II

Calendar No. 548

107TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1220

[Report No. 107–238]

To authorize the Secretary of Transportation to establish a grant program

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

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 23, 2001

Mr. BREAUX (for himself, Mr. SMITH of Oregon, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. SPECTER, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mrs.

LINCOLN, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. MILLER, and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on

Commerce, Science, and Transportation

AUGUST 1, 2002

Reported by Mr. HOLLINGS, with amendments

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of Transportation to establish

a grant program for the rehabilitation, preservation, or

improvement of railroad track.

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Railroad Track Mod3 ernization Act of 2001’’. 2002’’.

4 SEC. 2. CAPITAL GRANTS FOR RAILROAD TRACK.

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

6 States Code, is amended to read as follows:

7 ‘‘CHAPTER 223—CAPITAL GRANTS FOR

8 RAILROAD TRACK

‘‘Sec.

‘‘22301. Capital grants for railroad track.

‘‘22302. Capital grants for rail line relocation projects.

9 ‘‘§ 22301. Capital grants for railroad track

10 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—

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

12 Transportation shall establish a program of capital

13 grants for the rehabilitation, preservation, or im14 provement of railroad track (including roadbed,

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

16 class III railroads. Such grants shall be for rehabili17 tating, preserving, or improving track used primarily

18 for freight transportation to a standard ensuring

19 that the track can be operated safely and efficiently,

20 including grants for rehabilitating, preserving, or im21 proving track to handle 286,000 pound rail cars.

22 Grants may be provided under this chapter—

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

24 railroad; or
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1 ‘‘(B) with the concurrence of the class II

2 or class III railroad, to a State or local govern3 ment.

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

5 III railroad applicants for a grant under this chap6 ter are encouraged to utilize the expertise and assist7 ance of State transportation agencies in applying for

8 and administering such grants. State transportation

9 agencies are encouraged to provide such expertise

10 and assistance to such railroads.

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

12 December 31, 2001, 2002, the Secretary shall issue

13 temporary regulations to implement the program

14 under this section. Subchapter II of chapter 5 of

15 title 5 does not apply to a temporary regulation

16 issued under this paragraph or to an amendment to

17 such a temporary regulation.

18 ‘‘(4) FINAL REGULATIONS.—Not later than Oc19 tober 1, 2002, 2003, the Secretary shall issue final

20 regulations to implement the program under this

21 section.

22 ‘‘(5) CRITERIA.—In developing interim and

23 final regulations, the Secretary shall establish criteria

24 that—
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1 ‘‘(A) condition the award of a grant to a

2 railroad on reasonable assurances by the rail3 road that the facilities to be rehabilitated and

4 improved will be economically and efficiently

5 utilized;

6 ‘‘(B) ensure that the award of a grant is

7 justified by present and probable future demand

8 for rail services by the railroad to which the

9 grant is to be awarded;

10 ‘‘(C) ensure that consideration is given to

11 projects that are part of a State-sponsored rail

12 plan; and

13 ‘‘(D) ensure that all such grants are award14 ed on a competitive basis.

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

16 Federal share for carrying out a project under this section

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

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

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

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

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

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

2 Modernization Act of 2001. 2002.

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

4 section shall be used to implement track capital projects

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

7 third Federal fiscal year following the year in which the

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

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

10 reallocation.

11 ‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL PURPOSE.—In addition to making

12 grants for projects as provided in subsection (a), the Sec13 retary may also make grants to supplement direct loans

14 or loan guarantees made under title V of the Railroad Re15 vitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45

16 U.S.C. 822(d)), for projects described in the last sentence

17 of section 502(d) of such title. Grants made under this

18 subsection may be used, in whole or in part, for paying

19 credit risk premiums, lowering rates of interest, or pro20 viding for a holiday on principal payments.

21 ‘‘(f) EMPLOYEE PROTECTION.—The Secretary shall

22 require as a condition of any grant made under this sec23 tion that the recipient railroad provide a fair arrangement

24 at least as protective of the interests of employees who

25 are affected by the project to be funded with the grant
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1 as the terms imposed under section 11326(a), as in effect

2 on the date of the enactment of the Railroad Track Mod3 ernization Act of 2001.

4 ‘‘(g) LABOR STANDARDS.—

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

6 ensure that laborers and mechanics employed by

7 contractors and subcontractors in construction work

8 financed by a grant made under this section will be

9 paid wages not less than those prevailing on similar

10 construction in the locality, as determined by the

11 Secretary of Labor under the Act of March 3, 1931

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

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

14 section only after being assured that required labor

15 standards will be maintained on the construction

16 work.

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

18 bargaining agreement negotiated under the Railway

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

20 purposes of this subsection to comply with the Act

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

22 40 U.S.C. 276a et seq.).

23 ‘‘(h) STUDY.—The Secretary shall conduct a study

24 of the projects carried out with grant assistance under this

25 section to determine the public interest benefits associated
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1 with the light density railroad networks in the States and

2 their contribution to a multimodal transportation system.

3 Not later than March 31, 2003, the Secretary shall report

4 to Congress any recommendations the Secretary considers

5 appropriate regarding the eligibility of light density rail

6 networks for Federal infrastructure financing.

7 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

8 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of

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

10 2002 through 2004 2003 through 2005 for carrying out

11 this section.

12 ‘‘§ 22302. Capital grants for rail line relocation

13 projects

14 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary

15 of Transportation shall carry out a grant program to pro16 vide financial assistance for local rail line relocation

17 projects.

18 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—A State is eligible for a grant

19 under this section for any project for the improvement of

20 the route or structure of a rail line passing through a mu21 nicipality of the State that—

22 ‘‘(1) is carried out for the purpose of mitigating

23 the adverse effects of rail traffic on safety or motor ve24 hicle traffic flow in the municipality;
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1 ‘‘(2) involves a lateral or vertical relocation of

2 any portion of the rail line within the municipality

3 to avoid a closing of a grade crossing or the construc4 tion of a road underpass or overpass; and

5 ‘‘(3) meets the costs-benefits requirement set forth

6 in subsection (c).

7 ‘‘(c) COSTS-BENEFITS REQUIREMENT.—A grant may

8 be awarded under this section for a project for the relocation

9 of a rail line only if the benefits of the project for the period

10 equal to the estimated economic life of the relocated rail line

11 exceed the costs of the project for that period, as determined

12 by the Secretary considering the following factors:

13 ‘‘(1) The effects of the rail line and the rail traf14 fic on motor vehicle and pedestrian traffic, safety,

15 and area commerce if the rail line were not so relo16 cated.

17 ‘‘(2) The effects of the rail line, relocated as pro18 posed, on motor vehicle and pedestrian traffic, safety,

19 and area commerce.

20 ‘‘(3) The effects of the rail line, relocated as pro21 posed, on the freight and passenger rail operations on

22 the rail line.

23 ‘‘(d) CONSIDERATIONS FOR APPROVAL OF GRANT AP24 PLICATIONS.—In addition to considering the relationship

25 of benefits to costs in determining whether to award a grant
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1 to an eligible State under this section, the Secretary shall

2 consider the following factors:

3 ‘‘(1) The capability of the State to fund the rail

4 line relocation project without Federal grant funding.

5 ‘‘(2) The requirement and limitation relating to

6 allocation of grant funds provided in subsection (e).

7 ‘‘(3) Equitable treatment of the various regions

8 of the United States.

9 ‘‘(e) ALLOCATION REQUIREMENTS.—

10 ‘‘(1) GRANTS NOT GREATER THAN $20,000,000.—

11 At least 50 percent of all grant funds awarded under

12 this section out of funds appropriated for a fiscal

13 year shall be provided as grant awards of not more

14 than $20,000,000 each.

15 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION PER PROJECT.—Not more than

16 25 percent of the total amount available for carrying

17 out this section for a fiscal year may be provided for

18 any one project in that fiscal year.

19 ‘‘(f) FEDERAL SHARE.—The total amount of a grant

20 awarded under this section for a rail line relocation project

21 shall be 90 percent of the shared costs of the project, as deter22 mined under subsection (g)(4).

23 ‘‘(g) STATE SHARE.—
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1 ‘‘(1) PERCENTAGE.—A State shall pay 10 per2 cent of the shared costs of a project that is funded in

3 part by a grant awarded under this section.

4 ‘‘(2) FORMS OF CONTRIBUTIONS.—The share re5 quired by paragraph (1) may be paid in cash or in

6 kind.

7 ‘‘(3) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—The in-kind

8 contributions that are permitted to be counted under

9 paragraph (2) for a project for a State are as fol10 lows:

11 ‘‘(A) A contribution of real property or

12 tangible personal property (whether provided by

13 the State or a person for the State).

14 ‘‘(B) A contribution of the services of em15 ployees of the State, calculated on the basis of

16 costs incurred by the State for the pay and ben17 efits of the employees, but excluding overhead

18 and general administrative costs.

19 ‘‘(C) A payment of any costs that were in20 curred for the project before the filing of an ap21 plication for a grant for the project under this

22 section, and any in-kind contributions that were

23 made for the project before the filing of the ap24 plication, if and to the extent that the costs

25 were incurred or in-kind contributions were
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1 made, as the case may be, to comply with a

2 provision of a statute required to be satisfied in

3 order to carry out the project.

4 ‘‘(4) COSTS NOT SHARED.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of

6 subsection (f) and this subsection, the shared

7 costs of a project in a municipality do not in8 clude any cost that is defrayed with any funds

9 or in-kind contribution that a source other than

10 the municipality makes available for the use of

11 the municipality without imposing at least one

12 of the following conditions:

13 ‘‘(i) The condition that the munici14 pality use the funds or contribution only

15 for the project.

16 ‘‘(ii) The condition that the avail17 ability of the funds or contribution to the

18 municipality is contingent on the execution

19 of the project.

20 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATIONS OF THE SEC21 RETARY.—The Secretary shall determine the

22 amount of the costs, if any, that are not shared

23 costs under this paragraph and the total

24 amount of the shared costs. A determination of

25 the Secretary shall be final.
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1 ‘‘(h) MULTISTATE AGREEMENTS TO COMBINE

2 AMOUNTS.—Two or more States (not including po3 litical subdivisions of States) may, pursuant to an

4 agreement entered into by the States, combine any

5 part of the amounts provided through grants for a

6 project under this section if—

7 ‘‘(1) the project will benefit each of the

8 States entering into the agreement; and

9 ‘‘(2) the agreement is not a violation of a

10 law of any such State.

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

12 regulations for carrying out this section.

13 ‘‘(j) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term

14 ‘State’ includes, except as otherwise specifically provided,

15 a political subdivision of a State.

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

17 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for use

18 in carrying out this section $350,000,000 for each of the

19 fiscal years 2003 through 2007.’’.

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item relating

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

22 title 49, United States Code, is amended to read as fol23 lows:

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

24 (c) REGULATIONS.—
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1 (1) INTERIM REGULATIONS.—Not later than Oc2 tober 1, 2002, the Secretary of Transportation shall

3 issue temporary regulations to implement the grant

4 program under section 22302 of title 49, United

5 States Code. Subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5,

6 United States Code, shall not apply to the issuance of

7 a temporary regulation under this subsection or of

8 any amendment of such a temporary regulation.

9 (2) FINAL REGULATIONS.—Not later than April

10 1, 2003, the Secretary shall issue final regulations

11 implementing the program.

12 (3) CRITERIA.—In developing regulations under

13 paragraph (1), and in any final regulations, the Sec14 retary shall establish criteria that ensure that all

15 grants under section 22303 of title 49, United States

16 Code, are awarded on a competitive basis.
Calendar No. 548

107TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1220

[Report No. 107–238]

A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of Transportation to establish a grant program for the rehabilitation,

preservation, or improvement of railroad track.

AUGUST 1, 2002

Reported with amendments