I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1788

To reform the statutes relating to Amtrak, to authorize appropriations for

Amtrak, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 8, 1995

Ms. MOLINARI (for herself and Mr. SHUSTER) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

A BILL

To reform the statutes relating to Amtrak, to authorize

appropriations for Amtrak, 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.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Amtrak Reform and

5 Privatization Act of 1995’’.

6 TITLE I—PROCUREMENT

7 REFORMS

8 SEC. 101. CONTRACTING OUT.

9 Section 24312(b) of title 49, United States Code, is

10 amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(b) CONTRACTING OUT.—Notwithstanding any ar2 rangement in effect on the date of the enactment of the

3 Amtrak Reform and Privatization Act of 1995, Amtrak,

4 in order to realize demonstrable economic benefits, may

5 contract out work normally performed by an employee of

6 a bargaining unit covered by a contract between a labor

7 organization and Amtrak or a rail carrier that provided

8 intercity rail passenger transportation on October 30,

9 1970.’’.

10 SEC. 102. CONTRACTING PRACTICES.

11 (a) BELOW-COST COMPETITION.—Section 24305(b)

12 of title 49, United States Code, is amended to read as

13 follows:

14 ‘‘(b) BELOW-COST COMPETITION.—(1) Amtrak shall

15 not submit any bid for the performance of services under

16 a contract for an amount less than the cost to Amtrak

17 of performing such services, with respect to any activity

18 other than the provision of intercity rail passenger trans19 portation, commuter rail passenger transportation, or mail

20 or express transportation. For purposes of this subsection,

21 the cost to Amtrak of performing services shall be deter22 mined using generally accepted accounting principles for

23 contracting.

24 ‘‘(2) Any aggrieved individual may commence a civil

25 action for violation of paragraph (1). The United States
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1 district courts shall have jurisdiction, without regard to

2 the amount in controversy or the citizenship of the parties,

3 to enforce paragraph (1). The court, in issuing any final

4 order in any action brought pursuant to this paragraph,

5 may award bid preparation costs, anticipated profits, and

6 litigation costs, including reasonable attorney and expert

7 witness fees, to any prevailing or substantially prevailing

8 party. The court may, if a temporary restraining order

9 or preliminary injunction is sought, require the filing of

10 a bond or equivalent security in accordance with the Fed11 eral Rules of Civil Procedure.’’.

12 (b) THROUGH SERVICE IN CONJUNCTION WITH

13 INTERCITY BUS OPERATIONS.—(1) Section 24305(a) of

14 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the

15 end the following new paragraph:

16 ‘‘(3)(A) Except as provided in subsection (d)(2), Am17 trak may enter into a contract with a motor carrier of

18 passengers for the intercity transportation of passengers

19 by motor carrier over regular routes only if—

20 ‘‘(i) the motor carrier is not a public recipient

21 of governmental assistance, as such term is defined

22 in section 10922(d)(1)(F)(i) of this title, other than

23 a recipient of funds under section 18 of the Federal

24 Transit Act;
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1 ‘‘(ii) the passengers have had prior movement

2 by rail or will have subsequent movement by rail;

3 and

4 ‘‘(iii) the buses, when used in the provision of

5 such transportation, are used exclusively for the

6 transportation of passengers described in clause (ii).

7 ‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to transpor8 tation funded in whole or in part by a State or local gov9 ernment, or to ticket selling agreements.’’.

10 (2) Section 24305(d) of title 49, United States Code,

11 is amended by adding at the end the following new para12 graph:

13 ‘‘(3) Congress encourages Amtrak and motor com14 mon carriers of passengers to use the authority conferred

15 in section 11342(a) of this title for the purpose of provid16 ing improved service to the public and economy of oper17 ation.’’.

18 SEC. 103. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.

19 Section 24301(e) of title 49, United States Code, is

20 amended by striking ‘‘Section 552 of title 5, this part,’’

21 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘This part’’.
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1 TITLE II—OPERATIONAL

2 REFORMS

3 SEC. 201. BASIC SYSTEM.

4 (a) OPERATION OF BASIC SYSTEM.—Section 24701

5 of title 49, United States Code, and the item relating

6 thereto in the table of sections of chapter 247 of such title,

7 are repealed.

8 (b) IMPROVING RAIL PASSENGER TRANSPOR9 TATION.—Section 24702 of title 49, United States Code,

10 and the item relating thereto in the table of sections of

11 chapter 247 of such title, are repealed.

12 (c) DISCONTINUANCE.—Section 24706 of title 49,

13 United States Code, is amended—

14 (1) in subsection (a)(1)—

15 (A) by striking ‘‘90 days’’ and inserting in

16 lieu thereof ‘‘180 days’’;

17 (B) by striking ‘‘a discontinuance under

18 section 24704 or 24707(a) or (b) of this title’’

19 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘discontinuing

20 service over a route’’; and

21 (C) by inserting ‘‘or assume’’ after ‘‘agree

22 to share’’;

23 (2) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘section

24 24704 or 24707(a) or (b) of this title’’ and inserting

25 in lieu thereof ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; and
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1 (3) by striking subsection (b).

2 (d) COST AND PERFORMANCE REVIEW.—Section

3 24707 of title 49, United States Code, and the item relat4 ing thereto in the table of sections of chapter 247 of such

5 title, are repealed.

6 (e) SPECIAL COMMUTER TRANSPORTATION.—Section

7 24708 of title 49, United States Code, and the item relat8 ing thereto in the table of sections of chapter 247 of such

9 title, are repealed.

10 (f) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

11 24312(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended

12 by striking ‘‘, 24701(a),’’.

13 SEC. 202. MAIL, EXPRESS, AND AUTO-FERRY TRANSPOR14 TATION.

15 (a) REPEAL.—Section 24306 of title 49, United

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

17 sections of chapter 243 of such title, are repealed.

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 24301 of

19 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the

20 end the following new subsection:

21 ‘‘(o) NONAPPLICATION OF CERTAIN OTHER LAWS.—

22 State and local laws and regulations that impair the provi23 sion of mail, express, and auto-ferry transportation do not

24 apply to Amtrak or a rail carrier providing mail, express,

25 or auto-ferry transportation.’’.
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1 SEC. 203. ROUTE AND SERVICE CRITERIA.

2 Section 24703 of title 49, United States Code, and

3 the item relating thereto in the table of sections of chapter

4 247 of such title, are repealed.

5 SEC. 204. ADDITIONAL QUALIFYING ROUTES.

6 Section 24705 of title 49, United States Code, and

7 the item relating thereto in the table of sections of chapter

8 247 of such title, are repealed.

9 SEC. 205. TRANSPORTATION REQUESTED BY STATES, AU10 THORITIES, AND OTHER PERSONS.

11 (a) REPEAL.—Section 24704 of title 49, United

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

13 sections of chapter 247 of such title, are repealed.

14 (b) EXISTING AGREEMENTS.—Amtrak shall not,

15 after the date of the enactment of this Act, be required

16 to provide transportation services pursuant to an agree17 ment entered into before such date of enactment under

18 the section repealed by subsection (a) of this section.

19 (c) STATE, REGIONAL, AND LOCAL COOPERATION.—

20 Section 24101(c)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is

21 amended by inserting ‘‘, separately or in combination,’’

22 after ‘‘and the private sector’’.

23 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

24 24312(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended

25 by striking ‘‘or 24704(b)(2)’’.
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1 SEC. 206. AMTRAK COMMUTER.

2 (a) REPEAL OF CHAPTER 245.—Chapter 245 of title

3 49, United States Code, and the item relating thereto in

4 the table of chapters of subtitle V of such title, are re5 pealed.

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) Section

7 24301(f) of title 49, United States Code, is amended to

8 read as follows:

9 ‘‘(f) TAX EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN COMMUTER AU10 THORITIES.—A commuter authority that was eligible to

11 make a contract with Amtrak Commuter to provide com12 muter rail passenger transportation but which decided to

13 provide its own rail passenger transportation beginning

14 January 1, 1983, is exempt, effective October 1, 1981,

15 from paying a tax or fee to the same extent Amtrak is

16 exempt.’’.

17 (2) Subsection (a) of this section shall not affect any

18 trackage rights held by Amtrak or the Consolidated Rail

19 Corporation.

20 SEC. 207. COMMUTER COST SHARING ON THE NORTHEAST

21 CORRIDOR.

22 (a) DETERMINATION OF COMPENSATION.—(1) Sec23 tion 24904(c)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is

24 amended—

25 (A) by striking ‘‘between intercity rail pas26 senger and rail freight transportation’’ and inserting
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1 in lieu thereof ‘‘among intercity rail passenger, com2 muter rail passenger, and rail freight transpor3 tation’’;

4 (B) by inserting ‘‘commuter rail carrier or’’

5 after ‘‘Commission shall assign to a’’; and

6 (C) by adding at the end the following new sen7 tence: ‘‘In the case of commuter rail passenger

8 transportation, the costs to be reimbursed shall not

9 include any Amtrak general or administrative costs,

10 corporate overhead costs, or return on investment

11 costs for assets paid for with Federal or State

12 funds.’’.

13 (2) The amendments made by paragraph (1) of this

14 subsection shall take effect 2 years after the date of the

15 enactment of this Act.

16 (b) PRIVATIZATION.—Section 24101(d) of title 49,

17 United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

18 ‘‘(d) MINIMIZING GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES.—To

19 carry out this part, Amtrak is encouraged to make agree20 ments with the private sector and undertake initiatives

21 that are consistent with good business judgment, that

22 produce income to minimize Government subsidies, and

23 that promote the potential privatization of Amtrak’s oper24 ations.’’.
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1 SEC. 208. ACCESS TO RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS.

2 Section 24315 of title 49, United States Code, is

3 amended by adding at the end the following new sub4 section:

5 ‘‘(h) ACCESS TO RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS.—A State

6 shall have access to Amtrak’s records, accounts, and other

7 necessary documents used to determine the amount of any

8 payment to Amtrak required of the State.’’.

9 TITLE III—EMPLOYEE

10 PROTECTION REFORMS

11 SEC. 301. SERVICE DISCONTINUANCE.

12 (a) REPEAL.—Section 24706 of title 49, United

13 States Code, is amended by striking subsection (c).

14 (b) INCORPORATION INTO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

15 CONTRACTS.—The requirements of section 24706(c) of

16 title 49, United States Code, and all arrangements, agree17 ments, and conditions thereunder, as in effect before the

18 date of enactment of this Act, shall become a part of the

19 collective bargaining contracts between Amtrak and all

20 labor organizations which have such contracts with Am21 trak. Such requirements shall be subject to collective bar22 gaining under the Railway Labor Act.

23 (c) RAILWAY LABOR ACT PROCEDURES.—(1) Not24 withstanding any arrangement in effect before the date

25 of the enactment of this Act, notices under section 6 of

26 the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 156) with respect to
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1 all rates of pay, rules, and working conditions governed

2 by section 24706(c) of title 49, United States Code, shall

3 be deemed served and effective on the date of the enact4 ment of this Act. Each affected labor organization rep5 resenting Amtrak employees, and Amtrak, shall promptly

6 supply specific information and proposals with respect to

7 each such notice.

8 (2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), the National

9 Mediation Board shall complete all efforts, with respect

10 to each dispute described in paragraph (1), under section

11 5 of the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 155) not later than

12 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

13 (3) The parties to any dispute described in paragraph

14 (1) may agree to submit the dispute to arbitration under

15 section 7 of the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 157), and

16 any award resulting therefrom shall be retroactive to the

17 date which is 270 days after the date of the enactment

18 of this Act.

19 (4) With respect to any dispute described in para20 graph (1) which—

21 (A) is unresolved as of the date which is 270

22 days after the date of the enactment of this Act; and

23 (B) is not submitted to arbitration as described

24 in paragraph (3),
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1 the President shall appoint an Emergency Board under

2 section 10 of the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 160). No

3 extensions of the schedule provided for in such section 10

4 shall be permitted. In any work stoppage or other self5 help occurring after the completion of the procedures re6 quired by such section 10, the penalties described in sec7 tion 9A(i) and (j) of the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C.

8 159a(i) and (j)) shall apply to both Amtrak and its em9 ployees.

10 (d) NO EFFECT ON CERTAIN AGREEMENTS.—The

11 amendment made by subsection (a) shall not affect the

12 validity of any agreement entered into before the date of

13 the enactment of this Act under section 11347 or 5333

14 of title 49, United States Code.

15 (e) INTERCITY PASSENGER SERVICE EMPLOYEES.—

16 (1) Section 1165 of the Northeast Rail Service Act of

17 1981 (45 U.S.C. 1113) is amended by striking ‘‘(a) After

18 January 1, 1983’’ and all that follows through ‘‘(b) Con19 rail employees’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘Conrail em20 ployees’’.

21 (2) Any contract or agreement entered into before the

22 date of the enactment of this Act, pursuant to such section

23 1165(a), shall be unenforceable and void to the extent it

24 relates to the requirements of such subsection.
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1 (f) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 11347 of title

2 49, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘sections

3 24307(c), 24312, and’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘sec4 tion’’.

5 TITLE IV—USE OF RAILROAD

6 FACILITIES

7 SEC. 401. COMPENSATION.

8 (a) COMPENSATION DETERMINATION.—Section

9 24308 of title 49, United States Code, is amended in sub10 section (a)(2)(B) by inserting ‘‘If the facilities for which

11 compensation is sought are owned or provided by a com12 muter authority or a regional transportation authority, no

13 cross-subsidization shall be permitted by the Commission

14 among intercity rail passenger, commuter rail passenger,

15 and rail freight transportation.’’ after ‘‘and providing the

16 services.’’.

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 10362(b)

18 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking

19 paragraph (5) and redesignating paragraphs (6) through

20 (8) as paragraphs (5) through (7), respectively.

21 SEC. 402. LIABILITY LIMITATION.

22 (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 281 of title 49, United

23 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow24 ing new section:
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1 ‘‘§ 28103. Limitations on rail passenger transpor2 tation liability

3 ‘‘(a) LIMITATIONS.—(1) Notwithstanding any other

4 statutory or common law or public policy, or the nature

5 of the conduct giving rise to damages or liability, in a

6 claim for personal injury, death, or damage to property

7 arising from or in connection with the provision of rail

8 passenger transportation, or from or in connection with

9 any operations over or use of right-of-way or facilities

10 owned, leased, or maintained by Amtrak, or from or in

11 connection with any rail passenger transportation oper12 ations over or rail passenger transportation use of right13 of-way or facilities owned, leased, or maintained by any

14 high-speed railroad authority or operator, any commuter

15 authority or operator, or any rail carrier, punitive dam16 ages shall not exceed the greater of—

17 ‘‘(A) $250,000; or

18 ‘‘(B) three times the amount of economic dam19 ages.

20 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘claim’

21 means a claim made, directly or indirectly—

22 ‘‘(A) against Amtrak, any high-speed railroad

23 authority or operator, any commuter authority or

24 operator, or any rail carrier; or

25 ‘‘(B) against an affiliate engaged in railroad op26 erations, officer, employee, or agent of, Amtrak, any
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1 high-speed railroad authority or operator, any com2 muter authority or operator, or any rail carrier.

3 ‘‘(b) INDEMNIFICATION OBLIGATIONS.—Obligations

4 of any party, however arising, including obligations arising

5 under leases or contracts or pursuant to orders of an ad6 ministrative agency, to indemnify against damages or li7 ability for personal injury, death, or damage to property

8 described in subsection (a), incurred after the date of the

9 enactment of the Amtrak Reform and Privatization Act

10 of 1995, shall be enforceable, notwithstanding any other

11 statutory or common law or public policy, or the nature

12 or the conduct giving rise to the damages or liability.

13 ‘‘(c) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—This section shall

14 not affect the damages that may be recovered under the

15 Act of April 27, 1908 (45 U.S.C. 51 et seq.; popularly

16 known as the ‘Federal Employers’ Liability Act’) or under

17 any workers compensation act.’’.

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec19 tions of chapter 281 of title 49, United States Code, is

20 amended by adding at the end the following new item:

‘‘28103. Limitations on rail passenger transportation liability.’’.

21 TITLE V—FINANCIAL REFORMS

22 SEC. 501. FINANCIAL POWERS.

23 (a) CAPITALIZATION.—Section 24304 of title 49,

24 United States Code, and the item relating thereto in the

25 table of sections of chapter 243, are repealed.
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1 (b) REDEMPTION OF COMMON STOCK.—(1) Amtrak

2 shall, within 2 months after the date of the enactment of

3 this Act, redeem all common stock previously issued, for

4 the fair market value of such stock as of the day before

5 the date of the enactment of this Act.

6 (2) Section 28103 of title 49, United States Code,

7 shall not apply to any rail carrier holding common stock

8 of Amtrak after the expiration of 2 months after the date

9 of the enactment of this Act.

10 (3) Amtrak may redeem any such common stock held

11 after the expiration of the 2-month period described in

12 paragraph (1), using procedures set forth in section

13 24311(a) and (b).

14 (c) SURRENDER OF PREFERRED STOCK.—The Sec15 retary of Transportation shall surrender all rights held in

16 connection with the issuance of the preferred stock of Am17 trak.

18 (d) NOTE AND MORTGAGE.—(1) Section 24907 of

19 title 49, United States Code, and the item relating thereto

20 in the table of sections of chapter 249 of such title, are

21 repealed.

22 (2) The United States hereby relinquishes all rights

23 held in connection with any note obtained or mortgage

24 made under such section 24907, or in connection with the
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1 note, security agreement, and terms and conditions related

2 thereto entered into with Amtrak dated October 5, 1983.

3 (3) This subsection and subsection (c) shall take ef4 fect 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.

5 (e) STATUS AND APPLICABLE LAWS.—(1) Section

6 24301(a)(3) of title 49, United States Code, is amended

7 by inserting ‘‘, and shall not be subject to title 31, United

8 States Code’’ after ‘‘United States Government’’.

9 (2) Section 9101(2) of title 31, United States Code,

10 relating to Government corporations, is amended by strik11 ing subparagraph (A) and redesignating subparagraphs

12 (B) through (M) as subparagraphs (A) through (L), re13 spectively.

14 SEC. 502. DISBURSEMENT OF FEDERAL FUNDS.

15 Section 24104(d) of title 49, United States Code, is

16 amended to read as follows:

17 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Funds

18 appropriated pursuant to this section shall be provided to

19 Amtrak upon appropriation when requested by Amtrak.’’.

20 SEC. 503. BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

21 (a) REPEAL.—Section 24302 of title 49, United

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

23 sections of chapter 243 of such title, are repealed.

24 (b) NO CHANGE OF MEMBERSHIP REQUIRED.—

25 Nothing in subsection (a) shall be construed to require any
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1 change in the membership of the Board of Directors of

2 Amtrak on the date of the enactment of this Act.

3 SEC. 504. REPORTS AND AUDITS.

4 Section 24315 of title 49, United States Code, is

5 amended—

6 (1) by striking subsections (a) and (c);

7 (2) by redesignating subsections (b), (d), (e),

8 (f), and (g) as subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e),

9 respectively; and

10 (3) in subsection (d), as so redesignated by

11 paragraph (2) of this section, by striking ‘‘(d) or

12 (e)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘(b) or (c)’’.

13 SEC. 505. OFFICERS’ PAY.

14 Section 24303(b) of title 49, United States Code, is

15 amended by striking the second sentence thereof.

16 SEC. 506. EXEMPTION FROM TAXES.

17 Section 24301(l)(1) of title 49, United States Code,

18 is amended—

19 (1) by inserting ‘‘, and any passenger or other

20 customer of Amtrak or such subsidiary,’’ after ‘‘sub21 sidiary of Amtrak’’;

22 (2) by striking ‘‘or fee imposed’’ and all that

23 follows through ‘‘levied on it’’ and inserting in lieu

24 thereof ‘‘, fee, head charge, or other charge, imposed

25 or levied by a State, political subdivision, or local
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1 taxing authority, directly or indirectly on Amtrak or

2 on persons traveling in intercity rail passenger

3 transportation or on mail or express transportation

4 provided by Amtrak or such a subsidiary, or on the

5 carriage of such persons, mail, or express, or on the

6 sale of any such transportation, or on the gross re7 ceipts derived therefrom’’; and

8 (3) by striking the last sentence thereof.

9 TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS

10 SEC. 601. TEMPORARY RAIL ADVISORY COUNCIL.

11 (a) APPOINTMENT.—Within 30 days after the date

12 of the enactment of this Act, a Temporary Rail Advisory

13 Council (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Council’’) shall

14 be appointed under this section.

15 (b) DUTIES.—The Council shall—

16 (1) evaluate Amtrak’s performance;

17 (2) prepare an analysis and critique of Am18 trak’s business plan;

19 (3) suggest strategies for further cost contain20 ment and productivity improvements, including

21 strategies with the potential for further reduction in

22 Federal operating subsidies and the eventual partial

23 or complete privatization of Amtrak’s operations;

24 and
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1 (4) recommend appropriate methods for adop2 tion of uniform cost and accounting procedures

3 throughout the Amtrak system, based on generally

4 accepted accounting principles.

5 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—(1) The Council shall consist of

6 7 members appointed as follows:

7 (A) Two individuals to be appointed by the

8 Speaker of the House of Representatives, in con9 sultation with the minority leader of the House of

10 Representatives.

11 (B) Two individuals to be appointed by the ma12 jority leader of the Senate, in consultation with the

13 minority leader of the Senate.

14 (C) Two individuals appointed by the President.

15 (D) One individual appointed by the Amtrak

16 board of directors.

17 (2) Appointments under paragraph (1) shall be made

18 from among individuals who—

19 (A) have technical qualification, professional

20 standing, and demonstrated expertise in the fields of

21 transportation and corporate management; and

22 (B) are not employees of Amtrak, employees of

23 the United States, or representatives of rail labor or

24 rail management.
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1 (3) Within 40 days after the date of the enactment

2 of this Act, a majority of the members of the Council shall

3 elect a chairman from among such members.

4 (d) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the Coun5 cil shall serve without pay, but shall receive travel ex6 penses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in ac7 cordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United

8 States Code.

9 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Secretary of

10 Transportation shall provide to the Council such adminis11 trative support as the Council requires to carry out this

12 section.

13 (f) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—Amtrak shall make

14 available to the Council all information the Council re15 quires to carry out this section. The Council shall establish

16 appropriate procedures to ensure against the public disclo17 sure of any information obtained under this subsection

18 which is a trade secret or commercial or financial informa19 tion that is privileged or confidential.

20 (g) REPORTS.—(1) Within 120 days after the date

21 of the enactment of this Act, the Council shall transmit

22 to the Amtrak board of directors and the Congress an in23 terim report on its findings and recommendations.

24 (2) Within 270 days after the date of the enactment

25 of this Act, the Council shall transmit to the Amtrak
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1 board of directors and the Congress a final report on its

2 findings and recommendations.

3 (h) STATUS.—The Council shall not be subject to the

4 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) or sec5 tion 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred

6 to as the Freedom of Information Act).

7 SEC. 602. PRINCIPAL OFFICE AND PLACE OF BUSINESS.

8 Section 24301(b) of title 49, United States Code, is

9 amended—

10 (1) by striking the first sentence;

11 (2) by striking ‘‘District of Columbia’’ and in12 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘State in which its principal

13 office and place of business is located’’; and

14 (3) by inserting ‘‘For purposes of this sub15 section, the term ‘State’ includes the District of Co16 lumbia.’’ after ‘‘in a civil action.’’.

17 SEC. 603. STATUS AND APPLICABLE LAWS.

18 Section 24301 of title 49, United States Code, is

19 amended—

20 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘rail car21 rier under section 10102’’ and inserting in lieu

22 thereof ‘‘railroad carrier under section 20102(2) and

23 chapters 261 and 281’’; and

24 (2) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol25 lows:
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1 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION OF SUBTITLE IV.—Subtitle IV of

2 this title shall not apply to Amtrak, except for sections

3 11303, 11342(a), 11504 (a) and (d), and 11707.’’.

4 SEC. 604. WASTE DISPOSAL.

5 Section 24301(m)(1)(A) of title 49, United States

6 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘1996’’ and inserting in lieu

7 thereof ‘‘2001’’.

8 SEC. 605. ASSISTANCE FOR UPGRADING FACILITIES.

9 Section 24310 of title 49, United States Code, and

10 the item relating thereto in the table of sections of chapter

11 243 of such title, are repealed.

12 SEC. 606. RAIL SAFETY SYSTEM PROGRAM.

13 Section 24313 of title 49, United States Code, and

14 the item relating thereto in the table of sections of chapter

15 243 of such title, are repealed.

16 SEC. 607. DEMONSTRATION OF NEW TECHNOLOGY.

17 Section 24314 of title 49, United States Code, and

18 the item relating thereto in the table of sections of chapter

19 243 of such title, are repealed.

20 SEC. 608. PROGRAM MASTER PLAN FOR BOSTON-NEW YORK

21 MAIN LINE.

22 Section 24903 of title 49, United States Code, and

23 the item relating thereto in the table of sections of chapter

24 249 of such title, are repealed.
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1 SEC. 609. BOSTON-NEW HAVEN ELECTRIFICATION PRO2 JECT.

3 Section 24902(f) of title 49, United States Code, is

4 amended—

5 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘Improvements

6 under’’; and

7 (2) by adding at the end the following new

8 paragraph:

9 ‘‘(2) Amtrak shall design and construct the elec10 trification system between Boston, Massachusetts, and

11 New Haven, Connecticut, to accommodate the installation

12 of a third mainline track between Davisville and Central

13 Falls, Rhode Island, to be used for double-stack freight

14 service to and from the Port of Davisville. Wherever prac15 ticable, Amtrak shall use portal structures and realign ex16 isting tracks on undergrade and overgrade bridges to min17 imize the width of the right-of-way required to add the

18 third track. Amtrak shall take such other steps as may

19 be required to coordinate and facilitate design and con20 struction work.’’.

21 SEC. 610. AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990.

22 (a) APPLICATION TO AMTRAK.—Amtrak shall not be

23 subject to any requirement under section 242(a) (1) and

24 (3) and (e)(2) of the Americans With Disabilities Act of

25 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12162(a) (1) and (3) and (e)(2)) until

26 October 15, 2001.
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 24307 of

2 title 49, United States Code, is amended—

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

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

6 SEC. 611. DEFINITIONS.

7 Section 24102 of title 49, United States Code, is

8 amended—

9 (1) by striking paragraphs (2), (3), and (11);

10 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through

11 (8) as paragraphs (2) through (6), respectively;

12 (3) by inserting after paragraph (6), as so re13 designated by paragraph (2) of this section, the fol14 lowing new paragraph:

15 ‘‘(7) ‘rail passenger transportation’ means the

16 interstate, intrastate, or international transportation

17 of passengers by rail;’’;

18 (4) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated by

19 paragraph (2) of this section, by inserting ‘‘, includ20 ing a unit of State or local government,’’ after

21 ‘‘means a person’’; and

22 (5) by redesignating paragraphs (9) and (10)

23 as paragraphs (8) and (9), respectively.
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1 SEC. 612. NORTHEAST CORRIDOR COST DISPUTE.

2 Section 1163 of the Northeast Rail Service Act of

3 1981 (45 U.S.C. 1111) is repealed.

4 SEC. 613. INSPECTOR GENERAL ACT OF 1978 AMENDMENT.

5 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 8G(a)(2) of the Inspector

6 General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by strik7 ing ‘‘Amtrak,’’.

8 (b) AMTRAK NOT FEDERAL ENTITY.—Amtrak shall

9 not be considered a Federal entity for purposes of the In10 spector General Act of 1978.

11 SEC. 614. CONSOLIDATED RAIL CORPORATION.

12 Section 4023 of the Conrail Privatization Act (45

13 U.S.C. 1323), and the item relating thereto in the table

14 of contents of such Act, are repealed.

15 SEC. 615. INTERSTATE RAIL COMPACTS.

16 (a) CONSENT TO COMPACTS.—Congress grants con17 sent to States with an interest in a specific form, route,

18 or corridor of intercity passenger rail service (including

19 high speed rail service) to enter into interstate compacts

20 to promote the provision of the service, including—

21 (1) retaining an existing service or commencing

22 a new service;

23 (2) assembling rights-of-way; and

24 (3) performing capital improvements, includ25 ing—
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1 (A) the construction and rehabilitation of

2 maintenance facilities;

3 (B) the purchase of locomotives; and

4 (C) operational improvements, including

5 communications, signals, and other systems.

6 (b) FINANCING.—An interstate compact established

7 by States under subsection (a) may provide that, in order

8 to carry out the compact, the States may—

9 (1) accept contributions from a unit of State or

10 local government or a person;

11 (2) use any Federal or State funds made avail12 able for intercity passenger rail service (except funds

13 made available for the National Railroad Passenger

14 Corporation);

15 (3) on such terms and conditions as the States

16 consider advisable—

17 (A) borrow money on a short-term basis

18 and issue notes for the borrowing; and

19 (B) issue bonds; and

20 (4) obtain financing by other means permitted

21 under Federal or State law.
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1 TITLE VII—AUTHORIZATION OF

2 APPROPRIATIONS

3 SEC. 701. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 24104(a) of title 49,

5 United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap7 propriated to the Secretary of Transportation—

8 ‘‘(1) $772,000,000 for fiscal year 1995;

9 ‘‘(2) $712,000,000 for fiscal year 1996;

10 ‘‘(3) $712,000,000 for fiscal year 1997;

11 ‘‘(4) $712,000,000 for fiscal year 1998; and

12 ‘‘(5) $403,000,000 for fiscal year 1999,

13 for the benefit of Amtrak for capital expenditures under

14 chapters 243 and 247 of this title, operating expenses, and

15 payments described in subsection (c)(1)(A) through (C).’’.

16 (b) ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATIONS.—Section

17 24104(b) of title 49, United States Code, is amended to

18 read as follows:

19 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATIONS.—(1) In addi20 tion to amounts appropriated under subsection (a), there

21 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of

22 Transportation—

23 ‘‘(A) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 1995;

24 ‘‘(B) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 1996;

25 ‘‘(C) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 1997;
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1 ‘‘(D) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 1998; and

2 ‘‘(E) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 1999,

3 for the benefit of Amtrak to make capital expenditures

4 under chapter 249 of this title.

5 ‘‘(2) In addition to amounts appropriated under sub6 section (a), there are authorized to be appropriated to the

7 Secretary of Transportation—

8 ‘‘(A) $21,500,000 for fiscal year 1995;

9 ‘‘(B) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1996;

10 ‘‘(C) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1997;

11 ‘‘(D) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1998; and

12 ‘‘(E) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1999,

13 for the benefit of Amtrak to be used for engineering, de14 sign, and construction activities to enable the James A.

15 Farley Post Office in New York, New York, to be used

16 as a train station and commercial center and for necessary

17 improvements and redevelopment of the existing Penn18 sylvania Station and associated service building in New

19 York, New York.’’.

20 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 24909 of

21 title 49, United States Code, and the item relating thereto

22 in the table of sections of chapter 249 of such title, are

23 repealed.
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1 (d) GUARANTEE OF OBLIGATIONS.—There are au2 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Transpor3 tation—

4 (1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1996;

5 (2) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1997;

6 (3) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1998; and

7 (4) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1999,

8 for guaranteeing obligations of Amtrak under section 511

9 of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act

10 of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 831).

11 (e) CONDITIONS FOR GUARANTEE OF OBLIGA12 TIONS.—Section 511(i) of the Railroad Revitalization and

13 Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 831(i)) is

14 amended by adding at the end the following new para15 graph:

16 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall not require, as a condition

17 for guarantee of an obligation under this section, that all

18 preexisting secured obligations of an obligor be subordi19 nated to the rights of the Secretary in the event of a de20 fault.’’.

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