I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1713 

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 

APRIL 20, 2005 

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. North East 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) ‘‘Year One’’ means the next Federal fiscal 

6 year to begin after the date of enactment of this 

7 Act, except that the term means the current Federal 

8 fiscal year if the date of enactment of the Act is 

9 within 60 days of the first day of the current Fed10 eral fiscal year. 

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

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

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

14 three, four, and five years, respectively. 

15 TITLE I—NATIONAL PASSENGER 

16 RAIL SERVICE RESTRUCTURING 

17 SEC. 101. BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF AMTRAK. 

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

19 amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘§ 24302. Board of Directors 

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

22 Directors of Amtrak shall consist of 11 voting members, 

23 including— 

24 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of Transportation, or an of25 ficer of the United States within the Department of 
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1 Transportation appointed by the President, by and 

2 with the advice and consent of the Senate, and com3 pensated under the Executive Schedule under title 5, 

4 United States Code, who is designated by the Sec5 retary (hereafter in this section the ‘Secretary’s dele6 gate’); 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 un-expired 

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 (A) the contractual right of access 

19 of Amtrak to rail lines of other railroads; (B) Amtrak se20 cured debt; (C) Northeast Corridor real property and as21 sets; and (D) rolling stock. 

22 ‘‘(3) The Board may not take an action with regard 

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

24 or permit an Amtrak management action with regard to 
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1 those assets, that is not approved by the Asset Transition 

2 Committee. 

3 ‘‘(f) MODIFICATION OF BOARD AFTER RESTRUC4 TURING.—(1) Upon the commencement of operations of 

5 the Passenger Rail Service Provider and the Passenger 

6 Rail Infrastructure Manager under section 24310 of this 

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

8 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of Transportation; 

9 ‘‘(B) the Federal Railroad Administrator or an10 other officer of the United States within the Depart11 ment of Transportation appointed by the President, 

12 by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 

13 and compensated under the Executive Schedule 

14 under title 5, United States Code, who is designated 

15 by the Secretary; and 

16 ‘‘(C) the Federal Transit Administrator or an17 other officer of the United States within the Depart18 ment of Transportation appointed by the President, 

19 by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 

20 and compensated under the Executive Schedule 

21 under title 5, United States Code, who is designated 

22 by the Secretary. 

23 ‘‘(2) Upon the designation of directors by the Sec24 retary under paragraph (1), and with the exception of the 

25 Secretary of Transportation, the members of the Transi-
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1 tion Board of Directors shall no longer serve as appointees 

2 of the President to the Amtrak Board of Directors, but 

3 shall instead become members of the Board of Directors 

4 of the entities referred to in Federal law as the ‘Passenger 

5 Rail Service Provider’ or the ‘Passenger Rail Infrastruc6 ture Manager’.’’. 

7 SEC. 102. PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE RESTRUCTURING. 

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

9 amended by inserting the following after section 24309: 

10 ‘‘§ 24310. Amtrak restructuring mandate 

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

12 begins, and notwithstanding any other provision of this 

13 title, the Board of Directors shall prepare a plan to re14 structure Amtrak management, personnel, assets, oper15 ations, and other activities and relationships to conform 

16 to the requirements of this section. The Board shall trans17 mit the completed plan to the Committee on Commerce, 

18 Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the Committee 

19 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House, and 

20 the Committees on Appropriations of the House and Sen21 ate. 

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

23 restructuring plan required under this section shall pro24 vide for the following: 
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1 ‘‘(1) The filing of appropriate Articles of Incor2 poration under State law for two business corpora3 tions that are entirely independent of Amtrak, here4 inafter referred to as the ‘Passenger Rail Service 

5 Provider’ and the ‘Passenger Rail Infrastructure 

6 Manager’ or collectively the ’successor corporations. 

7 ‘‘(2) The division of Amtrak into three func8 tionally independent entities that provide the fol9 lowing: 

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

11 as ‘Amtrak’, that shall provide overall super12 vision of Amtrak restructuring and subsequent 

13 management of residual responsibilities, includ14 ing succeeding to the legal rights of the Na15 tional Railroad Passenger Corporation, and in16 cluding specifically Amtrak’s legal right of ac17 cess to other railroads, following transfer of rail 

18 operations and infrastructure management to 

19 the successor corporations established under 

20 paragraph (1). 

21 ‘‘(B) Passenger rail operating services na22 tionwide, including operation of the reservation 

23 centers and ownership and management of ex24 isting rolling stock and its maintenance. 
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1 ‘‘(C) Passenger rail infrastructure manage2 ment. 

3 ‘‘(3) The assignment of all Amtrak personnel 

4 by name to one of the entities specified in paragraph 

5 (2), with no loss of pay or benefits, including senior6 ity rights to employment within any entity, except 

7 that an employee who elects employment with the 

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

9 employee of the corporation, with only such rights 

10 regarding pay and benefits as the corporation shall 

11 determine. 

12 ‘‘(4) The division of accounting, finance, budg13 et, assets, and personnel to provide for the operation 

14 and funding of each entity independently. 

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

16 completion of the restructuring not later than the 

17 last day of Year One. 

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

19 with the business corporation law of the State of incorpo20 ration of the successor corporations specified by sub21 section (b)(1) of this section, each of the successor cor22 porations shall be qualified to undertake railroad activities 

23 of an operational or infrastructure nature on a contractual 

24 basis with Amtrak or any other entity. 

25 ‘‘(2) The Passenger Rail Service Provider— 
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1 ‘‘(i) shall have the exclusive right, until the last 

2 day of Year Three, to continue to provide the inter3 city passenger service that is being provided by Am4 trak on the date of enactment of the Passenger Rail 

5 Investment Reform Act, but after the last day of 

6 Year One, may operate such passenger rail service 

7 only under a contract; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) shall provide interline reservations services 

9 to any other provider of intercity passenger rail serv10 ices on the same basis and rates as services are pro11 vided to the operational entities that provide service 

12 within Amtrak on the date of enactment. 

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

14 ‘‘(i) shall have the exclusive right, until the last 

15 day of Year Six, to continue to provide the dis16 patching, maintenance, and infrastructure services 

17 that are being provided by Amtrak on the date of 

18 enactment of the Passenger Rail Investment Reform 

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

20 these services only under a contract; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) shall carry out the multi-year infrastruc22 ture plan prepared by Amtrak, to the extent funds 

23 are made available. 

24 ‘‘(4)(A) The successor corporations are not a depart25 ment, agency, or instrumentality of the United States 
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1 Government nor are they Government corporations (as de2 fined in section 103 of title 5). 

3 ‘‘(B) Chapter 105 of this title does not apply to the 

4 successor corporations. However, laws and regulations 

5 governing safety, employee representation for collective 

6 bargaining purposes, the handling of disputes between car7 riers and employees, employee retirement, annuity, and 

8 unemployment systems, and other dealings with employees 

9 that apply to a rail carrier providing transportation sub10 ject to subchapter I of chapter 105 apply to the successor 

11 corporations. The employee retirement, annuity, and un12 employment systems that apply to a rail carrier providing 

13 transportation subject to subchapter I of chapter 105 

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

15 section. 

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

17 this title shall apply to the successor corporations. 

18 ‘‘(5) Subject to further action by the Board of Direc19 tors, the President of Amtrak on the date of enactment 

20 of the Passenger Rail Investment Reform Act shall be of21 fered the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Pas22 senger Rail Service Provider. 

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

24 to provide services may not be extended beyond the dates 
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1 set forth in subsections (c)(2) and (c)(3), as applicable, 

2 without competitive bid. 

3 ‘‘(7) The Passenger Rail Service Provider shall pro4 vide to the Secretary of Transportation not later than 18 

5 months after the enactment of the Passenger Rail Invest6 ment Reform Act, recommendations on the feasibility, ad7 vantages, and disadvantages of separation of the reserva8 tion centers into a free-standing entity that can become 

9 an element of an intermodal reservations service. 

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

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

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

13 otherwise make the name ‘Amtrak’ commercially available 

14 in connection with intercity passenger rail and related 

15 services. 

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

17 to any route on which intercity passenger rail service is 

18 provided on the date of enactment of the Passenger Rail 

19 Investment Reform Act, the Passenger Rail Service Pro20 vider shall make available to any replacement operator the 

21 legacy equipment that is associated with the service on the 

22 route. 

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

24 available on such terms as Amtrak determines are fair, 

25 reasonable, and in the public interest. 
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1 ‘‘(e) FREIGHT AND COMMUTER OPERATIONS.—(1) 

2 Amtrak shall ensure that the implementation of the re3 structuring prescribed in this section gives due consider4 ation to the needs of freight and commuter rail operations 

5 that, as of the effective date of the Passenger Rail Invest6 ment Reform Act, operate in the Northeast Corridor on 

7 Amtrak right of way. 

8 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), commuter serv9 ices headquartered in a State or Commonwealth that is 

10 not a member of the North East Corridor Compact after 

11 the last day of Year Two, shall pay the fully allocated costs 

12 incurred by the successor corporation or any successor en13 tity for access to and use of the Northeast Corridor for 

14 such services. 

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

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

17 Passenger Rail Investment Reform Act, restricted as fol18 lows: 

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

20 an intercity passenger rail route or frequency to be 

21 added after the date of enactment of the Passenger 

22 Rail Investment Reform Act shall be determined by 

23 negotiation and mutual agreement between the host 

24 railroad and the operator of the route or frequency 
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1 sought to be added, with no preferential right of ac2 cess. 

3 ‘‘(B) If not utilized by Amtrak, Amtrak’s right 

4 of access to any segment of rail line owned by an5 other rail carrier may be assigned to no more than 

6 one intercity passenger rail operator during the term 

7 of the assignment, except by agreement among Am8 trak, its assignee, and the owner of the rail line.’’. 

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

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

11 by inserting the following after the item relating to section 

12 24309: 

‘‘24310. Amtrak restructuring mandate.’’. 

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

14 States Code, is amended— 

15 (A) by inserting the following after section 

16 24102(5): 

17 ‘‘(5a) ‘legacy equipment’ means the rolling 

18 stock required to provide intercity passenger rail 

19 service owned or leased by the National Railroad 

20 Passenger Corporation on the date of enactment of 

21 this chapter.’’; and 

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

23 ‘‘(10) ‘Year one’ means the next Federal fiscal 

24 year to begin after the date of enactment of the Pas25 senger Rail Investment Reform Act, except that the 
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1 term means the current Federal fiscal year if the 

2 date of enactment of the Act is within 60 days of 

3 the first day of the current Federal fiscal year. 

4 ‘‘(11) ‘Year two’, ‘year three’, ‘year four’, ‘year 

5 five’, and ‘year six’ mean, respectively, the Federal 

6 fiscal year that follows year one by one, two, three, 

7 four, and five years, respectively.’’. 

8 SEC. 103. NORTH EAST CORRIDOR COMPACT. 

9 (a) CONSENT TO COMPACT.—(1) The States and Dis10 trict that constitute the Northeast Corridor, as defined in 

11 49 U.S.C. 24102, may enter into an agreement, not in 

12 conflict with a law of the United States and titled the 

13 ‘‘North East Corridor Compact’’, to provide passenger rail 

14 service and to conduct related activities in the Northeast 

15 Corridor. 

16 (2) The North East Corridor Compact shall be sub17 mitted to Congress for its consent, and it is the sense of 

18 Congress that rapid consent to the Compact shall be a 

19 priority of Congress. 

20 (b) COMPACT COMMISSION.—(1) There is hereby es21 tablished a commission to be known as the ‘‘North East 

22 Corridor Compact Commission (hereinafter referred to in 

23 this section as the ‘Commission’)’’. The Commission shall 

24 be composed of five members as follows: 
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1 (A) Two members (or their designees), to be se2 lected by the Secretary of Transportation. 

3 (B) Two members (or their designees), to be se4 lected by agreement of the following government rep5 resentatives: 

6 (i) The governors of Maryland, Delaware, 

7 Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Con8 necticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. 

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

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

11 members selected under paragraphs (1) and (2) of 

12 this subsection. 

13 (2) The following applies to the Commission: 

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

15 the Commission. 

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

17 in the manner in which the original appointment was 

18 made. 

19 (C) Members shall serve without pay but shall 

20 receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 

21 subsistence, in accordance with sections 5702 and 

22 5703 of title 5, United States Code. 

23 (D) The Chairman of the Commission shall be 

24 elected by the members. 
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1 (E) The Commission may appoint and fix the 

2 pay of such personnel as it considers appropriate. 

3 (F) Upon request of the Commission, the head 

4 of any department or agency of the United States 

5 may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the per6 sonnel of that department or agency to the Commis7 sion to assist it in carrying out its duties under this 

8 section. 

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

10 Administrator of General Services shall provide to 

11 the Commission, on a reimbursable basis, the admin12 istrative support services necessary for the Commis13 sion to carry out its responsibilities under this sec14 tion. 

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

16 for the consideration of and adoption by participating 

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

18 Transportation an interstate compact that provides for the 

19 following: 

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

21 the responsibilities of the National Railroad Pas22 senger Corporation as operator of the Northeast 

23 Corridor, subject to the provisions of a lease from 

24 the Department of Transportation. 
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1 (B) Execution of a lease of the Northeast Cor2 ridor from the Department of Transportation, for a 

3 period of 99 years, subject to appropriate provisions 

4 protecting the lessor’s interests, including reversion 

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

6 lessee fails to meet its financial obligations or other7 wise assume financial responsibility for Northeast 

8 Corridor functions. 

9 (C) Responsibility for Corridor maintenance 

10 and improvement. 

11 (D) Operation of intercity passenger rail serv12 ice. 

13 (E) Arrangements for operation of freight rail14 road operations and commuter operations. 

15 (F) Assumption of financial responsibility for 

16 Northeast Corridor functions. 

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

18 non-rail purposes. 

19 (H) Participation by the Department of Trans20 portation, as the non-voting representative of the 

21 United States. 

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

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

24 section. 
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1 (d) FINAL COMPACT PROPOSAL.—(1) The Commis2 sion shall submit a final compact proposal to member 

3 States, the District of Columbia, and the Federal Govern4 ment not later than the last day of Year One. 

5 (2) The Commission shall terminate on the 180th day 

6 following the date of transmittal of the final compact pro7 posal under this subsection. All records and papers of the 

8 Commission shall thereupon be delivered by the Adminis9 trator of General Services for deposit in the National Ar10 chives. 

11 (e) GOVERNANCE AND FUNDING REQUIREMENTS

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

13 compact shall provide a mechanism to ensure voting rep14 resentation for the States, Commonwealths, and District 

15 that comprise the Northeast Corridor, and non-voting rep16 resentation for the Secretary of Transportation as an ex 

17 officio member participating in all Compact affairs. 

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

19 financial obligations of each compact member and shall 

20 provide for its management of rail services in the Cor21 ridors. 

22 (f) EMPLOYEE INTEREST REQUIREMENTS FOR COM23 PACT.—The employee provisions of the compact shall, at 

24 a minimum, provide the following with regard to employ25 ees in the Northeast Corridor if the Compact chooses to 
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1 replace the successor corporations for operation and main2 tenance of the physical plant or operation of passenger 

3 trains, or both: 

4 (1) Payment of any labor protection payments 

5 owed and not paid by the successor corporations es6 tablished under 49 U.S.C. 24310(b). 

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

8 by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation on 

9 the date of enactment of the Passenger Rail Invest10 ment Reform Act and who accepts employment by a 

11 successor corporation, a right of first refusal to ac12 cept a substantially similar position with the replace13 ment operator when the successor corporation is re14 placed. 

15 (g) FEDERAL INTEREST REQUIREMENTS FOR COM16 PACT.—The provisions of the Compact shall hold the 

17 United States Government harmless as to the actions of 

18 the Compact under the lease of rights to the Northeast 

19 Corridor by the United States Government. 

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

21 borrowing authority provisions of the compact may au22 thorize the compact to issue bonds or other debt instru23 ments from time to time in its discretion, for purposes 

24 that include paying any part of the cost of rail service im25 provements, construction, and rehabilitation and the ac-
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1 quisition of real and personal property, including oper2 ating equipment, except that debt issued by the compact 

3 may be secured only by revenues to the compact and may 

4 not be a debt of the member States or of the Federal Gov5 ernment. 

6 (2) The debt authorized by this subsection shall 

7 under no circumstances be backed by the full faith and 

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

9 authority of this Act or under the authority of Part C of 

10 Subtitle V of title 49, United States Code, shall include 

11 an express acknowledgement by the grantee that the debt 

12 does not constitute an obligation of the United States. 

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

14 members shall adopt a final compact agreement not later 

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

16 thereafter assume responsibility for all Corridor oper17 ations from the successor corporations on a date that is 

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

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

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

21 final compact agreement and make it operational under 

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

23 Transportation shall assume control of the entity specified 

24 by 49 U.S.C. 24310(b)(2)(A) and shall make such legisla25 tive recommendations as the President judges necessary 
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1 and expedient to Congress that address the monetary con2 tributions by Northeast Corridor States and the District 

3 of Columbia that would be necessary to provide continued 

4 intercity passenger rail service in the Northeast Corridor. 

5 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 are authorized such sums as may be necessary to carry 

7 out the purposes of this section. 

8 SEC. 104. ASSISTANCE TO ADDRESS CAPITAL NEEDS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro10 priated to the Secretary of Transportation, for capital ex11 penditures in compliance with capital spending plans de12 veloped under section 202 of this Act, including the Sec13 retary’s expenses related thereto, the following amounts: 

14 (1) Such sums as may be necessary for Year 

15 Three. 

16 (2) Such sums as may be necessary for Year 

17 Four. 

18 (3) Such sums as may be necessary for Year 

19 Five. 

20 (4) Such sums as may be necessary for Year 

21 Six. 

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

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

24 this section through grants to or cooperative agreements 

25 with States, the Passenger Rail Service Provider, the 
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1 North East 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 North East 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 $50,000.00 per employee. 

24 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

25 are hereby authorized to the Secretary such sums as may 
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1 be necessary to make grants to the National Railroad Pas2 senger Corporation or the successor corporation to fund 

3 termination-related payments to employees under existing 

4 contractual agreements until four years from the first day 

5 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, and the House and Senate Committees on 

12 Appropriations a business plan for operating and 

13 capital improvements to be funded in the fiscal year 

14 under section 24104(a) of title 49, United States 

15 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, and the 
31 

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1 House and Senate Committees on Appropriations a 

2 supplemental report regarding the business plan, 

3 which shall describe the work completed to date, any 

4 changes to the business plan, and the reasons for 

5 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 (a) all 

19 revenue and expenses associated with rail oper20 ations by route; and (b) budgeted and actual 

21 expenditures for all capital investments. 

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

23 provide to the Board of Directors, the Depart24 ment of Transportation and Congress its 

25 Monthly Performance Report. The Corporation 
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1 shall also make available to the Department of 

2 Transportation the same details and reports on 

3 its financial performance that it makes avail4 able to Amtrak management, at the same time 

5 that it provides those reports and details to 

6 Amtrak management. 

7 ‘‘(C) The Corporation shall expend funds 

8 only for the continuation of existing plants and 

9 services. With the exception of expenditures for 

10 which it obtains written approval from the De11 partment of Transportation, The Corporation 

12 will not use of any of its funds for actual ex13 pansion or planning for expansion of rail serv14 ice, including high speed rail service. 

15 ‘‘(D) The Corporation has negotiated with 

16 its employees substantial operating cost reduc17 tions needed to make its operations competitive 

18 with private-sector service providers. 

19 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS FOLLOWING RESTRUC20 TURING.—Any grant made directly to either of the suc21 cessor corporations under the authority of Part C of Sub22 title V of this title may only be made subject to the fol23 lowing limitations: 

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

25 disburse funding to cover operating losses on a long- 
33 

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1 distance train route without first receiving and ap2 proving a grant request for that specific train route. 

3 ‘‘(2) Each such grant request shall be accom4 panied by a detailed financial analysis and revenue 

5 projection justifying the Federal support to the Sec6 retary’s satisfaction. 

7 ‘‘(3) The Secretary of Transportation shall en8 sure that, of the amount made available by appro9 priations for capital and operating assistance in a 

10 fiscal year, sufficient sums are reserved to satisfy 

11 the successor corporation’s contractual obligations, if 

12 any, with respect to commuter and intrastate pas13 senger rail service. 

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

15 fiscal year in which grants are made, the successor 

16 corporations shall each transmit to the Secretary of 

17 Transportation a business plan for operating and 

18 capital improvements to be funded in the fiscal year. 

19 ‘‘(5) The business plan shall include a descrip20 tion of the work to be funded, along with cost esti21 mates and an estimated timetable for completion of 

22 the projects covered by the business plan. 

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

24 grants are made, the successor corporations shall 

25 each submit to the Secretary of Transportation a 
34 

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1 supplemental report regarding the business plan, 

2 which shall describe the work completed to date, any 

3 changes to the business plan, and the reasons for 

4 such changes. 

5 ‘‘(7) A grant may not be used for operating ex6 penses or capital projects that is not approved by 

7 the Secretary of Transportation or an element of the 

8 current fiscal year business plan, or that is obligated 

9 or expended unless the successor corporation agrees, 

10 as part of the grant agreement, to abide by the fol11 lowing requirements: 

12 ‘‘(A) Management will maintain financial 

13 controls and accounting transparency to the 

14 satisfaction of the Secretary, including devel15 oping or enhancing any existing capacity sepa16 rately to report (a) all revenue and expenses as17 sociated with rail operations by route; and (b) 

18 budgeted and actual expenditures for all capital 

19 investments. 

20 ‘‘(B) Management of each successor cor21 poration shall make available to the Depart22 ment of Transportation the same details and 

23 reports on its financial performance that it 

24 makes available internally, at the same time 
35 

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1 that it provides those reports and details inter2 nally. 

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

4 plants and services.’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The analysis of 

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

7 by inserting the following after the item relating to section 

8 24313: 

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

9 SEC. 202. SPENDING PLANS FOR CAPITAL BACKLOG RE10 DUCTION. 

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

12 begins, and as a condition of grants to the National Rail13 road Passenger Corporation between that date and the im14 plementation of the restructuring required under 49 

15 U.S.C. 24310, the Corporation shall prepare a capital 

16 spending plan that addresses capital needs, consistent 

17 with the funding levels authorized to be provided for Year 

18 One and each fiscal year thereafter through Year Six, 

19 for— 

20 (1) Northeast Corridor capital assets; 

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

22 than on the Northeast Corridor; and 

23 (3) capital assets on short-distance routes other 

24 than the Northeast Corridor. 
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1 (b) APPROVAL BY THE SECRETARY AND THE COM2 PACT.—(1) The Corporation shall submit the capital 

3 spending plan prepared under this section to the Secretary 

4 of Transportation for review and approval. The plan shall 

5 be implemented only after approval by the Secretary, and 

6 with any modifications specified by the Secretary. 

7 (2) The Secretary of Transportation shall require 

8 that the plan be updated at least annually. 

9 (3) On and after creation of North East Corridor 

10 Compact, the Secretary shall make no grants to the Com11 pact for Northeast Corridor for capital investments, except 

12 in accordance with a capital spending plan prepared by 

13 the Compact and approved by both the Compact and the 

14 Secretary. The same requirements shall apply to grants 

15 made to States and other Compacts under this section. 

16 SEC. 203. REDEMPTION OF COMMON STOCK. 

17 (a) VALUATION.—The Secretary of Transportation 

18 shall arrange, at the National Railroad Passenger Cor19 poration’s expense, for a valuation of all assets and liabil20 ities of the Corporation to be performed by the Secretary 

21 of the Treasury, or by a contractor selected by the Sec22 retary of the Treasury. Such valuation shall be conducted 

23 in accordance with criteria and requirements to be deter24 mined by the Secretary, in the Secretary’s discretion, and 

25 shall be completed within 6 months after Year One begins. 
37 

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

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

3 within 9 months after Year One begins, the Corporation 

4 shall redeem all common stock in the Corporation issued 

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

6 value of such stock, based on the valuation performed 

7 under subsection (a). 

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

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

10 a priority over holders of indebtedness or other stock of 

11 the Corporation. 

12 (c) ACQUISITION THROUGH EMINENT DOMAIN.—In 

13 the event that the Corporation and the owners of its com14 mon stock have not completed the redemption of such 

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

16 begins, the Corporation shall exercise the eminent domain 

17 provisions contained in 49 U.S.C. 24311, as amended by 

18 this Act, to acquire that stock. The valuation performed 

19 under subsection (a) shall be deemed to constitute just 

20 compensation except to the extent that the owners of the 

21 common stock demonstrate that the valuation is less than 

22 the constitutional minimum value of the stock. 

23 (d) AMENDMENT OF 49 U.S.C. 24311.—Section 

24 24311 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subsection 

2 (a)(1)(A); 

3 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub4 section (a)(1)(B) and substituting ‘‘; or’’; and 

5 (3) by inserting the following after subsection 

6 (a)(1)(B): 

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

8 common stock from any holder thereof, includ9 ing a rail carrier.’’. 

10 (e) CONVERSION OF PREFERRED STOCK TO COM11 MON.—(1) Subsequent to the redemption of the common 

12 stock in the Corporation issued prior to the date of enact13 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall 

14 convert the one share of the preferred stock of the Cor15 poration retained under section 204 of this Act for ten 

16 shares of common stock in the Corporation. 

17 (2) The Corporation shall not issue any other com18 mon stock without the express written consent of the Sec19 retary. 

20 SEC. 204. RETIREMENT OF PREFERRED STOCK; TRANSFER 

21 OF ASSETS. 

22 (a) TRANSFER.—Not later than 30 days after the re23 demption or acquisition specified under section 203 of this 

24 Act, the Corporation shall, in return for the consideration 
39 

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

2 Transportation title to the following assets: 

3 (1) The portions of the Northeast Corridor cur4 rently owned or leased by the Corporation as well as 

5 any improvements made to these assets. The assets 

6 transferred to the Secretary shall include the rail 

7 right-of-way, stations, track, signal equipment, elec8 tric traction facilities, bridges, tunnels and all other 

9 improvements owned by Amtrak between Boston, 

10 Massachusetts and Washington, District of Colum11 bia (including the route through Springfield, Massa12 chusetts and the routes to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 

13 and Albany, New York from the Northeast Corridor 

14 mainline). 

15 (2) Chicago Union Station and rail-related as16 sets in the Chicago metropolitan area. 

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

18 repair facilities and other real property owned or 

19 leased by the Corporation. 

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

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

22 has provided as security or collateral for a debt entered 

23 into prior to the date of enactment of this Act, the Cor24 poration shall transfer its underlying legal interest in such 

25 asset to the Secretary, provided, however, that the Cor-
40 

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1 poration shall remain liable for the debt secured by the 

2 asset. 

3 (2) The obligation of the National Railroad Pas4 senger Corporation to repay in full any indebtedness to 

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

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

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

8 transferred to the United States under subsection (b) 

9 above, the Secretary shall— 

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

11 of the preferred stock of the Corporation held by the 

12 Secretary and forgive the Corporation’s legal obliga13 tion to pay any dividends, including accrued but un14 paid dividends as of the date of transfer, evidenced 

15 by the preferred stock certificates; and 

16 (2) Release the Corporation from all mortgages 

17 and liens held by the Secretary that were in exist18 ence on January 1, 1990. 

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

20 assets transferred under this section, the Secretary shall 

21 enter into an agreement with the Corporation under which 

22 the Corporation will exercise on behalf of the Secretary 

23 care, custody and control of the assets to be transferred. 

24 (2) The agreement shall identify in detail the specific 

25 functions of the Corporation’s employees and equipment, 
41 

•HR 1713 IH 

1 and the specific numbers and locations of the employees 

2 and equipment associated with each function, that would 

3 be needed for continuation of commuter and freight rail 

4 service in the event that the Corporation were to cease 

5 operation, and identify those actions that would be re6 quired to ensure that such functions can be continued on 

7 an interim basis to avoid any interruption in commuter 

8 or freight rail service on the Northeast Corridor. 

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

10 for appropriate consideration, transfer title to all or part 

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

12 Chicago metropolitan area acquired under this section to 

13 a regional public transportation agency that has signifi14 cant operations in Chicago Union Station on the date of 

15 enactment of this Act. 

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

17 transfer to the underlying States title to real estate prop18 erties owned by the Corporation between Boston, Massa19 chusetts and Washington, District of Columbia that con20 stitute the route through Springfield, Massachusetts and 

21 the routes to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Albany, New 

22 York from the Northeast Corridor mainline. 

23 (3) The Secretary may, for appropriate consideration, 

24 transfer title to all or part of the assets acquired under 
42 

•HR 1713 IH 

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

2 or other entity deemed appropriate by the Secretary. 

3 (4) All financial consideration determined by the Sec4 retary to be appropriate consideration for the transfer of 

5 the assets described in paragraphs (1)–(3) shall be used 

6 exclusively to reduce the Corporation’s long-term debt that 

7 exists on the date of enactment. 

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

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

10 shall undertake and complete not later than the last day 

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

12 other facilities outside the Northeast Corridor mainline, 

13 including property conveyed to the Secretary of Transpor14 tation under section 204 of this Act. 

15 (b) PROCEEDS OF LIQUIDATION.—Notwithstanding 

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

17 from the liquidation of assets under this section shall— 

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

19 account that finances grants for debt and interest 

20 payments under section 206 of this Act to the Pas21 senger Rail Service Provider specified under 49 

22 U.S.C. 24310; and 

23 (2) remain available until expended. 
43 

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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 re-finance 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 49 U.S.C. 24310 and the transfer of ownership of 

13 the existing rolling stock, all debt secured by the rolling 

14 stock shall be transferred to and become a liability solely 

15 of, the Passenger Rail Service Provider. 

16 (2) Upon establishment of the North East Corridor 

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

18 associated with fixed assets in the Northeast Corridor 

19 shall be transferred to and become a liability solely of, the 

20 North East Corridor Compact. 

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

22 appropriated to the Secretary for grants to the Passenger 

23 Rail Service Provider to pay principal and interest pay24 ments on secured debt existing on the date of enactment 

25 of this Act the following amounts: 
44 

•HR 1713 IH 

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 for grants to the Na25 tional Railroad Passenger Corporation for operating and 
45 

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1 capital expenses such sums as may be necessary in Year 

2 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 
46 

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1 Code, unless each other party to the grant agreement is 

2 a State, 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) Part C of Subtitle V of title 49, United States 

9 Code, is amended by inserting the following after chapter 

10 243: 

11 ‘‘CHAPTER 244—INTERCITY PASSENGER 

12 RAIL SERVICE CORRIDOR CAPITAL AS13 SISTANCE 

14 ‘‘§ 24401. Definitions; effective date 

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

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

17 Compact (including the North East Corridor Com18 pact as specified in section 103 of the Passenger 

19 Rail Investment Reform Act), or a public agency es20 tablished by one or more States and having responsi21 bility for providing intercity passenger rail service. 

22 ‘‘(2) ‘capital project’ means a project within a 

23 corridor plan or program for— 

24 ‘‘(A) acquiring, constructing, supervising 

25 or inspecting equipment or a facility for use in 
47 

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1 intercity passenger rail service, expenses inci2 dental to the acquisition or construction (in3 cluding designing, engineering, location sur4 veying, mapping, environmental studies, and ac5 quiring rights-of-way), payments for the capital 

6 portions of rail trackage rights agreements, 

7 passenger rail-related intelligent transportation 

8 systems, highway-rail grade crossing improve9 ments on routes used for intercity passenger 

10 rail service, relocation assistance, acquiring re11 placement housing sites, and acquiring, con12 structing, relocating, and rehabilitating replace13 ment housing; 

14 ‘‘(B) rehabilitating, remanufacturing or 

15 overhauling rail rolling stock and facilities used 

16 primarily in intercity passenger rail service; and 

17 ‘‘(C) the first-dollar liability costs for in18 surance related to the provision of intercity pas19 senger rail service. 

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

21 transportation services with the primary purpose of 

22 passenger transportation between towns, cities and 

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

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

25 the first day of Year Two. 
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1 ‘‘§ 24402. Capital investment grants to support inter2 city passenger rail service 

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

4 Transportation may make grants under this section to an 

5 applicant to assist in financing the capital costs of facili6 ties and equipment necessary to provide intercity pas7 senger rail transportation. 

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

9 this section be subject to the terms, conditions, require10 ments, and provisions the Secretary decides are necessary 

11 or appropriate for the purposes of this section, including 

12 requirements for the disposition of net increases in value 

13 of real property resulting from the project assisted under 

14 this section. 

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

16 a project or program of projects that qualifies for financial 

17 assistance under chapter 53 of this title. 

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

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

20 under this section unless the Secretary finds that the 

21 project is part of an approved corridor plan and program 

22 developed under section 5303 of this title and that the 

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

24 and technical capacity to carry out the project (including 

25 safety and security aspects of the project), satisfactory 

26 continuing control over the use of the equipment or facili-
49 

•HR 1713 IH 

1 ties, and the capability and willingness to maintain the 

2 equipment or facilities. 

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

4 upon which the Secretary can make the findings required 

5 by this subsection. 

6 ‘‘(3) If an applicant has not selected the proposed op7 erator of its service competitively, the applicant shall pro8 vide written justification to the Secretary showing why the 

9 proposed operator is the best, taking into account price 

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

11 will not increase the capital cost of the project. 

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

13 agreed with the railroad over which the intercity passenger 

14 rail service will operate concerning the applicant’s oper15 ating and capital plans. 

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

17 AGREEMENTS, AND EARLY SYSTEMS WORK AGREE18 MENTS.—(1)(A) The Secretary may issue a letter of intent 

19 to an applicant announcing an intention to obligate, for 

20 a major capital project under this section, an amount from 

21 future available budget authority specified in law that is 

22 not more than the amount stipulated as the financial par23 ticipation of the Secretary in the project. 

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

25 subparagraph (A) of this paragraph or entering into a full 
50 

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1 funding grant agreement, the Secretary shall notify in 

2 writing the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc3 ture of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

4 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

5 and the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations 

6 of the proposed letter or agreement. The Secretary shall 

7 include with the notification a copy of the proposed letter 

8 or agreement as well as the evaluations and ratings for 

9 the project. 

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

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

12 1502(a) of title 31, U.S.C., or an administrative commit13 ment. 

14 ‘‘(D) An obligation or administrative commitment 

15 may be made only when amounts are appropriated. 

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

17 agreement with an applicant. The agreement shall— 

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

19 United States Government in a project under this 

20 section; 

21 ‘‘(ii) establish the maximum amount of Govern22 ment financial assistance for the project; 

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

24 the project, including a period extending beyond the 

25 period of an authorization; and 
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1 ‘‘(iv) make timely and efficient management of 

2 the project easier according to the law of the United 

3 States. 

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

5 an amount of available budget authority specified in law 

6 and may include a commitment, contingent on amounts 

7 to be specified in law in advance for commitments under 

8 this paragraph, to obligate an additional amount from fu9 ture available budget authority specified in law. The 

10 agreement shall state that the contingent commitment is 

11 not an obligation of the Government and is subject to sub12 ject to the availability of appropriations made by Federal 

13 law and to Federal laws in force on or enacted after the 

14 date of the contingent commitment. Interest and other fi15 nancing costs of efficiently carrying out a part of the 

16 project within a reasonable time are a cost of carrying out 

17 the project under a full funding grant agreement, except 

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

19 most favorable financing terms reasonably available for 

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

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

22 applicant has shown reasonable diligence in seeking the 

23 most favorable financing terms. 

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

25 work agreement with an applicant if a record of decision 
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1 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

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

3 the Secretary finds there is reason to believe— 

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

5 project will be made; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the terms of the work agreement will pro7 mote ultimate completion of the project more rapidly 

8 and at less cost. 

9 ‘‘(B) A work agreement under this paragraph obli10 gates an amount of available budget authority specified 

11 in law and shall provide for reimbursement of preliminary 

12 costs of carrying out the project, including land acquisi13 tion, timely procurement of system elements for which 

14 specifications are decided, and other activities the Sec15 retary decides are appropriate to make efficient, long-term 

16 project management easier. A work agreement shall cover 

17 the period of time the Secretary considers appropriate. 

18 The period may extend beyond the period of current au19 thorization. Interest and other financing costs of effi20 ciently carrying out the work agreement within a reason21 able time are a cost of carrying out the agreement, except 

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

23 most favorable financing terms reasonably available for 

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

25 certify, in a way satisfactory to the Secretary, that the 
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1 applicant has shown reasonable diligence in seeking the 

2 most favorable financing terms. If an applicant does not 

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

4 applicant, the applicant shall repay all Government pay5 ments made under the work agreement plus reasonable in6 terest and penalty charges the Secretary establishes in the 

7 agreement. 

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

9 of the Government and contingent commitments to incur 

10 obligations covered by all outstanding letters of intent, full 

11 funding grant agreements, and early systems work agree12 ments may be not more than the amount authorized under 

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

14 reasonably estimates is necessary for grants under this 

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

16 by new letters and contingent commitments included in 

17 full funding grant agreements and early systems work 

18 agreements may be not more than a limitation specified 

19 in law. 

20 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL SHARE OF NET PROJECT COST.— 

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

22 feasibility, and information on the expected use of equip23 ment or facilities, the Secretary shall estimate the net 

24 project cost. 
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1 ‘‘(B) A grant for the project shall not exceed the 

2 specified percentage of the project net capital cost estab3 lished for the year the grant is approved, as follows: 

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

5 Year Two. 

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

7 Three. 

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

9 Year Four. 

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

11 Year Five, and thereafter. 

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

13 future obligations and contingent commitments to incur 

14 obligations to grant requests seeking a lower Federal 

15 share of the project net capital cost. 

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

17 capital cost may be funded from amounts appropriated to 

18 or made available to a department or agency of the Fed19 eral Government that are eligible to be expended for trans20 portation. 

21 ‘‘(e) UNDERTAKING PROJECTS IN ADVANCE.—(1) 

22 The Secretary may pay the Federal share of the net cap23 ital project cost to an applicant that carries out any part 

24 of a project described in this section according to all appli25 cable procedures and requirements if— 
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1 ‘‘(A) the applicant applies for the payment; 

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

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

4 the Secretary approves the plans and specifications 

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

6 this section. 

7 ‘‘(2) The cost of carrying out part of a project in8 cludes the amount of interest earned and payable on bonds 

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

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

11 amount of interest under this paragraph may not be more 

12 than the most favorable interest terms reasonably avail13 able for the project at the time of borrowing. The appli14 cant shall certify, in a manner satisfactory to the Sec15 retary, that the applicant has shown reasonable diligence 

16 in seeking the most favorable financial terms. 

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

18 project cost indices when determining the estimated cost 

19 under paragraph (2) of this subsection. 

20 ‘‘§ 24403. Project management oversight 

21 ‘‘(a) PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN REQUIRE22 MENTS.—To receive Federal financial assistance for a 

23 major capital project under this chapter, an applicant 

24 must prepare and carry out a project management plan 
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1 approved by the Secretary of Transportation. The plan 

2 shall provide for— 

3 ‘‘(1) adequate recipient staff organization with 

4 well-defined reporting relationships, statements of 

5 functional responsibilities, job descriptions, and job 

6 qualifications; 

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

8 organization, appropriate consultants, property ac9 quisition, utility relocation, systems demonstration 

10 staff, audits, and miscellaneous payments the recipi11 ent may be prepared to justify; 

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

13 ‘‘(4) a document control procedure and record14 keeping system; 

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

16 documented, systematic approach to handling the 

17 construction change orders; 

18 ‘‘(6) organizational structures, management 

19 skills, and staffing levels required throughout the 

20 construction phase; 

21 ‘‘(7) quality control and quality assurance func22 tions, procedures, and responsibilities for construc23 tion, system installation, and integration of system 

24 components; 

25 ‘‘(8) material testing policies and procedures; 
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1 ‘‘(9) internal plan implementation and reporting 

2 requirements; 

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

4 testing the operational system or its major compo5 nents; 

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

7 related to project budget and project schedule, fi8 nancing, and ridership estimates; and 

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

10 project budget and project schedule to the Secretary 

11 each month. 

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

13 may use no more than 0.5 percent of amounts made avail14 able in a fiscal year for capital projects under this chapter 

15 to enter into contracts to oversee the construction of such 

16 projects. 

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

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

19 safety, procurement, management, and financial compli20 ance reviews and audits of a recipient of amounts under 

21 paragraph (1). 

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

23 cost of carrying out a contract under this subsection. 

24 ‘‘(c) ACCESS TO SITES AND RECORDS.—Each recipi25 ent of assistance under this chapter shall provide the Sec-
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1 retary and a contractor the Secretary chooses under sub2 section (c) of this section with access to the construction 

3 sites and records of the recipient when reasonably nec4 essary. 

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

6 regulations necessary to carry out this section. The regula7 tions shall include— 

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

9 this section; 

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

11 the preliminary engineering stage of a project, un12 less the Secretary finds it more appropriate to begin 

13 oversight during another stage of a project, to maxi14 mize the transportation benefits and cost savings as15 sociated with project management oversight; 

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

17 for a fiscal year must be submitted that is early 

18 enough to permit the Secretary to evaluate all timely 

19 applications thoroughly before making grants; 

20 ‘‘(4) a formula based on population, track miles 

21 of railroad, and passenger miles traveled in the prior 

22 fiscal year by which one-half of the funds appro23 priated for capital grants for each fiscal year are to 

24 be allocated among the States; 
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1 ‘‘(5) a requirement that, if a State does not 

2 timely apply for its share of formula grant funds 

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

4 will be made available to other States under para5 graph (6) of this subsection; and 

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

7 one-half of the funds appropriated for capital grants 

8 for each fiscal year, including at least projected rid9 ership, passenger rail and intermodal connections, 

10 congestion and air quality mitigation, underserved 

11 communities, and the effect of the grant on whether 

12 existing service will continue. 

13 ‘‘§ 24404. Use of capital grants to finance first-dollar 

14 liability of grant project 

15 ‘‘Notwithstanding the requirements of section 24402 

16 of this title, the Secretary of Transportation may approve 

17 the use of capital assistance under this chapter to fund 

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

19 insurance coverage for rail passenger service associated 

20 with the capital assistance grant, but the coverage may 

21 not exceed $20 million per occurrence or $20 million in 

22 aggregate per year. 

23 ‘‘§ 24405. Authorization of appropriations 

24 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to make 

25 capital financial assistance grants under this chapter, in-
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1 cluding the Secretary’s expenses related thereto, the fol2 lowing amounts: 

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

4 Two. 

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

6 Three. 

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

8 Four. 

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

10 Five. 

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

12 Six.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) The table of 

14 chapters for title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

15 inserting the following after the item relating to chapter 

16 243: 

‘‘244. Intercity Passenger Rail Service Capital Assistance 24401’’. 

17 (2) The chapter analysis for subtitle V of title 49, 

18 United States Code, is amended by inserting the following 

19 after the item relating to chapter 243: 

‘‘244. Intercity Passenger Rail Service Capital Assistance 24401’’. 

20 SEC. 302. FINAL REGULATIONS ON APPLICATIONS BY 

21 STATES FOR DEVELOPMENT GRANTS. 

22 Not later than June 1 of Year One, the Adminis23 trator of the Federal Railroad Administration shall issue 

24 final regulations setting forth procedures for application 
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1 and minimum requirements for the award of grants on 

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

3 of title 49, United States Code. 

4 SEC. 303. AUTHORITY FOR INTERSTATE COMPACTS FOR 

5 CORRIDOR DEVELOPMENT. 

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

7 States with an interest in a specific form, route, or cor8 ridor of intercity passenger rail service (including high 

9 speed rail service) may enter into interstate compacts to 

10 implement the service, including— 

11 (A) retaining an existing service or commencing 

12 a new service; 

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

14 (C) performing capital improvements, includ15 ing— 

16 (i) the construction and rehabilitation of 

17 maintenance facilities; 

18 (ii) the purchase of rolling stock; and 

19 (iii) operational improvements, including 

20 communications, signals, and other systems. 

21 (2) A compact entered into under the authority of 

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

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

24 Compact shall be a priority of Congress. 
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1 (b) FINANCING.—(1) An interstate compact estab2 lished by States under subsection (a) may provide that, 

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

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

5 local government or a person; 

6 (B) use any Federal or State funds made avail7 able for intercity passenger rail service (except funds 

8 made available for Amtrak); 

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

10 consider advisable— 

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

12 and issue notes for the borrowing; and 

13 (ii) issue bonds; and 

14 (D) obtain financing by other means permitted 

15 under Federal or State law. 

16 (2) Bonds and other indebtedness incurred under the 

17 authority of this subsection shall under no circumstances 

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

Æ