I 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5644 

To provide for competitive development and operation of high-speed rail 

corridor projects. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 14, 2008 

Mr. MICA (for himself, Mr. SHUSTER, Mr. COSTA, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. BACHUS, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. BOUSTANY, Mr. BROWN of South Carolina, Mr. 

BUCHANAN, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Mrs. 

DRAKE, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. EHLERS, Ms. FALLIN, Mr. GERLACH, Mr. 

GRAVES, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. MACK, Mrs. MILLER of Michigan, Mr. 

MORAN of Kansas, Mr. PLATTS, Mr. WESTMORELAND, and Mr. YOUNG

of Alaska) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To provide for competitive development and operation of 

high-speed rail corridor projects. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SOLICITATION OF PROPOSALS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

5 (1) NORTHEAST CORRIDOR.—Not later than 60 

6 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

7 Secretary of Transportation shall issue a request for 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
2 

•HR 5644 IH

1 proposals for projects for the financing, design, con2 struction, and operation of an initial high-speed rail 

3 system operating between Washington, DC, and 

4 New York City. Such proposals shall be submitted to 

5 the Secretary not later than 150 days after the pub6 lication of such request for proposals. 

7 (2) OTHER PROJECTS.—After a report is trans8 mitted under section 5 with respect to projects de9 scribed in paragraph (1), the Secretary of Transpor10 tation may issue a request for proposals for addi11 tional projects for the financing, design, construc12 tion, and operation of a high-speed rail system oper13 ating on any other corridor in the United States. 

14 Such proposals shall be submitted to the Secretary 

15 not later than 150 days after the publication of such 

16 request for proposals. 

17 (b) CONTENTS.—A proposal submitted under sub18 section (a) shall include— 

19 (1) the names and qualifications of the persons 

20 submitting the proposal; 

21 (2) a detailed description of the proposed route 

22 and its engineering characteristics; 

23 (3) the peak and average operating speeds to be 

24 attained; 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
3 

•HR 5644 IH

1 (4) the type of equipment to be used, including 

2 any technologies for— 

3 (A) maintaining an operating speed the 

4 Secretary determines appropriate; or 

5 (B) in the case of a proposal submitted 

6 under subsection (a)(1), achieving less than 2- 

7 hour express service between Washington, DC, 

8 and New York City; 

9 (5) the locations of proposed stations; 

10 (6) a detailed description of any proposed legis11 lation needed to facilitate the project; 

12 (7) a financing plan identifying— 

13 (A) sources of revenue; 

14 (B) the amount of any proposed public 

15 contribution toward capital costs or operations; 

16 (C) ridership projections; and 

17 (D) the amount of private investment; 

18 (8) a description of how the project would con19 tribute to the development of a national high-speed 

20 rail system, and an intermodal plan describing how 

21 the system will connect with other transportation 

22 links; 

23 (9) labor protections for existing railroad em24 ployees; 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
4 

•HR 5644 IH

1 (10) provisions to ensure that the proposal will 

2 be designed to operate in harmony with existing and 

3 projected future commuter and freight service; and 

4 (11) provisions for full fair market compensa5 tion for any asset or service acquired from a private 

6 person or entity, except as otherwise agreed to by 

7 the private person or entity. 

8 (c) DOCUMENTS.—Documents submitted or devel9 oped pursuant to this section shall not be subject to sec10 tion 552 of title 5, United States Code. 

11 SEC. 2. DETERMINATION OF FEASIBILITY AND ESTABLISH12 MENT OF COMMISSIONS. 

13 Not later than 60 days after receipt of a proposal 

14 under section 1, the Secretary of Transportation shall— 

15 (1) make a determination as to whether the 

16 proposal is feasible; and 

17 (2) for each corridor for which one or more fea18 sible proposals are received, establish a commission 

19 under section 3. 

20 SEC. 3. COMMISSIONS. 

21 A commission referred to in section 2(2) shall consist 

22 of not more than 19 members, including— 

23 (1) the governor of the affected State or States, 

24 or their respective designees; 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
5 

•HR 5644 IH

1 (2) a rail labor representative, and a represent2 ative from a rail freight carrier using the relevant 

3 corridor, appointed by the Secretary of Transpor4 tation, in consultation with the chairman and rank5 ing minority member of the Committee on Transpor6 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Represent7 atives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

8 and Transportation of the Senate; 

9 (3) the Secretary of Transportation or his des10 ignee; 

11 (4) the president of Amtrak or his designee; 

12 (5) the mayors of the three largest municipali13 ties serviced by the proposed high-speed rail cor14 ridor; and 

15 (6) any other person the Secretary of Transpor16 tation considers appropriate. 

17 SEC. 4. COMMISSION CONSIDERATION. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each commission established 

19 under section 2(2) shall be responsible for reviewing the 

20 proposal or proposals with respect to which the commis21 sion was established, and not later than 90 days after the 

22 establishment of the commission, shall transmit to the 

23 Secretary, and to the chairman and ranking minority 

24 member of the Committee on Transportation and Infra25 structure of the House of Representatives and the ComVerDate Aug 31 2005 17:00 Mar 15, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5644.IH H5644

hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
6 

•HR 5644 IH

1 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

2 Senate, a report which includes— 

3 (1) a summary of each proposal received; 

4 (2) a ranking of the order of the proposals ac5 cording to feasibility, and cost and benefit to the 

6 public; 

7 (3) an indication of which proposal or proposals 

8 are recommended by the commission; and 

9 (4) an identification of any proposed legislative 

10 provisions which would facilitate implementation of 

11 the recommended project. 

12 (b) VERBAL PRESENTATION.—Proposers shall be 

13 given an opportunity to make a verbal presentation to the 

14 commission to explain their proposals. 

15 SEC. 5. SELECTION BY SECRETARY. 

16 Not later than 60 days after receiving a report from 

17 a commission under section 4(a), the Secretary of Trans18 portation shall transmit to the Congress a report that 

19 ranks all of the recommended proposals according to feasi20 bility, and cost and benefit to the public. 

21 SEC. 6. NORTHEAST CORRIDOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 

22 STUDY. 

23 Not later than 9 months after the date of enactment 

24 of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall transmit 

25 to the Congress the results of an economic development 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
7 

•HR 5644 IH

1 study of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor service between 

2 Washington, DC, and New York City. Such study shall 

3 examine how to achieve maximum utilization of the North4 east Corridor, including— 

5 (1) maximizing the assets of the Northeast Cor6 ridor for potential economic development purposes; 

7 (2) real estate improvement and financial re8 turn; 

9 (3) improved commuter and freight services; 

10 (4) optimum utility utilization in conjunction 

11 with potential separated high-speed rail passenger 

12 services; and 

13 (5) any other means of maximizing the eco14 nomic potential of the Northeast Corridor. 

Æ 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS