of freight rail11 road operations and commuter operations. 

12 (F) Assumption of financial responsibility for 

13 Northeast Corridor functions. 

14 (G) Authority to make use of the Corridor for 

15 nonrail purposes. 

16 (H) Participation by the Department of Trans17 portation, as the nonvoting representative of the 

18 United States. 

19 (2) The compact terms shall, at a minimum, conform 

20 to the requirements of subsections (e) through (i) of this 

21 section. 

22 (d) FINAL COMPACT PROPOSAL.—(1) The Commis23 sion shall submit a final compact proposal to member 

24 States, the District of Columbia, and the Federal Govern25 ment not later than the last day of Year One. 
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1 (2) The Commission shall terminate on the 180th day 

2 following the date of transmittal of the final compact pro3 posal under this subsection. All records and papers of the 

4 Commission shall thereupon be delivered by the Adminis5 trator of General Services for deposit in the National Ar6 chives. 

7 (e) GOVERNANCE AND FUNDING REQUIREMENTS

8 FOR COMPACT.—(1) The governance provisions of the 

9 compact shall provide a mechanism to ensure voting rep10 resentation for the States, Commonwealths, and District 

11 that comprise the Northeast Corridor, and non-voting rep12 resentation for the Secretary of Transportation as an ex 

13 officio member participating in all Compact affairs. 

14 (2) The provisions of the compact shall establish the 

15 financial obligations of each compact member and shall 

16 provide for its management of rail services in the Cor17 ridors.

18 (f) EMPLOYEE INTEREST REQUIREMENTS FOR COM19 PACT.—The employee provisions of the compact shall, at 

20 a minimum, provide the following with regard to employ21 ees in the Northeast Corridor if the Compact chooses to 

22 replace the successor corporations for operation and main23 tenance of the physical plant or operation of passenger 

24 trains, or both: 
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1 (1) Payment of any labor protection payments 

2 owed and not paid by the successor corporations es3 tablished under section 24310(b) of title 49, United 

4 States Code. 

5 (2) In the case of an employee who is employed 

6 by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation on 

7 the date of enactment of the Passenger Rail Invest8 ment Reform Act and who accepts employment by a 

9 successor corporation, a right of first refusal to ac10 cept a substantially similar position with the replace11 ment operator when the successor corporation is re12 placed. 

13 (g) FEDERAL INTEREST REQUIREMENTS FOR COM14 PACT.—The provisions of the Compact shall hold the 

15 United States Government harmless as to the actions of 

16 the Compact under the lease of rights to the Northeast 

17 Corridor by the United States Government. 

18 (h) COMPACT BORROWING AUTHORITY.—(1) The 

19 borrowing authority provisions of the compact may au20 thorize the compact to issue bonds or other debt instru21 ments from time to time in its discretion, for purposes 

22 that include paying any part of the cost of rail service im23 provements, construction, and rehabilitation and the ac24 quisition of real and personal property, including oper25 ating equipment, except that debt issued by the compact 
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1 may be secured only by revenues to the compact and may 

2 not be a debt of the member States or of the Federal Gov3 ernment. 

4 (2) The debt authorized by this subsection shall 

5 under no circumstances be backed by the full faith and 

6 credit of the United States, and a grant made under the 

7 authority of this Act or under the authority of part C of 

8 subtitle V of title 49, United States Code, shall include 

9 an express acknowledgement by the grantee that the debt 

10 does not constitute an obligation of the United States. 

11 (i) ADOPTION OF COMPACT; TURNOVER.—(1) The 

12 members shall adopt a final compact agreement not later 

13 than the last day of Year Two, and the compact shall 

14 thereafter assume responsibility for all Corridor oper15 ations from the successor corporations on a date that is 

16 not later than 8 months following adoption of the compact, 

17 which date shall be known as the ‘‘NEC turnover date.’’

18 (2) In the event that the members do not adopt the 

19 final compact agreement and make it operational under 

20 the schedule set forth in this section, the Secretary of 

21 Transportation shall assume control of the entity specified 

22 by section 24310(b)(2)(A) of title 49, United States Code, 

23 and shall make such legislative recommendations as the 

24 President judges necessary and expedient to Congress that 

25 address the monetary contributions by Northeast Corridor 
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1 States and the District of Columbia that would be nec2 essary to provide continued intercity passenger rail service 

3 in the Northeast Corridor. 

4 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

6 necessary to carry out the purposes of this section. 

7 SEC. 104. ASSISTANCE TO ADDRESS CAPITAL NEEDS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro9 priated to the Secretary of Transportation, for capital ex10 penditures in compliance with capital spending plans de11 veloped under section 202 of this Act, including the Sec12 retary’s expenses related thereto, the following amounts: 

13 (1) such sums as may be necessary for Year 

14 Three. 

15 (2) such sums as may be necessary for Year 

16 Four. 

17 (3) such sums as may be necessary for Year 

18 Five. 

19 (4) such sums as may be necessary for Year 

20 Six. 

21 (b) OBLIGATION OPTIONS.—(1) Subject to paragraph 

22 (2), the Secretary may obligate the funds authorized by 

23 this section through grants to or cooperative agreements 

24 with States, the Passenger Rail Service Provider, the 
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1 Northeast Corridor Compact or another qualified Com2 pact, or through contracts with private companies. 

3 (2) Funds appropriated under this section shall not 

4 be obligated and not be disbursed from the Treasury for 

5 the Northeast Corridor Compact until it has been estab6 lished and is empowered and qualified to enter into con7 tracts for the expenditure of the funds. 

8 (c) ELIGIBILITY OF EXPENDITURES.—(1) The Fed9 eral share of expenditures for capital improvements under 

10 this section may be not more than 100 percent and is sole11 ly authorized for the purpose of funding deferred mainte12 nance, safety, and security projects. Expenditures for ca13 pacity expansion are not authorized by this section. 

14 (2) Funds appropriated under this section may be ob15 ligated for an expenditure only if the Secretary has deter16 mined in writing that the expenditure on any railroad in17 frastructure investments is limited to a route or routes 

18 with a useful life of at least 5 years. 

19 SEC. 105. EMPLOYEE TRANSITION ASSISTANCE; AUTHOR20 IZATION. 

21 (a) PROVISION OF FINANCIAL INCENTIVES.—To fa22 cilitate the restructuring required by this title, the Sec23 retary is authorized to develop a program under which the 

24 Secretary may, in the Secretary’s discretion, provide 

25 grants for financial incentives to be provided to employees 
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1 of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation who vol2 untarily terminate their employment with the Corporation 

3 or the successor corporations and relinquish any legal 

4 rights to receive termination-related payments under any 

5 contractual agreement with the Corporation or the suc6 cessor corporations. 

7 (b) CONDITIONS FOR FINANCIAL INCENTIVES.—As a 

8 condition for receiving financial assistance grants under 

9 this section, the Corporation or the successor corporations 

10 must certify that—

11 (1) the financial assistance results in a net re12 duction in the total number of employees equal to 

13 the number receiving financial incentives; 

14 (2) the financial assistance results in a net re15 duction in total employment expense equivalent to

16 the total employment expenses associated with the 

17 employees receiving financial incentives; and 

18 (3) the total number of employees eligible for 

19 termination-related payments will not be increased 

20 without the express written consent of the Secretary. 

21 (c) AMOUNT OF FINANCIAL INCENTIVES.—The fi22 nancial incentives authorized under this section may be 

23 no greater than $50,000 per employee. 

24 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

25 are hereby authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 
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1 of Transportation such sums as may be necessary to make 

2 grants to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation or 

3 the successor corporation to fund termination-related pay4 ments to employees under existing contractual agreements 

5 until four years from the first day of Year One. 

6 SEC. 106. LIMIT ON OPERATING ASSISTANCE FOR LONG7 DISTANCE ROUTES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title 49, United States Code, is 

9 amended by inserting the following after section 24315: 

10 ‘‘§ 24316. Limit on operating assistance for long-dis11 tance routes 

12 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—(1) After the last day 

13 of Year One, the Secretary of Transportation may make 

14 grants for operating assistance under the authority of this 

15 section, and not under any other provision of law, to reim16 burse operators of long-distance routes, as defined in sec17 tion 24102, and corridor feeder routes for the operating 

18 expenses incurred in operating those routes to provide 

19 intercity passenger rail transportation. 

20 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall require that a grant under 

21 this section be subject to the terms, conditions, require22 ments, and provisions the Secretary decides are necessary 

23 or appropriate for the purposes of this section, including 

24 the definition of eligible expenses and the documentation 

25 of eligible operating losses on a quarterly basis. 
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1 ‘‘(b) FEDERAL SHARE OF OPERATING EXPENSES.—

2 (1) No funds appropriated under this part shall be used 

3 to fund operating expenses of a long-distance route after 

4 the last day of Year One, except as provided in paragraph 

5 (2) of this subsection. 

6 ‘‘(2) Funds appropriated under this section may be 

7 used to reimburse the operator of a long-distance route 

8 or a corridor feeder route for operating expenses on that 

9 route provided that amounts reimbursed do not exceed the 

10 operating losses on the route and do not constitute a reim11 bursement per-passenger mile greater than—

12 ‘‘(A) $0.40 during Year Two; 

13 ‘‘(B) $0.20 during Year Three; 

14 ‘‘(C) $0.10 during Year Four; and 

15 ‘‘(D) $0.00 for each year thereafter. 

16 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such 

18 sums as may be necessary to carry out this section, includ19 ing the Secretary’s expenses related thereto.’’. 

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) The analysis 

21 of chapter 243 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

22 by inserting the following after the item relating to section 

23 24315:

‘‘24316. Limit on operating assistance for long-distance routes.’’.

24 (2) Section 24102 (Definitions) of title 49, United 

25 States Code, is amended—
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1 (A) by inserting the following after section 

2 24102(4): 

3 ‘‘(4a) ‘corridor feeder route’ means a portion of 

4 a long distance train or route that provides services 

5 between regional corridors by connecting to 

6 endpoints of the corridors.’’; and 

7 (B) by inserting the following after section 

8 24102(5a), as added by this Act: 

9 ‘‘(5b) ‘long distance train’ or ‘long distance 

10 route’ means one of or a portion of the following 

11 trains or routes operated by the National Railroad 

12 Passenger Corporation on the date of enactment of 

13 this section: the Silver Star, the Three Rivers, the 

14 Cardinal, the Silver Meteor, the Empire Builder, the 

15 Capitol Limited, the California Zephyr, the South16 west Chief, the City of New Orleans, the Texas 

17 Eagle, the Sunset Limited, the Coast Starlight, the 

18 Lake Shore Limited, the Palmetto, the Crescent, the 

19 Pennsylvanian, and the Auto Train.’’. 

20 SEC. 107. REPEAL OF OBSOLETE AND EXECUTED PROVI21 SIONS OF LAW; OTHER. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title 49, United States Code, is 

23 amended by repeal of the following sections: 

24 (1) Section 24701 (Operation of basic system). 

25 (2) Section 24706 (Discontinuance). 
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1 (3) Section 24901 (Definitions). 

2 (4) Section 24902 (Goals and Requirements). 

3 (5) Section 24904 (General Authority). 

4 (6) Section 24906 (Eliminating highway at5 grade crossings). 

6 (7) Section 24909 (Authorization of appropria7 tions). 

8 (b) REVISIONS TO SECTION 24305.—(1) Section 

9 24305 (a) is amended by striking paragraph (2) and re10 numbering paragraph (3) as paragraph (2). 

11 (2) Section 24305(b) is amended by striking para12 graph (4) and renumbering paragraph (5) as paragraph 

13 (4) and paragraph (6) as paragraph (5). 

14 (3) Subsection 24305(f)(2) is amended by inserting 

15 before the word ‘‘Amtrak’’, the following ‘‘With regard to

16 items acquired with funds provided by the Federal Govern17 ment,’’. 

18 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis of 

19 chapters 243, 247, and 249 are amended by deleting, as 

20 appropriate, items relating to the following sections: 

21 24307, 24701, 24706, 24901, 24902, 24904, 24906, 

22 24908, and 24909. 

23 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The effective date of this 

24 section is the first day of Year One. 
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1 TITLE II—FINANCIAL REFORMS 

2 SEC. 201. LIMITATIONS ON AVAILABILITY OF GRANTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title 49, United States Code, is 

4 amended by inserting the following after section 24313: 

5 ‘‘§ 24314. Transitional limitations on availability of 

6 grants 

7 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS PRIOR TO RESTRUCTURING.—

8 A grant made to the National Railroad Passenger Cor9 poration under the authority of part C of subtitle V of 

10 this title between the first day of Year One, and the estab11 lishment and commencement of operations by the suc12 cessor corporations under section 24310 of this title may 

13 only be made subject to the following limitations: 

14 ‘‘(1) The Secretary of Transportation shall not 

15 disburse funding to cover operating losses on a long16 distance train route without first receiving and ap17 proving a grant request for that specific train route. 

18 ‘‘(2) Each such grant request shall be accom19 panied by a detailed financial analysis and revenue 

20 projection justifying the Federal support to the Sec21 retary’s satisfaction. 

22 ‘‘(3) The Secretary of Transportation and the 

23 Board of Directors of the Corporation shall ensure 

24 that, of the amount made available by appropria25 tions for capital and operating assistance to the Cor-
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1 poration in a fiscal year, sufficient sums are re2 served to satisfy the contractual obligations of the 

3 Corporation to provide commuter and intrastate pas4 senger rail service.

5 ‘‘(4) Not later than December 31 prior to each 

6 fiscal year in which grants are made to the Corpora7 tion, the Corporation shall transmit to the Secretary 

8 of Transportation, the Committee on Commerce, 

9 Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the Com10 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

11 House of Representatives, and the House of Rep12 resentatives and Senate Committees on Appropria13 tions a business plan for operating and capital im14 provements to be funded in the fiscal year under 

15 section 24104(a) of title 49, United States Code. 

16 ‘‘(5) The business plan shall include a descrip17 tion of the work to be funded, along with cost esti18 mates and an estimated timetable for completion of 

19 the projects covered by the business plan. 

20 ‘‘(6) Each month of each fiscal year in which 

21 grants are made to the Corporation, the Corporation 

22 shall submit to the Secretary of Transportation, the 

23 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor24 tation of the Senate, the Committee on Transpor25 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Represent-
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1 atives, and the House of Representatives and Senate 

2 Committees on Appropriations a supplemental report 

3 regarding the business plan, which shall describe the 

4 work completed to date, any changes to the business 

5 plan, and the reasons for such changes. 

6 ‘‘(7) A grant may not be used for operating ex7 penses or capital projects that is not approved by 

8 the Secretary of Transportation or an element of the 

9 Corporation’s current fiscal year business plan, or 

10 that is obligated or expended unless the Corporation 

11 certifies, as part of the grant agreement, that it has 

12 complied with and will abide by the following re13 quirements: 

14 ‘‘(A) The Corporation’s management will 

15 maintain financial controls and accounting 

16 transparency to the satisfaction of the Sec17 retary, including developing or enhancing any 

18 existing capacity separately to report—

19 ‘‘(i) all revenue and expenses associ20 ated with rail operations by route; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) budgeted and actual expenditures 

22 for all capital investments. 

23 ‘‘(B) The Corporation’s management will 

24 provide to the Board of Directors, the Depart25 ment of Transportation and Congress its 
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1 Monthly Performance Report. The Corporation 

2 shall also make available to the Department of 

3 Transportation the same details and reports on 

4 its financial performance that it makes avail5 able to Amtrak management, at the same time 

6 that it provides those reports and details to 

7 Amtrak management. 

8 ‘‘(C) The Corporation shall expend funds 

9 only for the continuation of existing plants and 

10 services. With the exception of expenditures for 

11 which it obtains written approval from the De12 partment of Transportation, The Corporation 

13 will not use of any of its funds for actual ex14 pansion or planning for expansion of rail serv15 ice, including high speed rail service. 

16 ‘‘(D) The Corporation has negotiated with 

17 its employees substantial operating cost reduc18 tions needed to make its operations competitive 

19 with private-sector service providers. 

20 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS FOLLOWING RESTRUC21 TURING.—Any grant made directly to either of the suc22 cessor corporations under the authority of part C of sub23 title V of this title may only be made subject to the fol24 lowing limitations: 
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1 ‘‘(1) The Secretary of Transportation shall not 

2 disburse funding to cover operating losses on a long3 distance train route without first receiving and ap4 proving a grant request for that specific train route. 

5 ‘‘(2) Each such grant request shall be accom6 panied by a detailed financial analysis and revenue 

7 projection justifying the Federal support to the Sec8 retary’s satisfaction. 

9 ‘‘(3) The Secretary of Transportation shall en10 sure that, of the amount made available by appro11 priations for capital and operating assistance in a 

12 fiscal year, sufficient sums are reserved to satisfy 

13 the successor corporation’s contractual obligations, if 

14 any, with respect to commuter and intrastate pas15 senger rail service. 

16 ‘‘(4) Not later than December 31 prior to each 

17 fiscal year in which grants are made, the successor 

18 corporations shall each transmit to the Secretary of 

19 Transportation a business plan for operating and 

20 capital improvements to be funded in the fiscal year. 

21 ‘‘(5) The business plan shall include a descrip22 tion of the work to be funded, along with cost esti23 mates and an estimated timetable for completion of 

24 the projects covered by the business plan. 
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1 ‘‘(6) Each month of each fiscal year in which 

2 grants are made, the successor corporations shall 

3 each submit to the Secretary of Transportation a 

4 supplemental report regarding the business plan, 

5 which shall describe the work completed to date, any 

6 changes to the business plan, and the reasons for 

7 such changes. 

8 ‘‘(7) A grant may not be used for operating ex9 penses or capital projects that is not approved by 

10 the Secretary of Transportation or an element of the 

11 current fiscal year business plan, or that is obligated 

12 or expended unless the successor corporation agrees, 

13 as part of the grant agreement, to abide by the fol14 lowing requirements: 

15 ‘‘(A) Management will maintain financial 

16 controls and accounting transparency to the 

17 satisfaction of the Secretary, including devel18 oping or enhancing any existing capacity sepa19 rately to report—

20 ‘‘(i) all revenue and expenses associ21 ated with rail operations by route; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) budgeted and actual expenditures 

23 for all capital investments. 

24 ‘‘(B) Management of each successor cor25 poration shall make available to the Depart-
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1 ment of Transportation the same details and 

2 reports on its financial performance that it 

3 makes available internally, at the same time 

4 that it provides those reports and details inter5 nally. 

6 ‘‘(C) Funds will be spent only on existing 

7 plants and services.’’. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The analysis of 

9 chapter 243 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

10 by inserting the following after the item relating to section 

11 24313:

‘‘24314. Transitional limitations on availability of grants.’’.

12 SEC. 202. SPENDING PLANS FOR CAPITAL BACKLOG RE13 DUCTION. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 6 months after Year One 

15 begins, and as a condition of grants to the National Rail16 road Passenger Corporation between that date and the im17 plementation of the restructuring required under section 

18 24310 of title 49, United States Code, the Corporation 

19 shall prepare a capital spending plan that addresses cap20 ital needs, consistent with the funding levels authorized 

21 to be provided for Year One and each fiscal year thereafter 

22 through Year Six, for—

23 (1) Northeast Corridor capital assets; 

24 (2) capital assets on long-distance routes other 

25 than on the Northeast Corridor; and 
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1 (3) capital assets on short-distance routes other 

2 than the Northeast Corridor. 

3 (b) APPROVAL BY THE SECRETARY AND THE COM4 PACT.—(1) The Corporation shall submit the capital 

5 spending plan prepared under this section to the Secretary 

6 of Transportation for review and approval. The plan shall 

7 be implemented only after approval by the Secretary, and 

8 with any modifications specified by the Secretary. 

9 (2) The Secretary of Transportation shall require 

10 that the plan be updated at least annually. 

11 (3) On and after creation of Northeast Corridor Com12 pact, the Secretary shall make no grants to the Compact 

13 for Northeast Corridor for capital investments, except in 

14 accordance with a capital spending plan prepared by the 

15 Compact and approved by both the Compact and the Sec16 retary. The same requirements shall apply to grants made 

17 to States and other Compacts under this section. 

18 SEC. 203. REDEMPTION OF COMMON STOCK. 

19 (a) VALUATION.—The Secretary of Transportation 

20 shall arrange, at the National Railroad Passenger Cor21 poration’s expense, for a valuation of all assets and liabil22 ities of the Corporation to be performed by the Secretary 

23 of the Treasury, or by a contractor selected by the Sec24 retary of the Treasury. Such valuation shall be conducted 

25 in accordance with criteria and requirements to be deter-
37

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1 mined by the Secretary, in the Secretary’s discretion, and 

2 shall be completed within 6 months after Year One begins. 

3 (b) REDEMPTION.—(1) Prior to the transfer of assets 

4 to the Secretary directed by section 204 of this Act, and 

5 within 9 months after Year One begins, the Corporation 

6 shall redeem all common stock in the Corporation issued 

7 prior to the date of enactment of this Act at the book 

8 value of such stock, based on the valuation performed 

9 under subsection (a). 

10 (2) No provision of this Act, or amendments made 

11 by this Act, provide to the owners of the common stock 

12 a priority over holders of indebtedness or other stock of 

13 the Corporation. 

14 (c) ACQUISITION THROUGH EMINENT DOMAIN.—In 

15 the event that the Corporation and the owners of its com16 mon stock have not completed the redemption of such 

17 stock by a date that is within 9 months after Year One 

18 begins, the Corporation shall exercise the eminent domain 

19 provisions contained in section 24311 of title 49, United 

20 States Code, as amended by this Act, to acquire that 

21 stock. The valuation performed under subsection (a) shall 

22 be deemed to constitute just compensation except to the 

23 extent that the owners of the common stock demonstrate 

24 that the valuation is less than the constitutional minimum 

25 value of the stock. 
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1 (d) AMENDMENT OF 49 U.S.C. 24311.—Section 

2 24311 of title 49, United States Code, is amended—

3 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subsection 

4 (a)(1)(A); 

5 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub6 section (a)(1)(B) and substituting ‘‘; or’’; and 

7 (3) by inserting the following after subsection 

8 (a)(1)(B): 

9 ‘‘(C) necessary to redeem the Corporation’s 

10 common stock from any holder thereof, including a 

11 rail carrier.’’. 

12 (e) CONVERSION OF PREFERRED STOCK TO COM13 MON.—(1) Subsequent to the redemption of the common 

14 stock in the Corporation issued prior to the date of enact15 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall

16 convert the one share of the preferred stock of the Cor17 poration retained under section 204 of this Act for ten 

18 shares of common stock in the Corporation. 

19 (2) The Corporation shall not issue any other com20 mon stock without the express written consent of the Sec21 retary. 

22 SEC. 204. RETIREMENT OF PREFERRED STOCK; TRANSFER 

23 OF ASSETS. 

24 (a) TRANSFER.—Not later than 30 days after the re25 demption or acquisition specified under section 203 of this 
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1 Act, the Corporation shall, in return for the consideration 

2 specified in subsection (c), transfer to the Secretary of 

3 Transportation title to the following assets: 

4 (1) The portions of the Northeast Corridor cur5 rently owned or leased by the Corporation as well as 

6 any improvements made to these assets. The assets 

7 transferred to the Secretary shall include the rail 

8 right-of-way, stations, track, signal equipment, elec9 tric traction facilities, bridges, tunnels, and all other 

10 improvements owned by Amtrak between Boston, 

11 Massachusetts, and Washington, District of Colum12 bia (including the route through Springfield, Massa13 chusetts, and the routes to Harrisburg, Pennsyl14 vania, and Albany, New York, from the Northeast 

15 Corridor mainline). 

16 (2) Chicago Union Station and rail-related as17 sets in the Chicago metropolitan area. 

18 (3) All other track and right-of-way, stations, 

19 repair facilities and other real property owned or 

20 leased by the Corporation. 

21 (b) EXISTING ENCUMBRANCES.—(1) With regard to 

22 any assets described in subsection (a) that the Corporation 

23 has provided as security or collateral for a debt entered 

24 into prior to the date of enactment of this Act, the Cor25 poration shall transfer its underlying legal interest in such 
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1 asset to the Secretary, provided, however, that the Cor2 poration shall remain liable for the debt secured by the 

3 asset. 

4 (2) The obligation of the National Railroad Pas5 senger Corporation to repay in full any indebtedness to 

6 the United States incurred since January 1, 1990, is not 

7 affected by this Act or an amendment made by this Act. 

8 (c) CONSIDERATION.—In consideration for the assets 

9 transferred to the United States under subsection (b), the 

10 Secretary shall—

11 (1) deliver to the Corporation all but one share 

12 of the preferred stock of the Corporation held by the 

13 Secretary and forgive the Corporation’s legal obliga14 tion to pay any dividends, including accrued but un15 paid dividends as of the date of transfer, evidenced 

16 by the preferred stock certificates; and 

17 (2) release the Corporation from all mortgages 

18 and liens held by the Secretary that were in exist19 ence on January 1, 1990. 

20 (d) AGREEMENT.—(1) Prior to accepting title to the 

21 assets transferred under this section, the Secretary shall 

22 enter into an agreement with the Corporation under which 

23 the Corporation will exercise on behalf of the Secretary 

24 care, custody, and control of the assets to be transferred. 
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1 (2) The agreement shall identify in detail the specific 

2 functions of the Corporation’s employees and equipment, 

3 and the specific numbers and locations of the employees 

4 and equipment associated with each function, that would 

5 be needed for continuation of commuter and freight rail 

6 service in the event that the Corporation were to cease 

7 operation, and identify those actions that would be re8 quired to ensure that such functions can be continued on 

9 an interim basis to avoid any interruption in commuter 

10 or freight rail service on the Northeast Corridor. 

11 (e) FURTHER TRANSFERS.—(1) The Secretary may, 

12 for appropriate consideration, transfer title to all or part 

13 of Chicago Union Station and rail-related assets in the 

14 Chicago metropolitan area acquired under this section to 

15 a regional public transportation agency that has signifi16 cant operations in Chicago Union Station on the date of 

17 enactment of this Act. 

18 (2) The Secretary may, for appropriate consideration, 

19 transfer to the underlying states title to real estate prop20 erties owned by the Corporation between Boston, Massa21 chusetts, and Washington, District of Columbia, that con22 stitute the route through Springfield, Massachusetts, and 

23 the routes to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Albany, New 

24 York, from the Northeast Corridor mainline. 
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1 (3) The Secretary may, for appropriate consideration, 

2 transfer title to all or part of the assets acquired under 

3 subsection (a)(3) to a State, a public agency, a railroad, 

4 or other entity deemed appropriate by the Secretary. 

5 (4) All financial consideration determined by the Sec6 retary to be appropriate consideration for the transfer of 

7 the assets described in paragraphs (1) through (3) shall 

8 be used exclusively to reduce the Corporation’s long-term 

9 debt that exists on the date of enactment. 

10 SEC. 205. REAL ESTATE AND ASSET SALES; OTHER. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Amtrak Board of Directors 

12 shall undertake and complete not later than the last day 

13 of Year Three, the disposition of all stations, track, and 

14 other facilities outside the Northeast Corridor mainline, 

15 including property conveyed to the Secretary of Transpor16 tation under section 204 of this Act. 

17 (b) PROCEEDS OF LIQUIDATION.—Notwithstanding 

18 section 3302 of title 31, United States Code, any proceeds 

19 from the liquidation of assets under this section shall—

20 (1) be credited as an offsetting collection to the 

21 account that finances grants for debt and interest 

22 payments under section 206 of this Act to the Pas23 senger Rail Service Provider specified under section 

24 24310 of title 49, United States Code; and 

25 (2) remain available until expended. 
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1 SEC. 206. MANAGEMENT AND TRANSFER OF SECURED 

2 DEBT. 

3 (a) NEW DEBT PROHIBITION.—Except as approved 

4 by the Secretary of Transportation to refinance existing 

5 secured debt, the Corporation shall not enter into any obli6 gation secured by assets of the Corporation after the date 

7 of enactment of this Act. This section does not prohibit 

8 unsecured lines of credit used by the Corporation or any 

9 subsidiary for working capital purposes. 

10 (b) SECURED DEBT TRANSFER.—(1) Upon establish11 ment of the Passenger Rail Service Provider specified 

12 under section 24310 of title 49, United States Code, and 

13 the transfer of ownership of the existing rolling stock, all 

14 debt secured by the rolling stock shall be transferred to 

15 and become a liability solely of the Passenger Rail Service 

16 Provider.

17 (2) Upon establishment of the Northeast Corridor 

18 Compact under section 103 of this Act, the secured debt 

19 associated with fixed assets in the Northeast Corridor 

20 shall be transferred to and become a liability solely of the 

21 Northeast Corridor Compact. 

22 (c) AUTHORIZATION.—(1) There are authorized to be 

23 appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation for grants 

24 to the Passenger Rail Service Provider to pay principal 

25 and interest payments on secured debt existing on the date 

26 of enactment of this Act the following amounts: 
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1 (A) Such sums as may be necessary in Year 

2 Two. 

3 (B) Such sums as may be necessary in Year 

4 Three. 

5 (C) Such sums as may be necessary in Year 

6 Four. 

7 (D) Such sums as may be necessary in Year 

8 Five. 

9 (E) Such sums as may be necessary in Year 

10 Six. 

11 (2) The funding authorized by this section shall 

12 not—

13 (A) modify the extent or nature of any indebt14 edness of the National Railroad Passenger Corpora15 tion to the United States in existence of the date of 

16 enactment of this Act; 

17 (B) change the private nature of Amtrak’s or 

18 its successors’ liabilities; or 

19 (C) imply any Federal guarantee or commit20 ment to amortize Amtrak’s outstanding indebted21 ness. 

22 SEC. 207. TRANSITION ASSISTANCE. 

23 (a) YEAR ONE ASSISTANCE.—There are authorized 

24 to be appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation for 

25 grants to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation for 
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1 operating and capital expenses such sums as may be nec2 essary in Year One. 

3 (b) YEAR TWO SUCCESSOR CORPORATION OPER4 ATING ASSISTANCE.—There are authorized to be appro5 priated to the Secretary such sums as may be necessary 

6 for grants to—

7 (1) the Passenger Rail Service Provider for op8 erating expenses of all services except long-distance 

9 trains and routes in Year Two; and 

10 (2) the Passenger Rail Infrastructure Manager 

11 for capital expenses in Year Two. 

12 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES OF COMPACTS.—

13 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

14 such sums as may be necessary for grants for the adminis15 trative expenses of interstate compacts in Years One 

16 through Three. 

17 (d) EXPENSES OF AMTRAK.—There are authorized to 

18 be appropriated to the Secretary such sums as may be 

19 necessary for grants for the administrative expenses of 

20 Amtrak in Years Two through Six. 

21 (e) GRANTS MADE AFTER YEAR TWO.—After the 

22 last day of Year Two, the Secretary may not enter into 

23 a grant agreement under this Act, other than section 

24 206(c), or part C of title V of title 49, United States Code, 
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1 unless each other party to the grant agreement is a State, 

2 regional compact, or other public entity. 

3 TITLE III—GRANTS AND OTHER 

4 ASSISTANCE FOR INTERCITY 

5 PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE 

6 SEC. 301. CAPITAL ASSISTANCE FOR INTERCITY PAS7 SENGER RAIL SERVICE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part C of subtitle V of title 49, 

9 United States Code, is amended by inserting the following 

10 after chapter 243: 

11 ‘‘CHAPTER 244—INTERCITY PASSENGER 

12 RAIL SERVICE CORRIDOR CAPITAL AS13 SISTANCE

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘24401. Definitions; effective date. 

‘‘24402. Capital investment grants to support intercity passenger rail service. 

‘‘24403. Project management oversight. 

‘‘24404. Use of capital grants to finance first-dollar liability of grant project. 

‘‘24405. Authorization of appropriations.

14 ‘‘§ 24401. Definitions; effective date 

15 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this chapter—

16 ‘‘(1) ‘applicant’ means a State, an Interstate 

17 Compact (including the Northeast Corridor Compact 

18 as specified in section 103 of the Passenger Rail In19 vestment Reform Act), or a public agency estab20 lished by one or more States and having responsi21 bility for providing intercity passenger rail service. 
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1 ‘‘(2) ‘capital project’ means a project within a 

2 corridor plan or program for—

3 ‘‘(A) acquiring, constructing, supervising, 

4 or inspecting equipment or a facility for use in 

5 intercity passenger rail service, expenses inci6 dental to the acquisition or construction (in7 cluding designing, engineering, location sur8 veying, mapping, environmental studies, and ac9 quiring rights-of-way), payments for the capital 

10 portions of rail trackage rights agreements, 

11 passenger rail-related intelligent transportation 

12 systems, highway-rail grade crossing improve13 ments on routes used for intercity passenger 

14 rail service, relocation assistance, acquiring re15 placement housing sites, and acquiring, con16 structing, relocating, and rehabilitating replace17 ment housing; 

18 ‘‘(B) rehabilitating, remanufacturing, or 

19 overhauling rail rolling stock and facilities used 

20 primarily in intercity passenger rail service; and 

21 ‘‘(C) the first-dollar liability costs for in22 surance related to the provision of intercity pas23 senger rail service. 

24 ‘‘(3) ‘intercity passenger rail service’ means 

25 transportation services with the primary purpose of 
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1 passenger transportation between towns, cities, and 

2 metropolitan areas by rail, including high-speed rail. 

3 ‘‘(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This chapter is effective on 

4 the first day of Year Two. 

5 ‘‘§ 24402. Capital investment grants to support inter6 city passenger rail service 

7 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—(1) The Secretary of 

8 Transportation may make grants under this section to an 

9 applicant to assist in financing the capital costs of facili10 ties and equipment necessary to provide intercity pas11 senger rail transportation. 

12 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall require that a grant under 

13 this section be subject to the terms, conditions, require14 ments, and provisions the Secretary decides are necessary 

15 or appropriate for the purposes of this section, including

16 requirements for the disposition of net increases in value 

17 of real property resulting from the project assisted under 

18 this section. 

19 ‘‘(3) A grant under this section may not be made for 

20 a project or program of projects that qualifies for financial 

21 assistance under chapter 53 of this title. 

22 ‘‘(b) PROJECT AS PART OF APPROVED PROGRAM.—

23 (1) The Secretary may not approve a grant for a project 

24 under this section unless the Secretary finds that the 

25 project is part of an approved corridor plan and program 
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1 developed under section 5303 of this title and that the 

2 applicant or recipient has or will have the legal, financial, 

3 and technical capacity to carry out the project (including 

4 safety and security aspects of the project), satisfactory 

5 continuing control over the use of the equipment or facili6 ties, and the capability and willingness to maintain the 

7 equipment or facilities. 

8 ‘‘(2) An applicant shall provide sufficient information 

9 upon which the Secretary can make the findings required 

10 by this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(3) If an applicant has not selected the proposed op12 erator of its service competitively, the applicant shall pro13 vide written justification to the Secretary showing why the 

14 proposed operator is the best, taking into account price 

15 and other factors, and that use of the proposed operator 

16 will not increase the capital cost of the project. 

17 ‘‘(4) An applicant shall demonstrate that it has 

18 agreed with the railroad over which the intercity passenger 

19 rail service will operate concerning the applicant’s oper20 ating and capital plans. 

21 ‘‘(c) LETTERS OF INTENT, FULL FUNDING GRANT

22 AGREEMENTS, AND EARLY SYSTEMS WORK AGREE23 MENTS.—(1)(A) The Secretary may issue a letter of intent 

24 to an applicant announcing an intention to obligate, for 

25 a major capital project under this section, an amount from 
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1 future available budget authority specified in law that is 

2 not more than the amount stipulated as the financial par3 ticipation of the Secretary in the project. 

4 ‘‘(B) At least 30 days before issuing a letter under 

5 subparagraph (A) of this paragraph or entering into a full 

6 funding grant agreement, the Secretary shall notify in 

7 writing the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc8 ture of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

9 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

10 and the House of Representatives and Senate Committees 

11 on Appropriations of the proposed letter or agreement. 

12 The Secretary shall include with the notification a copy 

13 of the proposed letter or agreement as well as the evalua14 tions and ratings for the project. 

15 ‘‘(C) The issuance of a letter is deemed not to be 

16 an obligation under sections 1108(c) and (d), 1501, and 

17 1502(a) of title 31, United States Code, or an administra18 tive commitment. 

19 ‘‘(D) An obligation or administrative commitment 

20 may be made only when amounts are appropriated. 

21 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary may make a full funding grant 

22 agreement with an applicant. The agreement shall—

23 ‘‘(i) establish the terms of participation by the 

24 United States Government in a project under this 

25 section; 
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1 ‘‘(ii) establish the maximum amount of Govern2 ment financial assistance for the project; 

3 ‘‘(iii) cover the period of time for completing 

4 the project, including a period extending beyond the 

5 period of an authorization; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) make timely and efficient management of 

7 the project easier according to the law of the United 

8 States. 

9 ‘‘(B) An agreement under this paragraph obligates 

10 an amount of available budget authority specified in law 

11 and may include a commitment, contingent on amounts 

12 to be specified in law in advance for commitments under 

13 this paragraph, to obligate an additional amount from fu14 ture available budget authority specified in law. The 

15 agreement shall state that the contingent commitment is 

16 not an obligation of the Government and is subject to the 

17 availability of appropriations made by Federal law and to 

18 Federal laws in force on or enacted after the date of the 

19 contingent commitment. Interest and other financing costs 

20 of efficiently carrying out a part of the project within a 

21 reasonable time are a cost of carrying out the project 

22 under a full funding grant agreement, except that eligible 

23 costs may not be more than the cost of the most favorable 

24 financing terms reasonably available for the project at the 

25 time of borrowing. The applicant shall certify, in a way 
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1 satisfactory to the Secretary, that the applicant has shown 

2 reasonable diligence in seeking the most favorable financ3 ing terms. 

4 ‘‘(3)(A) The Secretary may make an early systems 

5 work agreement with an applicant if a record of decision 

6 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

7 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) has been issued on the project and 

8 the Secretary finds there is reason to believe—

9 ‘‘(i) a full funding grant agreement for the 

10 project will be made; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the terms of the work agreement will pro12 mote ultimate completion of the project more rapidly 

13 and at less cost. 

14 ‘‘(B) A work agreement under this paragraph obli15 gates an amount of available budget authority specified 

16 in law and shall provide for reimbursement of preliminary 

17 costs of carrying out the project, including land acquisi18 tion, timely procurement of system elements for which 

19 specifications are decided, and other activities the Sec20 retary decides are appropriate to make efficient, long-term 

21 project management easier. A work agreement shall cover 

22 the period of time the Secretary considers appropriate. 

23 The period may extend beyond the period of current au24 thorization. Interest and other financing costs of effi25 ciently carrying out the work agreement within a reason-
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1 able time are a cost of carrying out the agreement, except 

2 that eligible costs may not be more than the cost of the 

3 most favorable financing terms reasonably available for 

4 the project at the time of borrowing. The applicant shall 

5 certify, in a way satisfactory to the Secretary, that the 

6 applicant has shown reasonable diligence in seeking the 

7 most favorable financing terms. If an applicant does not 

8 carry out the project for reasons within the control of the 

9 applicant, the applicant shall repay all Government pay10 ments made under the work agreement plus reasonable in11 terest and penalty charges the Secretary establishes in the 

12 agreement.

13 ‘‘(4) The total estimated amount of future obligations 

14 of the Government and contingent commitments to incur 

15 obligations covered by all outstanding letters of intent, full 

16 funding grant agreements, and early systems work agree17 ments may be not more than the amount authorized under 

18 section 24405 of this title, less an amount the Secretary 

19 reasonably estimates is necessary for grants under this 

20 section not covered by a letter. The total amount covered 

21 by new letters and contingent commitments included in 

22 full funding grant agreements and early systems work 

23 agreements may be not more than a limitation specified 

24 in law. 
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1 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL SHARE OF NET PROJECT COST.—

2 (1)(A) Based on engineering studies, studies of economic 

3 feasibility, and information on the expected use of equip4 ment or facilities, the Secretary shall estimate the net 

5 project cost. 

6 ‘‘(B) A grant for the project shall not exceed the 

7 specified percentage of the project net capital cost estab8 lished for the year the grant is approved, as follows: 

9 ‘‘(i) 100 percent in the case of approval for 

10 Year Two. 

11 ‘‘(ii) 80 percent in the case of approval for Year 

12 Three. 

13 ‘‘(iii) 60 percent in the case of approval for 

14 Year Four. 

15 ‘‘(iii) 50 percent in the case of approval for 

16 Year Five, and thereafter. 

17 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall give priority in allocating 

18 future obligations and contingent commitments to incur 

19 obligations to grant requests seeking a lower Federal 

20 share of the project net capital cost. 

21 ‘‘(2) Up to an additional 30 percent of project net 

22 capital cost may be funded from amounts appropriated to 

23 or made available to a department or agency of the Fed24 eral Government that are eligible to be expended for trans25 portation. 
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1 ‘‘(e) UNDERTAKING PROJECTS IN ADVANCE.—(1) 

2 The Secretary may pay the Federal share of the net cap3 ital project cost to an applicant that carries out any part 

4 of a project described in this section according to all appli5 cable procedures and requirements if—

6 ‘‘(A) the applicant applies for the payment; 

7 ‘‘(B) the Secretary approves the payment; and 

8 ‘‘(C) before carrying out the part of the project, 

9 the Secretary approves the plans and specifications 

10 for the part in the same way as other projects under 

11 this section. 

12 ‘‘(2) The cost of carrying out part of a project in13 cludes the amount of interest earned and payable on bonds 

14 issued by the applicant to the extent proceeds of the bonds 

15 are expended in carrying out the part. However, the 

16 amount of interest under this paragraph may not be more 

17 than the most favorable interest terms reasonably avail18 able for the project at the time of borrowing. The appli19 cant shall certify, in a manner satisfactory to the Sec20 retary, that the applicant has shown reasonable diligence 

21 in seeking the most favorable financial terms. 

22 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall consider changes in capital 

23 project cost indices when determining the estimated cost 

24 under paragraph (2) of this subsection.’’. 
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1 ‘‘§ 24403. Project management oversight 

2 ‘‘(a) PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN REQUIRE3 MENTS.—To receive Federal financial assistance for a 

4 major capital project under this chapter, an applicant 

5 must prepare and carry out a project management plan 

6 approved by the Secretary of Transportation. The plan 

7 shall provide for—

8 ‘‘(1) adequate recipient staff organization with 

9 well-defined reporting relationships, statements of 

10 functional responsibilities, job descriptions, and job 

11 qualifications; 

12 ‘‘(2) a budget covering the project management 

13 organization, appropriate consultants, property ac14 quisition, utility relocation, systems demonstration 

15 staff, audits, and miscellaneous payments the recipi16 ent may be prepared to justify; 

17 ‘‘(3) a construction schedule for the project; 

18 ‘‘(4) a document control procedure and record19 keeping system; 

20 ‘‘(5) a change order procedure that includes a 

21 documented, systematic approach to handling the 

22 construction change orders; 

23 ‘‘(6) organizational structures, management 

24 skills, and staffing levels required throughout the 

25 construction phase; 
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1 ‘‘(7) quality control and quality assurance func2 tions, procedures, and responsibilities for construc3 tion, system installation, and integration of system 

4 components; 

5 ‘‘(8) material testing policies and procedures; 

6 ‘‘(9) internal plan implementation and reporting 

7 requirements; 

8 ‘‘(10) criteria and procedures to be used for 

9 testing the operational system or its major compo10 nents; 

11 ‘‘(11) periodic updates of the plan, especially 

12 related to project budget and project schedule, fi13 nancing, and ridership estimates; and 

14 ‘‘(12) the recipient’s commitment to submit a 

15 project budget and project schedule to the Secretary 

16 each month. 

17 ‘‘(b) SECRETARIAL OVERSIGHT.—(1) The Secretary 

18 may use no more than 0.5 percent of amounts made avail19 able in a fiscal year for capital projects under this chapter 

20 to enter into contracts to oversee the construction of such 

21 projects. 

22 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may use amounts available under 

23 paragraph (1) of this subsection to make contracts for 

24 safety, procurement, management, and financial compli-
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1 ance reviews and audits of a recipient of amounts under 

2 paragraph (1). 

3 ‘‘(3) The Federal Government shall pay the entire 

4 cost of carrying out a contract under this subsection. 

5 ‘‘(c) ACCESS TO SITES AND RECORDS.—Each recipi6 ent of assistance under this chapter shall provide the Sec7 retary and a contractor the Secretary chooses under sub8 section (b) of this section with access to the construction 

9 sites and records of the recipient when reasonably nec10 essary.

11 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

12 regulations necessary to carry out this section. The regula13 tions shall include—

14 ‘‘(1) a definition of ‘major capital project’ for 

15 this section; 

16 ‘‘(2) a requirement that oversight begin during 

17 the preliminary engineering stage of a project, un18 less the Secretary finds it more appropriate to begin 

19 oversight during another stage of a project, to maxi20 mize the transportation benefits and cost savings as21 sociated with project management oversight; 

22 ‘‘(3) a deadline by which all grant applications 

23 for a fiscal year must be submitted that is early 

24 enough to permit the Secretary to evaluate all timely 

25 applications thoroughly before making grants; 
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1 ‘‘(4) a formula based on population, track miles 

2 of railroad, and passenger miles traveled in the prior 

3 fiscal year by which one-half of the funds appro4 priated for capital grants for each fiscal year are to 

5 be allocated among the States; 

6 ‘‘(5) a requirement that, if a State does not 

7 timely apply for its share of formula grant funds 

8 under paragraph (4) of this subsection, those funds 

9 will be made available to other States under para10 graph (6) of this subsection; and 

11 ‘‘(6) criteria by which the Secretary will allocate 

12 one-half of the funds appropriated for capital grants 

13 for each fiscal year, including at least projected rid14 ership, passenger rail and intermodal connections, 

15 congestion and air quality mitigation, underserved 

16 communities, and the effect of the grant on whether 

17 existing service will continue. 

18 ‘‘§ 24404. Use of capital grants to finance first-dollar 

19 liability of grant project 

20 ‘‘Notwithstanding the requirements of section 24402 

21 of this title, the Secretary of Transportation may approve 

22 the use of capital assistance under this chapter to fund 

23 self-insured retention of risk for the first tier of liability 

24 insurance coverage for rail passenger service associated 

25 with the capital assistance grant, but the coverage may 
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1 not exceed $20,000,000 per occurrence or $20,000,000 in 

2 aggregate per year. 

3 ‘‘§ 24405. Authorization of appropriations 

4 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to make 

5 capital financial assistance grants under this chapter, in6 cluding the Secretary’s expenses related thereto, the fol7 lowing amounts: 

8 ‘‘(1) Such sums as may be necessary in Year 

9 Two. 

10 ‘‘(2) Such sums as may be necessary in Year 

11 Three. 

12 ‘‘(3) Such sums as may be necessary in Year 

13 Four. 

14 ‘‘(4) Such sums as may be necessary in Year 

15 Five. 

16 ‘‘(5) Such sums as may be necessary in Year 

17 Six.’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of chap19 ters for subtitle V of title 49, United States Code, is 

20 amended by inserting the following after the item relating 

21 to chapter 243:

‘‘244. INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE CORRIDOR 

CAPITAL ASSISTANCE ............................................ 24401’’.
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1 SEC. 302. FINAL REGULATIONS ON APPLICATIONS BY 

2 STATES FOR DEVELOPMENT GRANTS. 

3 Not later than June 1 of Year One, the Adminis4 trator of the Federal Railroad Administration shall issue 

5 final regulations setting forth procedures for application 

6 and minimum requirements for the award of grants on 

7 and after the first day of Year Two, under chapter 244 

8 of title 49, United States Code. 

9 SEC. 303. AUTHORITY FOR INTERSTATE COMPACTS FOR 

10 CORRIDOR DEVELOPMENT. 

11 (a) CONSENT TO COMPACTS.—(1) Two or more 

12 States with an interest in a specific form, route, or cor13 ridor of intercity passenger rail service (including high 

14 speed rail service) may enter into interstate compacts to 

15 implement the service, including—

16 (A) retaining an existing service or commencing 

17 a new service; 

18 (B) assembling rights-of-way; and 

19 (C) performing capital improvements, includ20 ing—

21 (i) the construction and rehabilitation of 

22 maintenance facilities; 

23 (ii) the purchase of rolling stock; and 

24 (iii) operational improvements, including 

25 communications, signals, and other systems. 
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1 (2) A compact entered into under the authority of 

2 this section shall be submitted to Congress for its consent, 

3 and it is the sense of Congress that rapid consent to the 

4 compact shall be a priority of Congress. 

5 (b) FINANCING.—(1) An interstate compact estab6 lished by States under subsection (a) may provide that, 

7 in order to carry out the compact, the States may—

8 (A) accept contributions from a unit of State or 

9 local government or a person; 

10 (B) use any Federal or State funds made avail11 able for intercity passenger rail service (except funds 

12 made available for Amtrak); 

13 (C) on such terms and conditions as the States 

14 consider advisable—

15 (i) borrow money on a short-term basis 

16 and issue notes for the borrowing; and 

17 (ii) issue bonds; and 

18 (D) obtain financing by other means permitted 

19 under Federal or State law. 

20 (2) Bonds and other indebtedness incurred under the 

21 authority of this subsection shall under no circumstances 

22 be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.

Æ