II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3360 

To increase the availability of domestically manufactured passenger cars for 

intercity passenger rail service, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 29 (legislative day, JULY 28), 2008 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. CARPER) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To increase the availability of domestically manufactured 

passenger cars for intercity passenger rail service, and 

for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Creating American 

5 Rolling Stock Act of 2008’’ or the ‘‘Train CARS Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) AMTRAK.—The term ‘‘Amtrak’’ means the 

9 National Railroad Passenger Corporation. 


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1 (2) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

2 applicant’’ means Amtrak, a State (including the 

3 District of Columbia), a group of States, an inter4 state compact, or a regional transportation authority 

5 established by 1 or more States and having responsi6 bility for providing intercity passenger rail service. 

7 (3) INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE.— 

8 The term ‘‘intercity passenger rail service’’ means 

9 transportation services with the primary purpose of 

10 passenger transportation between towns, cities, and 

11 metropolitan areas by rail. 

12 (4) REHABILITATE.—The term ‘‘rehabilitate’’ 

13 means extending the useful life or improving the ef14 fectiveness of existing rolling stock, including— 

15 (A) the correction of a deficiency; 

16 (B) the modernization or replacement of 

17 equipment; 

18 (C) the modernization of, or replacement 

19 of parts for, rolling stock; 

20 (D) the rehabilitation or remanufacture of 

21 rail rolling stock and associated facilities used 

22 primarily in intercity passenger rail service; and 

23 (E) the use of nonstructural elements. 

24 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

25 the Secretary of Transportation. 


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1 SEC. 3. GRANTS TO PURCHASE DOMESTICALLY MANUFAC2 TURED ROLLING STOCK FOR INTERCITY PAS3 SENGER RAIL SERVICE. 

4 (a) GRANT AUTHORIZED.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor6 tation may award grants under this section to eligi7 ble applicants to purchase or rehabilitate domesti8 cally manufactured rolling stock necessary to provide 

9 or improve intercity passenger rail transportation. 

10 (2) CONDITIONS.—Not later than 90 days after 

11 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

12 shall promulgate regulations that establish proce13 dures and schedules for the awarding of grants 

14 under this section, including application and quali15 fication procedures and a record of decision on ap16 plicant eligibility. 

17 (b) PROJECT AS PART OF STATE RAIL PLAN.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not 

19 award a grant for a purchase of rolling stock under 

20 this section unless the Secretary determines that— 

21 (A) the project is part of a State rail plan 

22 developed under chapter 225 of title 49, United 

23 States Code; and 

24 (B) the applicant or recipient has or will 

25 have the legal, financial, and technical capacity 


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1 to purchase, install, and maintain the rolling 

2 stock. 

3 (2) INFORMATION.—An eligible applicant shall 

4 provide sufficient information upon which the Sec5 retary can make the determination required under 

6 paragraph (1). 

7 (c) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting grant recipi8 ents under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

9 (1) require that each rail car purchased with 

10 grant funds meet all applicable safety and security 

11 requirements; 

12 (2) give preference to rail cars with high levels 

13 of estimated ridership, increased on-time perform14 ance, reduced trip time, additional service frequency 

15 to meet anticipated or existing demand, or other sig16 nificant service enhancements; 

17 (3) ensure that each rail car is compatible with, 

18 and is operated in conformance with— 

19 (A) plans developed pursuant to the re20 quirements of section 135 of title 23, United 

21 States Code; and 

22 (B) the national rail plan, if available; and 

23 (4) give preference to purchases of rolling stock 

24 that— 


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1 (A) are expected to have a significant fa2 vorable impact on air or highway traffic conges3 tion, capacity, or safety; 

4 (B) will improve freight or commuter rail 

5 operations; 

6 (C) will have significant environmental 

7 benefits, including the purchase of environ8 mentally sensitive, fuel-efficient, and cost-effec9 tive passenger rail equipment; 

10 (D) will have positive economic and em11 ployment impacts; 

12 (E) have commitments of funding from 

13 non-Federal Government sources in a total 

14 amount that exceeds the minimum amount of 

15 the non-Federal contribution required for the 

16 project; 

17 (F) involve donated property interests or 

18 services; 

19 (G) are identified by the Surface Transpor20 tation Board as necessary to improve the on21 time performance and reliability of intercity 

22 passenger rail under section 24308(f) of title 

23 49, United States Code; 

24 (H) are designed to support intercity pas25 senger rail service; 


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1 (I) can be easily transferred to commuter 

2 service or to another intercity passenger rail 

3 route; and 

4 (J) are produced domestically. 

5 (d) AMTRAK ELIGIBILITY.—To receive a grant under 

6 this section, Amtrak may enter into a cooperative agree7 ment with 1 or more States to purchase or rehabilitate 

8 rolling stock for 1 or more projects on a State rail plan’s 

9 ranked list of rail capital projects developed under section 

10 22504(a)(5) of title 49, United States Code. 

11 (e) FEDERAL SHARE OF NET PROJECT COST.—A 

12 grant for the purchase of rolling stock under this section 

13 shall not exceed 80 percent of the total cost. 

14 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

15 authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary 

16 to the Secretary for fiscal year 2009 and for each subse17 quent fiscal year for the grants to purchase domestically 

18 manufactured and rehabbed rolling stock under this sec19 tion. 

20 SEC. 4. BUY AMERICAN CONDITIONS. 

21 (a) DOMESTIC BUYING PREFERENCE.— 

22 (1) REQUIREMENT.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—In using grant funds or 

24 bond proceeds made available under this Act or 

25 an amendment made by this Act for purchasing 


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1 rolling stock, a grant or bond proceeds recipient 

2 may only purchase— 

3 (i) unmanufactured articles, material, 

4 and supplies mined or produced in the 

5 United States; or 

6 (ii) manufactured articles, material, 

7 and supplies manufactured in the United 

8 States substantially from articles, material, 

9 and supplies mined, produced, or manufac10 tured in the United States. 

11 (B) DE MINIMIS AMOUNT.—Subparagraph 

12 (A) shall only apply to purchases totaling at 

13 least $1,000,000. 

14 (2) EXEMPTIONS.—The Secretary of Transpor15 tation may exempt a grant or bond proceeds recipi16 ent from the requirements of this subsection if the 

17 Secretary, after receiving an application for such ex18 emption, determines that, for particular articles, ma19 terial, or supplies— 

20 (A) such requirements are inconsistent 

21 with the public interest; 

22 (B) the cost of imposing the requirements 

23 is unreasonable; or 

24 (C) the articles, material, or supplies, or 

25 the articles, material, or supplies from which 


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1 they are manufactured, are not mined, pro2 duced, or manufactured in the United States in 

3 sufficient and reasonably available commercial 

4 quantities and are not of a satisfactory quality. 

5 (b) OPERATORS DEEMED RAIL CARRIERS AND EM6 PLOYERS FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES.—Any entity that con7 ducts rail operations using rolling stock that has been 

8 manufactured or rehabilitated with funding provided in 

9 whole or in part by a grant or bond proceeds made avail10 able under this Act or an amendment made by this Act 

11 shall be considered a rail carrier (as defined in section 

12 10102(5) of title 49, United States Code) for purposes 

13 of this Act and any other law that adopts that definition 

14 or in which that definition applies, including— 

15 (1) the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 

16 U.S.C. 231 et seq.); 

17 (2) the Railway Labor Act (43 U.S.C. 151 et 

18 seq.); and 

19 (3) the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act 

20 (45 U.S.C. 351 et seq.). 

21 (c) PREVAILING WAGE REQUIREMENT.—Any entity 

22 that purchases or rehabilitates rolling stock which has 

23 been financed in whole or in part by grants or bond pro24 ceeds made available under this Act or an amendment 

25 made by this Act shall comply with subchapter IV of chapVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:33 Jul 30, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3360.IS S3360

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1 ter 31 of title 40, United States Code, commonly referred 

2 to as the ‘‘Davis-Bacon Act’’. 

3 SEC. 5. NEXT GENERATION CORRIDOR TRAIN EQUIPMENT 

4 POOL. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

6 date of the enactment of this Act, Amtrak shall establish 

7 a Next Generation Corridor Equipment Pool Committee 

8 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Committee’’), which 

9 shall be comprised of representatives of Amtrak, the Fed10 eral Railroad Administration, host freight railroad compa11 nies, passenger railroad equipment manufacturers, com12 muter rail agencies, railroad labor unions, other passenger 

13 railroad operators, as appropriate, and interested States. 

14 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Committee shall 

15 be to design, develop specifications for, and procure stand16 ardized next-generation corridor equipment, including roll17 ing stock that is easily transferred from commuter rail 

18 service to new intercity passenger rail service. 

19 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The Committee may— 

20 (1) determine the number of different types of 

21 equipment required, taking into account variations 

22 in operational needs and corridor infrastructure; 

23 (2) establish a pool of equipment to be used on 

24 corridor routes funded by participating States; 


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1 (3) subject to agreements between Amtrak and 

2 States, utilize services provided by Amtrak to design, 

3 maintain, and rehabilitate equipment; and 

4 (4) explore the benefits of creating a public or 

5 private entity that would— 

6 (A) purchase and own domestically pro7 duced rolling stock; and 

8 (B) lease such rolling stock to States or 

9 Amtrak for passenger rail service. 

10 (d) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—Amtrak and 

11 States participating in the Committee may— 

12 (1) enter into agreements for the funding, pro13 curement, rehabilitation, ownership, management, or 

14 leasing of corridor equipment, including equipment 

15 currently owned or leased by Amtrak and next gen16 eration corridor equipment acquired as a result of 

17 the Committee’s actions; and 

18 (2) establish a corporation, which may be 

19 owned or jointly owned by Amtrak, participating 

20 States or other entities, to perform these functions. 

21 SEC. 6. INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL ROLLING STOCK AC22 COUNT. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNT.—Section 9503 of 

24 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to Highway 


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1 Trust Fund) is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing new subsection: 

3 ‘‘(g) INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL ROLLING STOCK

4 ACCOUNT.— 

5 ‘‘(1) CREATION OF ACCOUNT.—There is estab6 lished in the Highway Trust Fund a separate ac7 count to be known as the ‘Intercity Passenger Rail 

8 Rolling Stock Account’, consisting of such amounts 

9 as may be transferred or credited to the Intercity 

10 Passenger Rail Rolling Stock Account as provided in 

11 this subsection or section 9602(b). 

12 ‘‘(2) TRANSFER TO ACCOUNT OF AMOUNTS

13 EQUIVALENT TO CERTAIN TAXES.—The Secretary of 

14 the Treasury shall transfer to the Intercity Pas15 senger Rail Rolling Stock Trust Fund the intercity 

16 passenger rail rolling stock portion of the amounts 

17 appropriated to the Highway Trust Fund under sub18 section (b) which are attributable to taxes under sec19 tion 4041 or 4081 imposed after September 30, 

20 2009, and before October 1, 2012. For purposes of 

21 the preceding sentence, the term ‘intercity passenger 

22 rail rolling stock portion’ means for any fuel with re23 spect to which tax was imposed under section 4041 

24 or 4081 and otherwise deposited into the Highway 


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1 Trust Fund, the determined at the rate of .25 cent 

2 per gallon. 

3 ‘‘(3) EXPENDITURES FROM ACCOUNT.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the Inter5 city Passenger Rail Rolling Stock Account shall 

6 be available without fiscal year limitation to— 

7 ‘‘(i) eligible applicants (as defined in 

8 section 2 of the Train CARS Act) to fi9 nance the purchase and rehabilitation of 

10 rolling stock, and 

11 ‘‘(ii) each non-Amtrak State, to the 

12 extent determined under subparagraph 

13 (B), for transportation-related expendi14 tures. 

15 ‘‘(B) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF FUNDS TO

16 NON-AMTRAK STATES.—Except as provided 

17 under subparagraph (C), each non-Amtrak 

18 State shall receive under this paragraph an 

19 amount equal to the lesser of— 

20 ‘‘(i) the State’s qualified expenses for 

21 the fiscal year, or 

22 ‘‘(ii) the product of the number of 

23 months such State is a non-Amtrak State 

in such fiscal year and 1 24 ⁄12 of 1 percent of 

25 the lesser of— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the aggregate amounts 

2 transferred and credited to the Inter3 city Passenger Rail Account under 

4 paragraph (1) for such fiscal year, or 

5 ‘‘(II) the aggregate amounts ap6 propriated from the Intercity Pas7 senger Rail Account for such fiscal 

8 year. 

9 ‘‘(C) ADJUSTMENT.—If the amount deter10 mined under subparagraph (B)(ii) exceeds the 

11 amount under subparagraph (B)(i) for any fis12 cal year, the amount under subparagraph 

13 (B)(ii) for the following fiscal year shall be in14 creased by the amount of such excess. 

15 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub16 section— 

17 ‘‘(A) QUALIFIED EXPENSES.—The term 

18 ‘qualified expenses’ means expenses incurred, 

19 with respect to obligations made, after Sep20 tember 30, 2009, and before October 1, 2012— 

21 ‘‘(i) for— 

22 ‘‘(I) in the case of the National 

23 Railroad Passenger Corporation, the 

24 acquisition of equipment and rolling 

25 stock, the upgrading of rolling stock 


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1 maintenance facilities, and the main2 tenance of existing equipment in 

3 intercity passenger rail service, and 

4 the payment of interest and principal 

5 on obligations incurred for such acqui6 sition, upgrading, and maintenance, 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(II) in the case of a non-Amtrak 

9 State, transportation-related expenses, 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(ii) certified by the Secretary of 

12 Transportation on October 1 as meeting 

13 the requirements of clause (i) and as quali14 fied for payment under paragraph (5) for 

15 the fiscal year beginning on such date. 

16 ‘‘(B) NON-AMTRAK STATE.—The term 

17 ‘non-Amtrak State’ means any State which does 

18 not receive intercity passenger rail service from 

19 the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. 

20 ‘‘(5) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding 

21 any other provision of law, the Secretary of Trans22 portation shall certify expenses as qualified for a fis23 cal year on October 1 of such year, in an amount 

24 not to exceed the amount of receipts estimated by 

25 the Secretary of the Treasury to be transferred to 


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1 the Intercity Passenger Rail Rolling Stock Account 

2 for such fiscal year. Such certification shall result in 

3 a contractual obligation of the United States for the 

4 payment of such expenses. 

5 ‘‘(6) TAX TREATMENT OF TRUST FUND EX6 PENDITURES.—With respect to any payment of 

7 qualified expenses from the Intercity Passenger Rail 

8 Rolling Stock Account during any taxable year to a 

9 taxpayer— 

10 ‘‘(A) such payment shall not be included in 

11 the gross income of the taxpayer for such tax12 able year, 

13 ‘‘(B) no deduction shall be allowed to the 

14 taxpayer with respect to any amount paid or in15 curred which is attributable to such payment, 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(C) the basis of any property shall be re18 duced by the portion of the cost of such prop19 erty which is attributable to such payment. 

20 ‘‘(7) TERMINATION.—The Secretary shall deter21 mine and retain, not later than October 1, 2012, the 

22 amount in the Intercity Passenger Rail Rolling 

23 Stock Account necessary to pay any outstanding 

24 qualified expenses, and shall transfer any amount 

25 not so retained to the Highway Trust Fund.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 9503 of the 

2 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 

3 paragraph (5) of subsection (e) and by adding at the end 

4 the following new subsection: 

5 ‘‘(h) PORTION OF CERTAIN TRANSFERS TO BE

6 MADE FROM ACCOUNTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Transfers under para8 graphs (2), (3), and (4) of subsection (c) shall be 

9 borne by the Highway Account, the Mass Transit 

10 Account, and the Intercity Passenger Rail Rolling 

11 Stock Account in proportion to the respective reve12 nues transferred under this section to the Highway 

13 Account (after the application of subsections (e)(2) 

14 and (g)(2)) and the Mass Transit Account and the 

15 Intercity Passenger Rail Rolling Stock Account. 

16 ‘‘(2) HIGHWAY ACCOUNT.—For purposes of 

17 paragraph (1), the term ‘Highway Account’ means 

18 the portion of the Highway Trust Fund which is not 

19 the Mass Transit Account or the Intercity Passenger 

20 Rail Rolling Stock Account.’’. 

21 (c) CAPACITY IMPROVEMENT CHARGE MATCHING

22 PROGRAM.—Any eligible applicant that subsidizes inter23 city passenger rail service and imposes a capital invest24 ment fee on each ticket sold for such service is eligible 

25 to receive $1 from the Intercity Passenger Rail Rolling 


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1 Stock Account (as established in section 9503(g) of the 

2 Internal Revenue Code of 1986) for every $1 of such fee 

3 that is used to purchase domestically manufactured rolling 

4 stock. 

5 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

6 this section shall apply with respect to taxes imposed after 

7 September 30, 2009. 

8 SEC. 7. RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT. 

9 (a) CREDIT TO HOLDERS OF QUALIFIED AMTRAK

10 BONDS.—Subpart I of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 

11 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to cred12 its against tax) is amended by adding at the end the fol13 lowing new section: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 54C. CREDIT TO HOLDERS OF QUALIFIED AMTRAK 

15 BONDS. 

16 ‘‘(a) QUALIFIED AMTRAK BOND.—For purposes of 

17 this subpart, the term ‘qualified Amtrak bond’ means any 

18 bond issued as part of an issue if— 

19 ‘‘(1) 100 percent or more of the available 

20 project proceeds of such issue are to be used for ex21 penditures incurred after the date of the enactment 

22 of this section for any qualified project, 

23 ‘‘(2) the bond is issued by the National Rail24 road Passenger Corporation, is in registered form, 


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1 and meets the bond limitation requirements under 

2 subsection (b), 

3 ‘‘(3) the issuer designates such bond for pur4 poses of this section, 

5 ‘‘(4) the issuer certifies that it meets the State 

6 contribution requirement of subsection (h) with re7 spect to such project, as in effect on the date of the 

8 enactment of this section, 

9 ‘‘(5) the issuer certifies that it has obtained the 

10 written approval of the Secretary of Transportation 

11 for such project in accordance with section 26301 of 

12 title 49, United States Code, as in effect on the date 

13 of the enactment of this section, 

14 ‘‘(6) the payment of principal with respect to 

15 such bond is the obligation of the National Railroad 

16 Passenger Corporation, and 

17 ‘‘(7) in lieu of the requirements of section 

18 54A(d)(2), the issue meets the requirements of sub19 section (d). 

20 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT OF BONDS DES21 IGNATED.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is a qualified Am23 trak bond limitation for each fiscal year. Such limi24 tation is— 


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1 ‘‘(A) $700,000,000 for each of the fiscal 

2 years 2009 through 2012, and 

3 ‘‘(B) except as provided in paragraph (4), 

4 $0 after fiscal year 2012. 

5 ‘‘(2) LIMITS ON BONDS FOR INDIVIDUAL

6 STATES.—Not more than $300,000,000 of the limi7 tation under paragraph (1) may be designated for 

8 any individual State. 

9 ‘‘(3) LIMIT ON BONDS FOR OTHER

10 PROJECTS.—Not more than $100,000,000 of the 

11 limitation under paragraph (1) for any fiscal year 

12 may be designated for all qualified projects described 

13 in subsection (g)(1)(C). 

14 ‘‘(4) CARRYOVER OF UNUSED LIMITATION.—If 

15 for any fiscal year— 

16 ‘‘(A) the limitation amount under para17 graph (1), exceeds 

18 ‘‘(B) the amount of bonds issued during 

19 such year which are designated under sub20 section (a)(3), 

21 the limitation amount under paragraph (1) for the 

22 following fiscal year (through fiscal year 2016) shall 

23 be increased by the amount of such excess. 


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1 ‘‘(c) MATURITY LIMITATIONS.—In lieu of section 

2 54A(d)(5), a bond shall not be treated as a qualified Am3 trak bond if the maturity of such bond exceeds 20 years. 

4 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULES RELATING TO EXPENDI5 TURES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

7 an issue shall be treated as meeting the require8 ments of this subsection if as of the date of 

9 issuance, the issuer reasonably expects— 

10 ‘‘(A) to spend 100 percent or more of the 

11 available project proceeds of the issue for 1 or 

12 more qualified projects within the 3-year period 

13 beginning on such date, 

14 ‘‘(B) to incur a binding commitment with 

15 a third party to spend at least 10 percent of the 

16 proceeds from the sale of the issue, or to com17 mence construction, with respect to such 

18 projects within the 6-month period beginning on 

19 such date, and 

20 ‘‘(C) to proceed with due diligence to com21 plete such projects and to spend the proceeds 

22 from the sale of the issue. 

23 ‘‘(2) RULES REGARDING CONTINUING COMPLI24 ANCE AFTER 3-YEAR DETERMINATION.—If at least 

25 100 percent of the available project proceeds of the 


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1 issue is not expended for 1 or more qualified 

2 projects within the 3-year period beginning on the 

3 date of issuance, but the requirements of paragraph 

4 (1) are otherwise met, an issue shall be treated as 

5 continuing to meet the requirements of this sub6 section if either— 

7 ‘‘(A) the issuer uses all unspent proceeds 

8 of the issue to redeem bonds of the issue within 

9 90 days after the end of such 3-year period, or 

10 ‘‘(B) the following requirements are met: 

11 ‘‘(i) The issuer spends at least 75 per12 cent of the available project proceeds of 

13 the issue for 1 or more qualified projects 

14 within the 3-year period beginning on the 

15 date of issuance. 

16 ‘‘(ii) Either— 

17 ‘‘(I) the issuer spends at least 

18 100 percent of the available project 

19 proceeds of the issue for 1 or more 

20 qualified projects within the 4-year 

21 period beginning on the date of 

22 issuance, or 

23 ‘‘(II) the issuer pays to the Fed24 eral Government any earnings on the 

25 proceeds of the issue that accrue after 


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1 the end of the 3-year period beginning 

2 on the date of issuance and uses all 

3 unspent proceeds of the issue to re4 deem bonds of the issue within 90 

5 days after the end of the 4-year pe6 riod beginning on the date of 

7 issuance. 

8 For purposes of this paragraph, the amount of the 

9 nonqualified bonds required to be redeemed shall be 

10 determined in the same manner as under section 

11 142. 

12 ‘‘(e) RECAPTURE OF PORTION OF CREDIT WHERE

13 CESSATION OF COMPLIANCE.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If any bond which when 

15 issued purported to be a qualified Amtrak bond 

16 ceases to be such a qualified bond, the issuer shall 

17 pay to the United States (at the time required by 

18 the Secretary) an amount equal to the sum of— 

19 ‘‘(A) the aggregate of the credits allowable 

20 under section 54A with respect to such bond 

21 (determined without regard to section 54A(c)) 

22 for taxable years ending during the calendar 

23 year in which such cessation occurs and the 2 

24 preceding calendar years, and 


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1 ‘‘(B) interest at the underpayment rate 

2 under section 6621 on the amount determined 

3 under subparagraph (A) for each calendar year 

4 for the period beginning on the first day of 

5 such calendar year. 

6 ‘‘(2) FAILURE TO PAY.—If the issuer fails to 

7 timely pay the amount required by paragraph (1) 

8 with respect to such bond, the tax imposed by this 

9 chapter on each holder of any such bond which is 

10 part of such issue shall be increased (for the taxable 

11 year of the holder in which such cessation occurs) by 

12 the aggregate decrease in the credits allowed under 

13 section 54A to such holder for taxable years begin14 ning in such 3 calendar years which would have re15 sulted solely from denying any credit under section 

16 54A with respect to such issue for such taxable 

17 years. 

18 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULES.— 

19 ‘‘(A) TAX BENEFIT RULE.—The tax for 

20 the taxable year shall be increased under para21 graph (2) only with respect to credits allowed 

22 by reason of section 54A which were used to re23 duce tax liability. In the case of credits not so 

24 used to reduce tax liability, the carryforwards 


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1 and carrybacks under section 39 shall be appro2 priately adjusted. 

3 ‘‘(B) NO CREDITS AGAINST TAX.—Any in4 crease in tax under paragraph (2) shall not be 

5 treated as a tax imposed by this chapter for 

6 purposes of determining— 

7 ‘‘(i) the amount of any credit allow8 able under this part, or 

9 ‘‘(ii) the amount of the tax imposed 

10 by section 55. 

11 ‘‘(4) TREATMENT OF CHANGES IN USE.—For 

12 purposes of paragraph (1), the proceeds from the 

13 sale of an issue shall not be treated as used for a 

14 qualified project to the extent that the issuer takes 

15 any action within its control which causes such pro16 ceeds not to be used for a qualified project. The Sec17 retary shall prescribe regulations specifying remedial 

18 actions that may be taken (including conditions to 

19 taking such remedial actions) to prevent an action 

20 described in the preceding sentence from causing a 

21 bond to fail to be a qualified Amtrak bond. 

22 ‘‘(f) TRUST ACCOUNT.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The following amounts 

24 shall be held in a trust account by a trustee indeVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:33 Jul 30, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3360.IS S3360

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1 pendent of the National Railroad Passenger Cor2 poration: 

3 ‘‘(A) The proceeds from the sale of all 

4 bonds designated for purposes of this section. 

5 ‘‘(B) The amount of any matching con6 tributions with respect to such bonds. 

7 ‘‘(C) The temporary period investment 

8 earnings on proceeds from the sale of such 

9 bonds. 

10 ‘‘(D) Any earnings on any amounts de11 scribed in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C). 

12 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts in the trust ac13 count may be used only to pay costs of qualified 

14 projects and redeem qualified Amtrak bonds, except 

15 that amounts withdrawn from the trust account to 

16 pay costs of qualified projects may not exceed the 

17 aggregate proceeds from the sale of all qualified Am18 trak bonds issued under this section. 

19 ‘‘(3) USE OF REMAINING FUNDS IN TRUST AC20 COUNT.—Upon the redemption of all qualified Am21 trak bonds issued under this section, any remaining 

22 amounts in the trust account described in paragraph 

23 (1) shall be available to the issuer for any qualified 

24 project. 


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1 ‘‘(g) QUALIFIED PROJECT.—For purposes of this 

2 section, the term ‘qualified project’ has the meaning given 

3 the term ‘qualified expenses’ in section 9503(g) of the In4 ternal Revenue Code of 1986. 

5 ‘‘(h) STATE CONTRIBUTION REQUIREMENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 

7 (a)(4), the State contribution requirement of this 

8 subsection is met with respect to any qualified 

9 project if the National Railroad Passenger Corpora10 tion has received from 1 or more States, not later 

11 than the date of issuance of the bond, matching con12 tributions of not less than 20 percent of the cost of 

13 the qualified project. 

14 ‘‘(2) STATE MATCHING CONTRIBUTIONS MAY

15 NOT INCLUDE FEDERAL FUNDS.—For purposes of 

16 this subsection, State matching contributions shall 

17 not be derived, directly or indirectly, from Federal 

18 funds, including any transfers from the Highway 

19 Trust Fund under section 9503.’’. 

20 (b) EXCLUSION FROM GROSS INCOME OF CONTRIBU21 TIONS BY AMTRAK TO OTHER RAIL CARRIERS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 118 of the Internal 

23 Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to contributions to 

24 the capital of a corporation) is amended by redesig25 nating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections (e) and 


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1 (f), respectively, and by inserting after subsection (c) 

2 the following new subsection: 

3 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULE FOR CONTRIBUTIONS BY AM4 TRAK TO OTHER RAIL CARRIERS.—For purposes of this 

5 section, the term ‘contribution to the capital of the tax6 payer’ does not include any contribution by the National 

7 Railroad Passenger Corporation of personal or real prop8 erty funded by the proceeds of qualified Amtrak bonds 

9 under section 54C.’’. 

10 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (b) 

11 of such section 118 is amended by striking ‘‘sub12 section (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (c) and (d)’’. 

13 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

14 (1) Paragraph (1) of section 54A(d) of the In15 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as 

16 follows: 

17 ‘‘(1) QUALIFIED TAX CREDIT BOND.—The term 

18 ‘qualified tax credit bond’ means— 

19 ‘‘(A) a qualified forestry conservation 

20 bond, or 

21 ‘‘(B) a qualified Amtrak bond, 

22 which is part of an issue that meets requirements of 

23 paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (5), and (6).’’. 

24 (2) Subparagraph (C) of section 54A(d)(2) of 

25 such Code is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(C) QUALIFIED PURPOSE.—For purposes 

2 of this paragraph, the term ‘qualified purpose’ 

3 means— 

4 ‘‘(i) in the case of a qualified forestry 

5 conservation bond, a purpose specified in 

6 section 54B(e), and 

7 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a qualified Amtrak 

8 bond, a purpose specified in section 

9 54C(g).’’. 

10 (3) The table of sections for subpart I of part 

11 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is 

12 amended by adding at the end the following new 

13 item: 

‘‘Sec. 54C. Qualified Amtrak bonds.’’. 

14 (d) ANNUAL REPORT BY TREASURY ON AMTRAK

15 TRUST ACCOUNT.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall 

16 annually report to Congress as to whether the amount de17 posited in the trust account established by Amtrak under 

18 section 54C(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as 

19 added by this section, is sufficient to fully repay at matu20 rity the principal of any outstanding qualified Amtrak 

21 bonds issued pursuant to section 54C of such Code (as 

22 so added), together with amounts expected to be deposited 

23 into such account, as certified by Amtrak in accordance 

24 with procedures prescribed by the Secretary of the Treas25 ury. 


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1 (e) ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of 

2 the Treasury shall issue regulations required under section 

3 54C of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by 

4 this section) not later than 90 days after the date of the 

5 enactment of this Act. 

6 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

7 this section shall apply to obligations issued after the date 

8 of enactment of this Act. 

9 SEC. 8. NATIONAL PASSENGER RAIL ELECTRIFICATION 

10 SYSTEM STUDY. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

13 of the United States shall conduct a study to determine 

14 the potential costs, benefits, and economic impact of pro15 viding intercity passenger rail along a national railway 

16 electrification system. 

17 (b) COMPONENTS OF STUDY.—The study conducted 

18 under subsection (a) shall analyze the infrastructure need19 ed to operate reliable, high-speed rail intercity passenger 

20 service along a national railway electrification system, in21 cluding an analysis of— 

22 (1) the equipment costs to achieve such service; 

23 (2) the environmental impacts related to 

24 transitioning to an electrified system; 

25 (3) safety issues; 


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1 (4) national security issues; 

2 (5) the high-speed benefits of an electrified sys3 tem; 

4 (6) the need for any improvements to existing 

5 tunnels, bridges, and other railroad facilities, or the 

6 need for the construction of new facilities; and 

7 (7) the impacts to freight rail traffic. 

8 SEC. 9. REPORT REQUIRED. 

9 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact10 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall submit a 

11 report to Congress that describes— 

12 (1) existing Federal programs, policies, and ini13 tiatives that could assist in the training of workers 

14 from the automotive, aviation, and manufacturing 

15 industries to transition such workers to the railcar 

16 manufacturing and maintenance industry; and 

17 (2) recommendations for specific legislative and 

18 administrative changes that would assist and encour19 age workers who have been displaced by cutbacks in 

20 the aviation, automotive, and manufacturing indus21 tries into transitioning to the rail industry. 

Æ 


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