I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6347 

To make certain entities ineligible to contract with any agency or instrumentality of a State or local government for any high-speed rail project 

that is funded, either partially or fully, by the Federal Government. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 

Mr. KLEIN of Florida (for himself and Mr. DEUTCH) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To make certain entities ineligible to contract with any agency or instrumentality of a State or local government 

for any high-speed rail project that is funded, either 

partially or fully, by the Federal Government. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Holocaust Account5 ability and Corporate Responsibility Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Substantial Federal funding, including 

2 roughly $8 billion through the American Recovery 

3 and Reinvestment Act (Public Law 111–5), has been 

4 or will be awarded to various States to make high5 speed rail in the United States a reality. Significant 

6 additional Federal funding for high-speed rail is an7 ticipated in the coming years. 

8 (2) Design, engineering, construction, oper9 ation, and maintenance of the rail lines, among 

10 other responsibilities, will be provided by any num11 ber of entities following competitive bidding proc12 esses at the various State levels. 

13 (3) High-speed rail offers tremendous economic, 

14 environmental, and other benefits. Specifically, high15 speed rail will reduce travel time between population 

16 centers, remove millions of tons of carbon and other 

17 greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere, and provide 

18 jobs in engineering, construction, operations, mainte19 nance, and other areas. 

20 (4) Given the substantial amount of Federal 

21 funds involved, it is critical that proper due diligence 

22 be performed on prospective bidders and it is imper23 ative that companies receiving such Federal funds 

24 represent our shared commitment to human rights, 


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1 respect, decency, and corporate ethics and responsi2 bility. 

3 (5) Certain entities that have expressed an in4 terest in competing for high-speed rail grants in a 

5 number of States have engaged in conduct which re6 quires public disclosures and scrutiny. 

7 (6) Between March 1942 and August 1944, 

8 75,000 Jews and thousands of other ‘‘undesirables’’ 

9 were deported from France to extermination and 

10 death camps on trains operated for profit by certain 

11 companies that have expressed an intent to compete 

12 for contracts relating to high-speed rail projects. 

13 United States airmen who were shot down over 

14 France were among the persons deported on these 

15 trains to those extermination and death camps such 

16 as Auschwitz and Buchenwald. 

17 (7) Tragically, the victims who were on these 

18 trains, many of whom now reside in the United 

19 States, and their families have yet to receive any 

20 measure of justice. Nonetheless, these victims and 

21 their families are facing the prospect that their Fed22 eral tax dollars may be awarded to a company re23 sponsible for transporting them and their loved ones 

24 to extermination and death camps for profit. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) DIRECT INVOLVEMENT.—The term ‘‘direct 

4 involvement’’ means ownership or operation of the 

5 trains on which individuals were deported to exter6 mination camps, death camps, or any facility used 

7 for the purpose of transiting individuals to extermi8 nation or death camps, during the period beginning 

9 on January 1, 1942, and ending on December 31, 

10 1944. 

11 (2) ENTITY.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘entity’’ 

13 means any corporation, affiliate, or other entity 

14 that controls, is controlled by or is under com15 mon control with, or that is a member of a 

16 partnership or a consortium with, an entity that 

17 certifies that it had any direct involvement de18 scribed in section 4(a). 

19 (B) PRESUMPTION OF CONTROL.—An enti20 ty shall be presumed to be in control of another 

21 corporation or entity if it directly or indirectly 

22 controls more than 50 percent of the voting se23 curities of the other corporation or entity. 

24 (C) EQUITY INTEREST BY FOREIGN

25 STATE.—Such term shall apply irrespective of 

26 whether or not any equity interest in the entity 


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1 is or was owned by a foreign state or govern2 ment, and if an equity interest in the entity is 

3 or was owned by such a foreign state, such 

4 term shall refer to the corporate entity itself 

5 and not to such foreign state. 

6 (3) PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘property’’ means 

7 any personal belongings owned or controlled by the 

8 victims of the deportations which may have been 

9 taken or confiscated in connection with the deporta10 tions, including jewelry, books, artifacts, precious 

11 metals, and currency. 

12 (4) RECORDS.—The term ‘‘records’’ includes 

13 any documents, correspondence, memoranda, re14 ceipts, invoices, presentations, audits, and any other 

15 related materials. 

16 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

17 the several States, the District of Columbia, and any 

18 commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United 

19 States. 

20 SEC. 4. CERTAIN ENTITIES INELIGIBLE FOR FEDERALLY 

21 FUNDED HIGH-SPEED RAIL CONTRACTS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any entity that applies for a con23 tract with any agency or instrumentality of a State or local 

24 government for any high-speed rail project (including the 

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1 ation of a high-speed rail network or any components 

2 thereof) that is funded, either partially or fully, by the 

3 Federal Government shall certify to such agency, in ad4 vance of submitting a formal bid to such agency, whether 

5 or not such entity had any direct involvement in the depor6 tation of any individuals to extermination camps, death 

7 camps, or any facility used for the purpose of transiting 

8 individuals to extermination or death camps, during the 

9 period beginning on January 1, 1942, and ending on De10 cember 31, 1944. 

11 (b) DISCLOSURES.—If an entity certifies that it had 

12 any direct involvement described in subsection (a), the en13 tity shall certify and disclose to the agency or instrumen14 tality of a State or local government the following: 

15 (1) Whether the entity has any records related 

16 to the deportations in its possession, custody, or con17 trol. If an entity acknowledges that it has any such 

18 records, it shall describe in detail the full contents 

19 of such records and the specific locations where such 

20 records are maintained. 

21 (2) Whether the entity has any property taken 

22 or confiscated in connection with such deportations 

23 in its possession, custody or control. If an entity ac24 knowledges that it has any such property, it must 

25 describe in detail the specific property in its possesVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:16 Oct 13, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6347.IH H6347

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1 sion, custody, or control and the specific locations 

2 where such property is maintained. If such entity 

3 does not have any such property in its possession, 

4 custody, or control, such entity must describe in de5 tail the point in time and the manner in which the 

6 entity disposed of or converted the property. 

7 (3) Whether the entity has provided restitution 

8 and reparations to all identifiable victims of the de9 portations described in subsection (a) or to their 

10 families, and whether the entity has otherwise 

11 reached a settlement agreement with all identifiable 

12 victims of such deportations or their families. 

13 (c) MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES.—Any entity that 

14 certifies that it had any direct involvement described in 

15 subsection (a) may, at its own discretion, provide any miti16 gating circumstances in narrative and documentary form 

17 and include such narrative and documentary in its disclo18 sures. 

19 (d) INELIGIBILITY.—Any entity that certifies that it 

20 had any direct involvement described in subsection (a) 

21 shall be ineligible to be awarded a contract with any agen22 cy or instrumentality of a State or local government for 

23 any high-speed rail project described in such subsection 

24 if such entity has failed to make restitutions and reparaVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:16 Oct 13, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6347.IH H6347

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1 tions or reach a settlement agreement as described in sub2 section (b)(3). 

Æ 


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