I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1300 

To strengthen national security and promote energy independence by reducing 

the Nation’s reliance on foreign oil, improving vehicle technology and 

efficiency, increasing the distribution of alternative fuels, bolstering rail 

infrastructure, and expanding access to public transit. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 1, 2007 

Mr. HOYER (for himself, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. 

SKELTON, Mr. GORDON of Tennessee, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. 

FILNER, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. REYES, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. ACKERMAN, 

Mr. ALLEN, Mr. ALTMIRE, Mr. ARCURI, Ms. BEAN, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. 

BERMAN, Mr. BERRY, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. BISHOP of New York, 

Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. BOUCHER, Ms. CORRINE

BROWN of Florida, Mr. CARDOZA, Mr. CARNAHAN, Ms. CARSON, Mr. 

CLEAVER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. 

DEFAZIO, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. DELAHUNT, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. DOYLE, 

Mr. ELLISON, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. ETHERIDGE, Mr. FATTAH, Ms. GIFFORDS, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. 

HERSETH, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. HOLT, Mr. HONDA, Mr. 

ISRAEL, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. KIND, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. 

LEVIN, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mrs. MALONEY of New 

York, Ms. MATSUI, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Ms. MCCOLLUM of 

Minnesota, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. MILLER of North Carolina, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. 

NORTON, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. POMEROY, Mr. PRICE of 

North Carolina, Mr. ROSS, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. 

SARBANES, Mr. SCHIFF, Ms. SCHWARTZ, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. 

SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. SIRES, Mr. SMITH of Washington, 

Mr. SNYDER, Mr. STUPAK, Ms. SUTTON, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. TIERNEY, 

Mr. TOWNS, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WALZ of 

Minnesota, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. WATSON, and Mr. WYNN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, Oversight and Government Reform, Rules, Science and Technology, 

Ways and Means, House Administration, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 


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each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To strengthen national security and promote energy independence by reducing the Nation’s reliance on foreign 

oil, improving vehicle technology and efficiency, increasing the distribution of alternative fuels, bolstering rail 

infrastructure, and expanding access to public transit. 

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 ‘‘Program for Real Energy Security Act’’ or the 

6 ‘‘PROGRESS Act’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

TITLE I—NATIONAL COMMISSION ON ENERGY SECURITY AND 

TRANSITION TO NEW FUELS 

Sec. 101. Establishment. 

Sec. 102. Duties of Commission. 

Sec. 103. Membership. 

Sec. 104. Initial meeting. 

Sec. 105. Administrative assistance. 

Sec. 106. Powers of Commission. 

Sec. 107. Reports. 

Sec. 108. Action on report recommendations. 

Sec. 109. Termination. 

TITLE II—NEW MANHATTAN CENTER FOR HIGH EFFICIENCY 

VEHICLES 

Sec. 201. Findings. 


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Sec. 202. Definitions. 

Sec. 203. New Manhattan Center for High Efficiency Vehicles. 

Sec. 204. Advisory council. 

Sec. 205. Responsibilities. 

Sec. 206. Export of high-efficiency vehicle manufacturing. 

Sec. 207. Protection of information. 

Sec. 208. Authorization on appropriations. 

Sec. 209. Advanced battery loan guarantee program. 

Sec. 210. Domestic manufacturing conversion grant program. 

TITLE III—BIOFUELS INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT 

Sec. 301. Biofuels infrastructure development. 

TITLE IV—GOVERNMENT USE AND DIVERSITY OF SUPPLY 

Sec. 401. Renewable fuel regulations. 

Sec. 402. Grants for cellulosic ethanol production. 

Sec. 403. Standard specifications for biodiesel. 

Sec. 404. Requirement for greater use of alternative fuels in Federal fleet. 

Sec. 405. Requirement for Inspector General investigations relating to alternative fuel use and supply in Federal agencies and regulations. 

Sec. 406. Report on vehicles and infrastructure for alternative fuel use. 

Sec. 407. Funds set aside for alternative fuel infrastructure. 

Sec. 408. Authority for Department of Defense to enter into long-term contracts to procure biobased fuel and unconventional fuel. 

Sec. 409. Federal support for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. 

Sec. 410. Congressional alternative fuel use in vehicles. 

TITLE V—TRANSIT PROMOTION AND RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE 

DEVELOPMENT 

Subtitle A—Transit 

Sec. 501. Increase and expansion of employer-provided mass transit fringe benefits. 

Sec. 502. Grants to improve public transportation services. 

Sec. 503. Study of fuel savings from intelligent transportation systems. 

Subtitle B—Secure Access for Commuter Rail 

Sec. 511. Short title. 

Sec. 512. Findings. 

Sec. 513. Rail transit access. 

Sec. 514. Rail transportation policy. 

Subtitle C—Intercity Passenger Rail and Rail Bond Program 

Sec. 521. Capital assistance for intercity passenger rail service; State rail plans. 

Sec. 522. State rail plans. 

Sec. 523. Rail cooperative research program. 

Sec. 524. High-speed intercity rail facility bonds. 

Sec. 525. Tax credit to holders of qualified high-speed rail infrastructure bonds. 

Subtitle D—Energy Supply and Freight Rail 

Sec. 531. Short title. 

Sec. 532. Capital grants for railroad track. 


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Subtitle E—Rail Reliability 

Sec. 541. Reliability of railroad transportation of energy supplies. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The United States dependence on foreign 

4 petroleum poses a serious risk to our national secu5 rity and our economic well-being. The United States 

6 must immediately develop a proactive energy strat7 egy that includes the promotion of energy efficiency 

8 and the investment in alternative and new energy 

9 technologies. 

10 (2) America should achieve energy independ11 ence by reducing its reliance on oil from the Middle 

12 East and other unstable regions of the world by de13 veloping emerging technologies that work in synergy 

14 with the existing energy infrastructure. A sustained 

15 investment in research and development is crucial to 

16 creating cutting-edge technologies that allow us to 

17 develop clean, sustainable energy alternatives and 

18 capitalize on America’s vast renewable natural re19 sources. 

20 (3) The Federal Government should lead the 

21 Nation in an effort to substantially reduce the use 

22 of petroleum based fuels by rapidly expanding pro23 duction and distribution of synthetic and biobased 

24 fuels, such as ethanol derived from cellulosic sources, 


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1 and by deploying new engine technologies for fuel2 flexible, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and biodiesel vehi3 cles. 

4 (4) The Nation will be more secure by making 

5 a concerted effort to improve the diversity and reli6 ability of the Nation’s energy resources and trans7 portation fuels. We must make greater investments 

8 in renewable energy, alternative fuels such as bio9 mass, and efficiency improvements to answer our 

10 growing demand for energy. 

11 (5) The Federal Government should undertake 

12 a complete review of regulations that may affect 

13 supply and bottlenecks that create regional emer14 gencies that threaten the well-being of our economy 

15 and the health and safety of our citizens. We must 

16 make every effort to use all of our energy sources, 

17 making each a cleaner, safer contributor to the Na18 tion’s energy resources. 

19 (6) Despite the expenditure of billions of dollars 

20 on homeland security since 9/11, the American peo21 ple are still vulnerable to attack by terrorists at 

22 home. Recent natural disasters have also under23 scored the vulnerability and critical importance of 

24 energy supply to the Nation’s economic vitality. Our 


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1 energy facilities, transportation systems, and critical 

2 infrastructure must be adequately secured. 

3 (7) Not only must our energy infrastructure be 

4 secured, but Americans must feel safe in utilizing 

5 mass transit systems. Transit provides an alter6 native form of commuting, reduces the use of oil and 

7 gasoline, and plays a key role in moving Americans 

8 and their families in times of emergencies as well. 

9 Increasing security for mass transit through addi10 tional funding for rail, bus, and subway security is 

11 part of the Nation’s energy security. 

12 TITLE I—NATIONAL COMMIS13 SION ON ENERGY SECURITY 

14 AND TRANSITION TO NEW 

15 FUELS 

16 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT. 

17 There is established a commission to be known as the 

18 ‘‘National Commission on Energy Security and Transition 

19 to New Fuels’’ (in this title referred to as the ‘‘Commis20 sion’’). 

21 SEC. 102. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. 

22 The Commission shall make recommendations to the 

23 Congress and the President for preserving the national en24 ergy security in the event of a terrorist attack or natural 

25 disaster, and for reducing United States dependence on 


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1 foreign oil according to a schedule for national energy 

2 independence over the next 5, 10, 15, and 20 years. The 

3 Commission shall focus on regional approaches to achiev4 ing such goals, taking into account regional differences in 

5 energy supply and demand, and shall— 

6 (1) address fuel supply and infrastructure needs 

7 to support the development of wide-scale use of al8 ternative fueled vehicles, including flexible-fuel vehi9 cles, electric hybrid vehicles, advanced diesel engines, 

10 and hydrogen fueled vehicles, for passenger cars, 

11 commercial fleets, and industrial vehicles; 

12 (2) identify vulnerabilities in energy infrastruc13 ture, such as overreliance on refining capacity con14 centrated in areas susceptible to hurricane damage, 

15 and recommend actions to remedy or mitigate such 

16 vulnerabilities; 

17 (3) propose legislative actions to— 

18 (A) promote efficiency and biomass and 

19 other alternative resource use, including the de20 velopment of biofuels, battery, and composite 

21 material technologies; and 

22 (B) pursue near-term options to reduce 

23 transportation fuel demand, such as expanded 

24 use of public transit; and 


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1 (4) propose Federal, State, and local fiscal and 

2 regulatory changes to accomplish the purposes de3 scribed in this subsection, and develop uniform codes 

4 and other tools for use by governments to accom5 plish those purposes. 

6 SEC. 103. MEMBERSHIP. 

7 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall con9 sist of— 

10 (A) 6 members appointed by the Speaker 

11 of the House of Representatives, including— 

12 (i) 1 appointed in consultation with 

13 the chairman of the Committee on Energy 

14 and Commerce; 

15 (ii) 1 appointed in consultation with 

16 the chairman of the Committee on Trans17 portation and Infrastructure; 

18 (iii) 1 appointed in consultation with 

19 the chairman of the Committee on Agri20 culture; 

21 (iv) 1 appointed in consultation with 

22 the chairman of the Committee on Over23 sight and Government Reform; 


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1 (v) 1 appointed in consultation with 

2 the chairman of the Committee on Science 

3 and Technology; and 

4 (vi) 1 appointed in consultation with 

5 the chairman of the Committee on Armed 

6 Services; 

7 (B) 6 members appointed by the minority 

8 leader of the House of Representatives, includ9 ing— 

10 (i) 1 appointed in consultation with 

11 the ranking minority member of the Com12 mittee on Energy and Commerce; 

13 (ii) 1 appointed in consultation with 

14 the ranking minority member of the Com15 mittee on Transportation and Infrastruc16 ture; 

17 (iii) 1 appointed in consultation with 

18 the ranking minority member of the Com19 mittee on Agriculture; 

20 (iv) 1 appointed in consultation with 

21 the ranking minority member of the Com22 mittee on Oversight and Government Re23 form; 


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1 (v) 1 appointed in consultation with 

2 the ranking minority member of the Com3 mittee on Science and Technology; and 

4 (vi) 1 appointed in consultation with 

5 the chairman of the Committee on Armed 

6 Services; 

7 (C) 6 members appointed by the majority 

8 leader of the Senate, including— 

9 (i) 1 appointed in consultation with 

10 the chairman of the Committee on Com11 merce, Science, and Transportation; 

12 (ii) 1 appointed in consultation with 

13 the chairman of the Committee on Energy 

14 and Natural Resources; 

15 (iii) 1 appointed in consultation with 

16 the chairman of the Committee on Home17 land Security and Governmental Affairs; 

18 and 

19 (iv) 1 appointed in consultation with 

20 the chairman of the Committee on Armed 

21 Services; 

22 (D) 6 members appointed by the minority 

23 leader of the Senate, including— 

24 (i) 1 appointed in consultation with 

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1 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Trans2 portation; 

3 (ii) 1 appointed in consultation with 

4 the ranking minority member of the Com5 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources; 

6 (iii) 1 appointed in consultation with 

7 the ranking minority member of the Com8 mittee on Homeland Security and Govern9 mental Affairs; and 

10 (iv) 1 appointed in consultation with 

11 the chairman of the Committee on Armed 

12 Services; and 

13 (E) 12 members appointed by the Presi14 dent, including— 

15 (i) 1 appointed in consultation with 

16 the Secretary of Energy; 

17 (ii) 1 appointed in consultation with 

18 the Secretary of Transportation; 

19 (iii) 1 appointed in consultation with 

20 the Secretary of Commerce; 

21 (iv) 1 appointed in consultation with 

22 the Secretary of Agriculture; and 

23 (v) 1 appointed in consultation with 

24 the Administrator of the Environmental 

25 Protection Agency. 


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1 (2) APPOINTMENT PRINCIPLES.— 

2 (A) CHAIRMAN.—The President shall des3 ignate 1 member appointed under paragraph 

4 (1)(E) to be Chairman of the Commission. 

5 (B) CONSULTATION.—At least 3 of the ap6 pointments by the President shall be made in 

7 consultation with the bipartisan national asso8 ciations representing elected State and local 

9 governmental officials. 

10 (C) LIMITATION ON PARTY MEMBER11 SHIP.—Not more than 3 of the members ap12 pointed by the President under paragraph 

13 (1)(E), other than members appointed under 

14 clauses (i) through (v) of that subparagraph, 

15 shall be members of the same political party as 

16 the President. 

17 (D) BALANCE.—Each person appointing 

18 members of the Commission under paragraph 

19 (1) shall seek to achieve a balance of Commis20 sion members among representatives of appro21 priate Federal, State, and local government 

22 agencies, industry, academia, and nonprofit 

23 stakeholder organizations, and among diverse 

24 geographical areas. 


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1 (b) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy occurring before the 

2 termination of the Commission shall be filled in the same 

3 manner as the original appointment. 

4 (c) COMPENSATION.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graph (2), members of the Commission shall serve 

7 without pay. 

8 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall 

9 receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 

10 subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions 

11 under chapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 

12 States Code. 

13 (d) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission may only 

14 make recommendations if 75 percent or more of its mem15 bership approve those recommendations. 

16 SEC. 104. INITIAL MEETING. 

17 The Commission shall hold its initial meeting not 

18 later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 105. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy shall 

21 provide to the Commission any administrative assistance 

22 necessary for the Commission to carry out its duties under 

23 this title. 


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1 (b) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Commission 

2 may procure temporary and intermittent services under 

3 section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code. 

4 (c) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon request 

5 of the Commission, the head of any Federal department 

6 or agency may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the 

7 personnel of that department or agency to the Commission 

8 to assist it in carrying out its duties under this title. 

9 SEC. 106. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 

10 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission 

11 may, for the purpose of carrying out this title, hold hear12 ings, sit and act at times and places, take testimony, and 

13 receive evidence as the Commission considers appropriate. 

14 (b) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem15 ber or agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the 

16 Commission, take any action which the Commission is au17 thorized to take by this section. 

18 (c) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission 

19 may secure directly from any department or agency of the 

20 United States information necessary to enable it to carry 

21 out this title. Upon request of the Chairperson of the Com22 mission, the head of that department or agency shall fur23 nish that information to the Commission. 

24 (d) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United 

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1 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United 

2 States. 

3 (e) SUBPOENA POWER.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may issue 

5 subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of 

6 witnesses and the production of any evidence relat7 ing to any matter which the Commission is empow8 ered to investigate by this title. The attendance of 

9 witnesses and the production of evidence may be re10 quired from any place within the United States at 

11 any designated place of hearing within the United 

12 States. 

13 (2) FAILURE TO OBEY A SUBPOENA.—If a per14 son refuses to obey a subpoena issued under para15 graph (1), the Commission may apply to a United 

16 States district court for an order requiring that per17 son to appear before the Commission to give testi18 mony, produce evidence, or both, relating to the 

19 matter under investigation. The application may be 

20 made within the judicial district where the hearing 

21 is conducted or where that person is found, resides, 

22 or transacts business. Any failure to obey the order 

23 of the court may be punished by the court as civil 

24 contempt. 


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1 (3) SERVICE OF SUBPOENAS.—The subpoenas 

2 of the Commission shall be served in the manner 

3 provided for subpoenas issued by a United States 

4 district court under the Federal Rules of Civil Pro5 cedure for the United States district courts. 

6 (4) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—All process of any 

7 court to which application is made under paragraph 

8 (2) may be served in the judicial district in which 

9 the person required to be served resides or may be 

10 found. 

11 SEC. 107. REPORTS. 

12 (a) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 3 months after 

13 the first meeting of the Commission, the Commission shall 

14 transmit to the President and the Congress and initial re15 port containing such recommendations as the Commission 

16 has been able to prepare at that time. 

17 (b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after 

18 transmittal of the report under subsection (a), the Com19 mission shall transmit a final report to the President and 

20 the Congress. The final report shall contain a detailed 

21 statement of the findings and conclusions of the Commis22 sion, together with its recommendations. 

23 SEC. 108. ACTION ON REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS. 

24 (a) PRESIDENTIAL RESPONSE.—Not later than 30 

25 days after receiving a report from the Commission under 


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1 section 107(a) or (b), the President shall transmit to Con2 gress a response consisting of either approval or dis3 approval of each of the recommendations contained in the 

4 report from the Commission. Such response shall include 

5 an explanation for the disapproval of any such rec6 ommendation. 

7 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The appropriate Federal of8 ficials shall, unless a joint resolution described in sub9 section (c) is enacted pursuant to this section, implement 

10 all recommendations approved by the President under sub11 section (a). 

12 (c) TERMS OF THE RESOLUTION.—For purposes of 

13 subsection (b), the term ‘‘joint resolution’’ means only a 

14 joint resolution which is introduced within the 10-day pe15 riod beginning on the date on which the President trans16 mits the response to the Congress under subsection (a), 

17 and— 

18 (1) which does not have a preamble; 

19 (2) the matter after the resolving clause of 

20 which is as follows ‘‘That Congress disapproves the 

21 recommendations of the National Commission on 

22 Energy Security and Transition to New Fuels as 

23 submitted by the President on lllll’’, the 

24 blank space being filled in with the appropriate date; 

25 and 


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1 (3) the title of which is as follows: ‘‘Joint reso2 lution disapproving the recommendations of the Na3 tional Commission on Energy Security and Transi4 tion to New Fuels’’. 

5 (d) REFERRAL.—A resolution described in subsection 

6 (c) that is introduced in the House of Representatives 

7 shall be referred to the appropriate committees of the 

8 House of Representatives. A resolution described in sub9 section (c) introduced in the Senate shall be referred to 

10 the appropriate committees of the Senate. 

11 (e) DISCHARGE.—If the committee to which a resolu12 tion described in subsection (c) is referred has not re13 ported such resolution (or an identical resolution) by the 

14 end of the 20-day period beginning on the date on which 

15 the President transmits the response to the Congress 

16 under subsection (a), such committee shall be, at the end 

17 of such period, discharged from further consideration of 

18 such resolution, and such resolution shall be placed on the 

19 appropriate calender of the House involved. 

20 (f) CONSIDERATION.—(1) On or after the third day 

21 after the date on which the committee to which such a 

22 resolution is referred has reported, or has been discharged 

23 (under subsection (e)) from further consideration of, such 

24 a resolution, it is in order (even though a previous motion 

25 to the same effect has been disagreed to) for any Member 


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1 of the respective House to move to proceed to the consider2 ation of the resolution. A Member may make the motion 

3 only on the day after the calender day on which the Mem4 ber announces to the House concerned the Member’s in5 tention to make the motion, except that, in the case of 

6 the House of Representatives, the motion may be made 

7 without such prior announcement if the motion is made 

8 by direction of the committee to which the resolution was 

9 referred. All points of order against the resolution (and 

10 against consideration of the resolution) are waived. The 

11 motion is highly privileged in the House of Representatives 

12 and is privileged in the Senate and is not debatable. The 

13 motion is not subject to amendment, or to a motion to 

14 postpone, or to a motion to proceed to the consideration 

15 of other business. A motion to reconsider the vote by 

16 which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not 

17 be in order. If a motion to proceed to the consideration 

18 of the resolution is agreed to, the respective House shall 

19 immediately proceed to consideration of the joint resolu20 tion without intervening motion, order, or other business, 

21 and the resolution shall remain the unfinished business of 

22 the respective House until disposed of. 

23 (2) Debate on the resolution, and on all debatable 

24 motions and appeals in connection therewith, shall be lim25 ited to not more than 2 hours, which shall be divided 


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1 equally between those favoring and those opposing the res2 olution. An amendment to the resolution is not in order. 

3 A motion to postpone, or a motion to proceed to the con4 sideration of other business, or a motion to recommit the 

5 resolution is not in order. A motion to reconsider the vote 

6 by which the resolution is agreed to or disagreed to is not 

7 in order. 

8 (3) Immediately following the conclusion of the de9 bate on a resolution described in subsection (c) and a sin10 gle quorum call at the conclusion of the debate if re11 quested in accordance with the rules of the appropriate 

12 House, the vote on final passage of the resolution shall 

13 occur. 

14 (4) Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating 

15 to the application of the rules of the Senate or the House 

16 of Representatives, as the case may be, to the procedure 

17 relating to a resolution described in subsection (c) shall 

18 be decided without debate. 

19 (g) CONSIDERATION BY OTHER HOUSE.—(1) If, be20 fore the passage by one House of a resolution of that 

21 House described in subsection (c), that House receives 

22 from the other House a resolution described in subsection 

23 (c), then the following procedures shall apply: 

24 (A) The resolution of the other House shall not 

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1 ered in the House receiving it except in the case of 

2 final passage as provided in subparagraph (B)(ii). 

3 (B) With respect to a resolution described in 

4 subsection (c) of the House receiving the resolu5 tion— 

6 (i) the procedure in that House shall be 

7 the same as if no resolution had been received 

8 from the other House; but 

9 (ii) the vote on final passage shall be on 

10 the resolution of the other House. 

11 (2) Upon disposition of the resolution received from 

12 the other House, it shall no longer be in order to consider 

13 the resolution that originated in the receiving House. 

14 (h) RULES OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE.—This sec15 tion is enacted by Congress— 

16 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

17 the Senate and House of Representatives, respec18 tively, and as such it is deemed a part of the rules 

19 of each House, respectively, but applicable only with 

20 respect to the procedure to be followed in that 

21 House in the case of a resolution described in sub22 section (c), and it supersedes other rules only to the 

23 extent that it is inconsistent with such rules; and 

24 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

25 right of either House to change the rules (so far as 


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1 relating to the procedure of that House) at any time, 

2 in the same manner, and to the same extent as in 

3 the case of any other rule of that House. 

4 SEC. 109. TERMINATION. 

5 The Commission shall terminate 60 days after trans6 mitting its final report pursuant to section 107(b). 

7 TITLE II—NEW MANHATTAN 

8 CENTER FOR HIGH EFFI9 CIENCY VEHICLES 

10 SEC. 201. FINDINGS. 

11 The Congress finds that— 

12 (1) private, academic, and government research 

13 and development resources need to be focused and 

14 coordinated to accomplish the rapid commercializa15 tion and deployment of technologies and resources 

16 needed to achieve energy independence; 

17 (2) a project similar to the Manhattan Project 

18 is needed to bring national attention to the need for 

19 energy independence and to move the United States 

20 beyond its reliance on oil and gasoline; 

21 (3) an independent entity is needed to identify 

22 the areas where scientific breakthroughs and govern23 ment investment are best focused, in coordination 

24 with private and academic efforts, to encourage the 

25 commercial development of viable vehicle and fuel 


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1 technologies in areas such as efficiency, biomass, 

2 and hydrogen that could play a role in reducing de3 mand for oil and meeting growing domestic eco4 nomic needs for fuel; 

5 (4) such an entity could encourage the develop6 ment of those technologies, help break through pri7 vate sector risk barriers to their development, and 

8 advise Congress and the President on policies needed 

9 to foster their use; and 

10 (5) such an effort would improve the Nation’s 

11 energy and national security by lowering demand for 

12 petroleum, increasing domestic fuel supplies, cre13 ating jobs, and improving the environment. 

14 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this title— 

16 (1) ADVISORY COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Advisory 

17 Council’’ means the Advisory Council established 

18 under section 204. 

19 (2) CENTER.—The term ‘‘Center’’ means the 

20 New Manhattan Center for High Efficiency Vehicles 

21 established under section 203(c). 

22 (3) RESEARCH.—The term ‘‘research’’ includes 

23 research on the technologies, materials, and manu24 facturing processes required for high efficiency vehi25 cles. 


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1 SEC. 203. NEW MANHATTAN CENTER FOR HIGH EFFI2 CIENCY VEHICLES. 

3 (a) SUMMIT.—Not later than 60 days after the date 

4 of enactment of this Act, the President shall convene a 

5 summit of the principal advisors and directors of all pro6 grams in the Federal Government related to the develop7 ment of vehicle (or related and component parts) tech8 nologies and alternative fuels, including ethanol and 

9 biofuels, electric drive, and hydrogen. Such summit shall 

10 include leading researchers at the Federal laboratories and 

11 representatives of private sector partners, and affiliated 

12 labor unions, engaged in the production and manufac13 turing of these vehicle and fuel technologies. The summit 

14 shall be for the purpose of— 

15 (1) reviewing the progress and promise for each 

16 of these technologies toward increasing fuel econ17 omy, the interrelationship of these technologies to 

18 each other, and additional funding resources needed 

19 to accelerate the progress of these programs toward 

20 improving efficiency and economy dramatically in 

21 the next decade, including review of technology de22 veloped and lessons learned from the Federal Gov23 ernment’s initiative known as the Partnership for a 

24 New Generation of Vehicles; and 


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1 (2) making recommendations as to the organi2 zation and structure of the Center described in this 

3 section. 

4 (b) PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Energy, in con5 sultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of 

6 Transportation, and the Administrator of the Environ7 mental Protection Agency, shall carry out a program con8 sisting of a collaborative effort with industry, government, 

9 and academia to support research, development, dem10 onstration, and commercial application activities related to 

11 high efficiency vehicles. Such program shall include exam12 ination of motors, clutches, sensors, controllers, cooling 

13 systems, variable combustion engine technologies, flexible 

14 fueled and dual fuel fueling systems, hybrid electric flexi15 ble fuel vehicles, electric drive accessory components, and 

16 advanced batteries in an effort to— 

17 (1) reduce production costs to the lowest pos18 sible level, with special emphasis on identifying elec19 tric drive components and systems that can be ad20 vanced through research and development toward 

21 commercialization; 

22 (2) increase fuel economy; and 

23 (3) coordinate related Federal research, devel24 opment, and commercialization programs in accordVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:31 Mar 03, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1300.IS H1300

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1 ance with the recommendations resulting from the 

2 summit convened under subsection (a). 

3 (c) GRANTS.—Such program shall consist of grants 

4 to— 

5 (1) the Center, made in accordance with the 

6 memorandum of understanding entered into under 

7 subsection (e); 

8 (2) researchers, including Center participants; 

9 (3) small businesses; 

10 (4) National Laboratories; and 

11 (5) institutions of higher education. 

12 (d) CENTER.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

13 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall 

14 competitively select a consortium to serve as the New 

15 Manhattan Center for High Efficiency Vehicles, which 

16 shall consist of participants who are private, for-profit 

17 United States firms, open to large and small businesses, 

18 that, as a group, are broadly representative of United 

19 States high efficiency vehicle research, development, infra20 structure, and manufacturing expertise as a whole. 

21 (e) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—The Sec22 retary of Energy shall enter into a memorandum of under23 standing with the Center for the purposes of this title. The 

24 memorandum of understanding shall require the following: 

25 (1) That the Center shall have— 


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1 (A) a charter agreed to by all representa2 tives of the automotive industry that are par3 ticipating members of the Center; and 

4 (B) an annual operating plan that is devel5 oped in the consultation with the Secretary of 

6 Energy and the Advisory Council. 

7 (2) That the total amount of funds made avail8 able to the Center by Federal, State, and local gov9 ernment agencies for any fiscal year for the support 

10 of the research and development activities of the 

11 Center under this section may not exceed 50 percent 

12 of the total cost of such activities. 

13 (3) That the Center, in conducting research 

14 and development activities pursuant to the memo15 randum of understanding, cooperate with and draw 

16 on the expertise of the National Laboratories of the 

17 Department of Energy and of colleges and univer18 sities in the United States in the field of automotive 

19 manufacturing technology. 

20 (4) That an independent, commercial auditor be 

21 retained— 

22 (A) to determine the extent to which the 

23 funds made available to the Center by the 

24 United States for the research and development 

25 activities of the Center have been expended in 


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1 a manner that is consistent withe the purposes 

2 of this title, the charter of the Center, and the 

3 annual operating plan of the Center; and 

4 (B) to submit to the Secretary of Energy, 

5 the Center, and the Comptroller General of the 

6 United States an annual report containing the 

7 findings and determinations of such auditor. 

8 (5) That the Center take all steps necessary to 

9 maximize the expeditious and timely transfer of 

10 technology developed and owned by the Center to the 

11 participants in the Center in accordance with the 

12 agreement between the Center and those partici13 pants and for the purpose of improving the high effi14 ciency vehicle manufacturing productivity of United 

15 States automotive firms. 

16 (f) COST SHARING.—In carrying out this section, the 

17 Secretary of Energy shall require cost sharing in accord18 ance with section 988 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 

19 (42 U.S.C. 16352). 

20 (g) RIGHTS TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.—The 

21 Secretary of Energy may require (in accordance with sec22 tion 202(a)(ii) of title 35, United States Code, section 152 

23 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2182), and 

24 section 9 of the Federal Nonnuclear Energy Research and 


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1 Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5908)) that for any 

2 new invention developed under this title— 

3 (1) the Center participants who are active par4 ticipants in research, development, and demonstra5 tion activities related to the high efficiency vehicle 

6 technologies that are covered by this section shall be 

7 granted the first option to negotiate with the inven8 tion owner, at least in the field of high efficiency ve9 hicles, nonexclusive licenses and royalties on terms 

10 that are reasonable under the circumstances; 

11 (2) for 1 year after a United States patent is 

12 issued for the invention— 

13 (A) the patent holder shall not negotiate 

14 any license or royalty with any entity that is 

15 not a participant in the Center; and 

16 (B) the patent holder shall negotiate non17 exclusive licenses and royalties in good faith 

18 with any interested participant in the Center; 

19 and 

20 (3) such other terms are applied as the Sec21 retary determines are required to promote acceler22 ated commercialization of inventions made under 

23 this section. 

24 (h) NATIONAL ACADEMY REVIEW.—The Secretary of 

25 Energy shall enter into an arrangement with the National 


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1 Academy of Sciences to conduct periodic reviews of the 

2 program under this section. 

3 SEC. 204. ADVISORY COUNCIL. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Advi5 sory Council on Federal Participation in the New Manhat6 tan Center for High Efficiency Vehicles. 

7 (b) FUNCTIONS.—(1) The Advisory Council shall ad8 vise the Center and the Secretary of Energy on appro9 priate technology goals for the research and development 

10 activities of the Center, and shall develop a plan to achieve 

11 those goals. The plan shall provide for the development 

12 of high-quality, high-yield high efficiency vehicle manufac13 turing technologies that meet the national energy security 

14 and commercial needs of the United States. 

15 (2) The Advisory Council shall— 

16 (A) conduct an annual review of the activities 

17 of the Center for the purpose of determining the ex18 tent of the progress made by the Center in carrying 

19 out the plan referred to in paragraph (1); and 

20 (B) on the basis of its determinations under 

21 subparagraph (A), submit to the Center any rec22 ommendations for modification of the plan or the 

23 technological goals in the plan considered appro24 priate by the Advisory Council. 


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1 (3) The Advisory Council shall review the research 

2 activities of the Center and shall submit to the Secretary 

3 of Energy and the Congress an annual report containing 

4 a description of the extent to which the Center is achieving 

5 its research and development goals. 

6 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Council shall be 

7 composed of 12 members as follows: 

8 (1) The Under Secretary for Science of the De9 partment of Energy. 

10 (2) The Administrator of the Research and In11 novative Technology Administration. 

12 (3) The Director of the National Science Foun13 dation. 

14 (4) The Chairman of the Federal Laboratory 

15 Consortium for Technology Transfer. 

16 (5) Eight members appointed by the President 

17 as follows: 

18 (A) Three members who are eminent indi19 viduals in the automotive technology and manu20 facturing industry. 

21 (B) Two members who are eminent indi22 viduals in the fields of alternative fuels tech23 nology. 

24 (C) Two members who represent organized 

25 labor in these related manufacturing fields. 


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1 (D) One member who represents consumer 

2 interests in energy efficiency and conservation. 

3 (d) TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP.—Each member of the 

4 Advisory Council appointed under subsection (c)(5) shall 

5 be appointed for a term of three years, except that of the 

6 members first appointed, two shall be appointed for a term 

7 of one year, two shall be appointed for a term of two years, 

8 and three shall be appointed for a term of three years, 

9 as designated by the President at the time of appointment. 

10 A member of the Advisory Council may serve after the 

11 expiration of the member’s term until a successor has 

12 taken office. 

13 (e) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Advisory Council 

14 shall not affect its powers but, in the case of a member 

15 appointed under subsection (c)(5), shall be filled in the 

16 same manner as the original appointment was made. Any 

17 member appointed to fill a vacancy for an unexpired term 

18 shall be appointed for the remainder of such term. 

19 (f) QUORUM.—Seven members of the Advisory Coun20 cil shall constitute a quorum. 

21 (g) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Council shall meet at 

22 the call of the Chairman or a majority of its members. 

23 (h) COMPENSATION.—(1) Each member of the Advi24 sory Council shall serve without compensation. 


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1 (2) While away from their homes or regular places 

2 of business in the performance of duties for the Advisory 

3 Council, members of the Advisory Council shall be allowed 

4 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, 

5 at rates authorized for employees of agencies under sec6 tions 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United States Code. 

7 (i) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—Section 

8 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

9 App.) shall not apply to the Advisory Council. 

10 SEC. 205. RESPONSIBILITIES. 

11 The Comptroller General of the United States shall— 

12 (1) review the annual reports of the auditor 

13 submitted to the Comptroller General in accordance 

14 with section 202(d)(4)(B); and 

15 (2) transmit to the Congress comments of the 

16 accuracy and completeness of those reports, and any 

17 additional comments on the reports that the Comp18 troller General considers appropriate. 

19 SEC. 206. EXPORT OF HIGH-EFFICIENCY VEHICLE MANU20 FACTURING. 

21 Any export of materials, equipment, and technology 

22 developed by the Center in whole or in part with financial 

23 assistance provided under this title shall be subject to the 

24 Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2401 

25 et seq.), as continued in effect under the International 


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1 Emergency Economic Powers Act, and shall not be subject 

2 to the Arms Export Control Act. 

3 SEC. 207. PROTECTION OF INFORMATION. 

4 (a) FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.—Section 552 

5 of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to informa6 tion obtained by the Federal Government on a confidential 

7 basis under this title. 

8 (b) INFORMATION.—Notwithstanding any other pro9 vision of law, intellectual property, trade secrets, and tech10 nical data owned and developed by the Center or any of 

11 the participants in the Center may not be disclosed by any 

12 officer or employee of the Department of Energy except 

13 as provided in the provision included in the memorandum 

14 of understanding pursuant to section 202(d). 

15 SEC. 208. AUTHORIZATION ON APPROPRIATIONS. 

16 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec17 retary of Energy for carrying out this title $500,000,000 

18 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2017. 

19 SEC. 209. ADVANCED BATTERY LOAN GUARANTEE PRO20 GRAM. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary 

22 of Energy shall establish a program to provide guarantees 

23 of loans by private institutions for the construction of fa24 cilities for the manufacture of advanced vehicle batteries 


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1 that are developed and produced in the United States, in2 cluding advanced lithium ion batteries. 

3 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary may provide a 

4 loan guarantee under subsection (a) to an applicant if— 

5 (1) without a loan guarantee, credit is not 

6 available to the applicant under reasonable terms or 

7 conditions sufficient to finance the construction of a 

8 facility described in subsection (a); 

9 (2) the prospective earning power of the appli10 cant and the character and value of the security 

11 pledged provide a reasonable assurance of repayment 

12 of the loan to be guaranteed in accordance with the 

13 terms of the loan; and 

14 (3) the loan bears interest at a rate determined 

15 by the Secretary to be reasonable, taking into ac16 count the current average yield on outstanding obli17 gations of the United States with remaining periods 

18 of maturity comparable to the maturity of the loan. 

19 (c) CRITERIA.—In selecting recipients of loan guar20 antees from among applicants, the Secretary shall give 

21 preference to proposals that— 

22 (1) meet all applicable Federal and State per23 mitting requirements; 

24 (2) are most likely to be successful; and 


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1 (3) are located in local markets that have the 

2 greatest need for the facility. 

3 (d) MATURITY.—A loan guaranteed under subsection 

4 (a) shall have a maturity of not more than 20 years. 

5 (e) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The loan agreement 

6 for a loan guaranteed under subsection (a) shall provide 

7 that no provision of the loan agreement may be amended 

8 or waived without the consent of the Secretary. 

9 (f) ASSURANCE OF REPAYMENT.—The Secretary 

10 shall require that an applicant for a loan guarantee under 

11 subsection (a) provide an assurance of repayment in the 

12 form of a performance bond, insurance, collateral, or other 

13 means acceptable to the Secretary in an amount equal to 

14 not less than 20 percent of the amount of the loan. 

15 (g) GUARANTEE FEE.—The recipient of a loan guar16 antee under subsection (a) shall pay the Secretary an 

17 amount determined by the Secretary to be sufficient to 

18 cover the administrative costs of the Secretary relating to 

19 the loan guarantee. 

20 (h) FULL FAITH AND CREDIT.—The full faith and 

21 credit of the United States is pledged to the payment of 

22 all guarantees made under this section. Any such guar23 antee made by the Secretary shall be conclusive evidence 

24 of the eligibility of the loan for the guarantee with respect 

25 to principal and interest. The validity of the guarantee 


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1 shall be incontestable in the hands of a holder of the guar2 anteed loan. 

3 (i) REPORTS.—Until each guaranteed loan under this 

4 section has been repaid in full, the Secretary shall annu5 ally submit to Congress a report on the activities of the 

6 Secretary under this section. 

7 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec9 essary to carry out this section. 

10 (k) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority of 

11 the Secretary to issue a loan guarantee under subsection 

12 (a) terminates on the date that is 10 years after the date 

13 of enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 210. DOMESTIC MANUFACTURING CONVERSION 

15 GRANT PROGRAM. 

16 Section 712 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

17 U.S.C. 16062) is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a)— 

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘and components thereof, 

20 including vehicles and components derived from 

21 the activities of the New Manhattan Center for 

22 High Efficiency Vehicles’’ after ‘‘sales of effi23 cient hybrid and advanced diesel vehicles’’; 


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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘, plug-in electric hybrid, 

2 flexible-fuel,’’ after ‘‘production of efficient hy3 brid’’; and 

4 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘Priority shall be given to the refurbishment or 

6 retooling of manufacturing facilities that have 

7 recently ceased operation or will cease operation 

8 in the near future.’’; and 

9 (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION WITH STATE AND LOCAL PRO12 GRAMS.—The Secretary may coordinate implementation of 

13 this section with State and local programs designed to ac14 complish similar goals, including the retention and retrain15 ing of skilled workers from the such manufacturing facili16 ties, including by establishing matching grant arrange17 ments. 

18 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for car20 rying out this section— 

21 ‘‘(1) $200,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 

22 2008 through 2012; and 

23 ‘‘(2) such sums as may be necessary for each 

24 of the fiscal years 2013 through 2016.’’. 


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1 TITLE III—BIOFUELS INFRA2 STRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT 

3 SEC. 301. BIOFUELS INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT. 

4 (a) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Energy 

5 shall establish a program for making grants for providing 

6 assistance to retail and wholesale motor fuel dealers or 

7 other entities for the installation, replacement, or conver8 sion of motor fuel storage and dispensing infrastructure 

9 to be used exclusively to store and dispense biobased fuel 

10 (as defined in section 303(2) of the Biomass Research and 

11 Development Act of 2000 (7 U.S.C. 8101 note)), including 

12 E–85 gasoline, biodiesel, or biodiesel blended fuel. Such 

13 infrastructure may include equipment used in the blend14 ing, distribution, and transport of such fuels. 

15 (b) RETAIL TECHNICAL AND MARKETING ASSIST16 ANCE.—The Secretary of Energy shall enter into contracts 

17 with entities with demonstrated experience in assisting re18 tail fueling stations in installing refueling systems and 

19 marketing alternative fuels nationally, for the provision of 

20 technical and marketing assistance to recipients of grants 

21 under this section. Such assistance shall include— 

22 (1) technical advice for compliance with applica23 ble Federal and State environmental requirements; 

24 (2) help in identifying supply sources and se25 curing long-term contracts; and 


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1 (3) provision of public outreach, education, and 

2 labeling materials. 

3 (c) ALLOCATION.—Grants under this section shall be 

4 made to applicants based upon criteria that will maximize 

5 the availability and use of the alternative fuel, and that 

6 will ensure that alternative fuels are available across the 

7 country, such as population, number of vehicles that can 

8 operate on E–85, number of diesel powered vehicles, num9 ber of retail fuel outlets, and saturation of vehicles capable 

10 of operating on the fuels described in subsection (a). The 

11 Secretary of Energy may also reserve funds appropriated 

12 for carrying out this section to support biofuels infrastruc13 ture development projects with a cost of greater than 

14 $1,000,000, that are of national significance. The Sec15 retary shall reserve funds appropriated for the biofuels in16 frastructure development grant program for technical and 

17 marketing assistance described in subsection (b). Grants 

18 shall be prioritized based on criteria that include— 

19 (1) the public demand for each alternative fuel 

20 in a particular geographic area based on State reg21 istration records showing the number of automobiles 

22 that can be operated with alternative fuel; and 

23 (2) the opportunity to create or expand cor24 ridors of alternative fuel stations along interstate or 

25 State highways. 


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1 (d) COMBINED APPLICATIONS.—States and local gov2 ernment entities and nonprofit entities may apply for as3 sistance under this section on behalf of a group of retailers 

4 within a certain geographic area, or to carry out regional 

5 or multistate deployment projects. Any such application 

6 shall certify the availability and details of a program to 

7 match the Federal grant as required under subsection (e) 

8 and list the retail locations that would receive the funds. 

9 (e) LIMITATIONS.—Assistance provided under this 

10 section shall not exceed— 

11 (1) 33 percent of the estimated cost of the in12 stallation, replacement, or conversion of motor fuel 

13 storage and dispensing infrastructure; or 

14 (2) $180,000 for a combination of equipment at 

15 any one retail outlet. 

16 (f) OPERATION OF ALTERNATIVE FUEL STATIONS.— 

17 The Secretary shall establish rules that set forth require18 ments for grant recipients under this section that include 

19 providing to the public the alternative fuel, establishing 

20 a marketing plan that informs consumers of the price and 

21 availability of the alternative fuel, clearly labeling the dis22 pensers and related equipment, and providing periodic re23 ports on the status of the alternative fuel sales, the type 

24 and amount of the alternative fuel dispensed at each loca25 tion, and the average price of such fuel. 


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1 (g) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 

2 the date on which each alternative fuel station begins to 

3 offer alternative fuel to the public, the grant recipient that 

4 used grant funds to construct or upgrade such station 

5 shall notify the Secretary of Energy of such opening. The 

6 Secretary of Energy shall add each new alternative fuel 

7 station to the alternative fuel station locator on its 

8 Website when it receives notification under this sub9 section. 

10 (h) INELIGIBILITY.—No person may receive assist11 ance under this section and receive a credit under section 

12 30C of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

13 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of En15 ergy for carrying out this section $200,000,000 for each 

16 of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012, and such sums as 

17 may be necessary thereafter. 

18 TITLE IV—GOVERNMENT USE 

19 AND DIVERSITY OF SUPPLY 

20 SEC. 401. RENEWABLE FUEL REGULATIONS. 

21 The Secretary of Energy shall issue regulations under 

22 section 212 of the Clean Air Act (as added by section 1511 

23 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005) to provide for cellulosic 

24 ethanol production loan guarantees and issue a request for 


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1 proposals under subsection (b) of such section 212 within 

2 90 days after the enactment of this Act. 

3 SEC. 402. GRANTS FOR CELLULOSIC ETHANOL PRODUC4 TION. 

5 Subsection (s) of section 211 of the Clean Air Act 

6 is redesignated as subsection (t) and subsection (r) of such 

7 section 211 (as added by section 1512 of the Energy Pol8 icy Act of 2005), relating to conversion assistance for cel9 lulosic biomass, waste-derived ethanol, and approved re10 newable fuels, is redesignated as subsection (s) and 

11 amended as follows: 

12 (1) By adding the following new subparagraphs 

13 at the end of paragraph (3): 

14 ‘‘(D) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2009. 

15 ‘‘(E) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2010.’’. 

16 (2) By adding the following new paragraph at 

17 the end thereof: 

18 ‘‘(5) GEOGRAPHICAL DISPERSION.—The grants 

19 under this subsection shall be made to recipients dis20 tributed regionally across the country in such man21 ner that an eligible production facility is constructed 

22 in each PADD (and each of the subpads in PADD 

23 1) throughout the country with each such facility 

24 using, to the extent possible, a different feedstock 

25 material.’’. 


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1 SEC. 403. STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS FOR BIODIESEL. 

2 Section 211 of the Clean Air Act is amended by add3 ing the following new subsection at the end thereof: 

4 ‘‘(u) STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS FOR BIODIESEL.— 

5 Not later than 180 days after the enactment of this sub6 section, the Administrator shall promulgate regulations es7 tablishing a series of uniform per gallon fuel standards 

8 for categories of biodiesel fuel and designate an identifica9 tion number for fuel meeting each the standard in each 

10 such category so that vehicle manufacturers are able to 

11 design engines to use biodiesel fuel meeting one or more 

12 of such standards.’’. 

13 SEC. 404. REQUIREMENT FOR GREATER USE OF ALTER14 NATIVE FUELS IN FEDERAL FLEET. 

15 Section 400AA(a)(3)(E) of the Energy Policy and 

16 Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6374(a)(3)(E)) is amended 

17 by adding at the end the following new clauses: 

18 ‘‘(iii) The report under clause (ii) also shall include 

19 an identification of the geographic areas where the alter20 native fuel required to be used in dual fueled vehicles ac21 quired pursuant to this section is not reasonably available, 

22 as certified under clause (i)(I), and a list of such areas 

23 where it would be most beneficial, in order of priority, to 

24 install a pump for dispensing a fuel known as E–85 or 

25 biodiesel fuel for such vehicles. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) The Secretary may not grant a waiver under 

2 clause (i) in any fiscal year following a fiscal year in which 

3 the report under clause (ii) is not filed. In the case of 

4 an agency that receives a waiver under clause (i) for 2 

5 successive fiscal years, the agency shall submit to the Sec6 retary and Congress recommendations for solving the 

7 problems causing the need for the waiver.’’. 

8 SEC. 405. REQUIREMENT FOR INSPECTOR GENERAL INVES9 TIGATIONS RELATING TO ALTERNATIVE 

10 FUEL USE AND SUPPLY IN FEDERAL AGEN11 CIES AND REGULATIONS. 

12 (a) REQUIREMENT.—The Inspector General of each 

13 department or agency shall conduct a comprehensive in14 vestigation into alternative fuel use and supply within the 

15 department or agency to identify the reasons why alter16 native fuels are not being used in all dual fueled vehicles 

17 operated by the department or agency. 

18 (b) MATTERS COVERED.—At a minimum, the inves19 tigation required under subsection (a) shall cover the fol20 lowing: 

21 (1) The location of the dual fueled vehicles op22 erated by the department or agency and the location 

23 of the nearest alternative fuel pumps. 

24 (2) Whether dual fueled vehicles operated by 

25 the department or agency would make better use of 


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1 alternative fuel if the vehicles were redeployed to 

2 other geographic areas. 

3 (3) The steps undertaken by the head of the de4 partment or agency to ensure that the dual fueled 

5 vehicles use alternative fuel, including— 

6 (A) whether such use is a priority for the 

7 department or agency; and 

8 (B) whether and how often waivers are 

9 sought and obtained under section 

10 400AA(a)(3)(E) of the Energy Policy and Con11 servation Act (42 U.S.C. 6374(a)(3)(E)). 

12 (4) The manner in which use of alternative fuel 

13 is kept track of in vehicles leased by the department 

14 or agency. 

15 (c) REPORT.—The Inspector General of each depart16 ment or agency shall submit to Congress a report on the 

17 investigation conducted under subsection (a) not later 

18 than January 3, 2008. The report shall include the results 

19 of the investigation and recommendations by the Inspector 

20 General for increased use of alternative fuels in the dual 

21 fueled vehicles operated by the department or agency. 

22 SEC. 406. REPORT ON VEHICLES AND INFRASTRUCTURE 

23 FOR ALTERNATIVE FUEL USE. 

24 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact25 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit 


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1 to Congress a report that identifies, across the Armed 

2 Forces, the locations and concentrations of flex-fuel vehi3 cles in the current and planned inventory of the Depart4 ment of Defense, as well as the diesel engine vehicles and 

5 equipment, so as to prioritize the location and placement 

6 of new alternative fuel infrastructure to maximize the use 

7 of alternative fuels (such as E–85 and biodiesel) in vehi8 cles acquired under the requirements of the Energy Policy 

9 Act of 1992. The report shall also identify the locations 

10 that are currently served by contract or commercial avail11 ability, and contain recommendations for future coordina12 tion and use of commercial outlets of alternative fuels. 

13 SEC. 407. FUNDS SET ASIDE FOR ALTERNATIVE FUEL IN14 FRASTRUCTURE. 

15 (a) PERCENTAGE REQUIRED.—Of the amounts ap16 propriated or otherwise made available for a fiscal year 

17 for activities of the Defense Energy Support Center of the 

18 Defense Logistics Agency for noncombat fuel infrastruc19 ture, not less than 5 percent shall be available only for 

20 alternative fuel (such as E–85 and biodiesel) infrastruc21 ture. 

22 (b) TERMINATION.—The requirement of subsection 

23 (a) terminates as of the date on which the Secretary of 

24 Defense submits to Congress the Secretary’s certification 

25 that the Department of Defense can run all noncombat 


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1 flex-fuel vehicles in the inventory of the Department on 

2 alternative fuels (such as E–85 and biodiesel). 

3 SEC. 408. AUTHORITY FOR DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE TO 

4 ENTER INTO LONG-TERM CONTRACTS TO 

5 PROCURE BIOBASED FUEL AND UNCONVEN6 TIONAL FUEL. 

7 Section 2922d of title 10, United States Code, is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (b), by inserting after ‘‘cov10 ered fuel’’ the following: ‘‘, biobased fuel, or coal-to11 liquid fuel’’; 

12 (2) in subsection (d)— 

13 (A) by inserting after ‘‘covered fuel’’ the 

14 following: ‘‘, biobased fuel, or coal-to-liquid 

15 fuel’’; and 

16 (B) by striking ‘‘1 or more years’’ and in17 serting ‘‘up to 25 years’’; and 

18 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub19 section: 

20 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 ‘‘(1) The term ‘biobased fuel’ has the meaning 

22 provided in section 303(2) of the Biomass Research 

23 and Development Act of 2000 (7 U.S.C. 8101 

24 note)), including E–85 gasoline, biodiesel, or bio25 diesel blended fuel. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The term ‘coal-to-liquid fuel’ means a fuel 

2 produced from a coal-to-liquid process or technology 

3 in a coal-to-liquid facility. 

4 ‘‘(3) The term ‘coal-to-liquid’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) with respect to a process or tech6 nology, the use of the coal resources of the 

7 United States, using the class of chemical reac8 tions known as Fischer-Tropsch, to produce 

9 synthetic fuel suitable for transportation; and 

10 ‘‘(B) with respect to a facility, the portion 

11 of a facility related to the Fischer-Tropsch 

12 process, or related to Fischer-Tropsch finished 

13 fuel production, that ensures the capture, trans14 portation, and sequestration of byproducts of 

15 the use of coal at the facility, including carbon 

16 emissions.’’. 

17 SEC. 409. FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR PLUG-IN HYBRID ELEC18 TRIC VEHICLES. 

19 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 301 of the Energy Policy 

20 Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13211) is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (8)— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara23 graph (A); 

24 (B) by inserting ‘‘or’’ at the end of sub25 paragraph (B); and 


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1 (C) by adding after subparagraph (B) the 

2 following new subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(C) a hybrid electric vehicle;’’; 

4 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (11), (12), 

5 (13), and (14) as paragraphs (12), (13), (14), and 

6 (16) respectively; 

7 (3) by inserting after paragraph (10) the fol8 lowing new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(11) the term ‘hybrid electric vehicle’ means a 

10 vehicle that— 

11 ‘‘(A) can operate on either liquid combus12 tible fuel or electric power provided by an on13 board battery; and 

14 ‘‘(B) utilizes regenerative power capture 

15 technology to recover energy expended in brak16 ing the vehicle for use in recharging the bat17 tery;’’; 

18 (4) in paragraph (14), as so redesignated by 

19 paragraph (2) of this subsection, by striking ‘‘and’’ 

20 at the end; and 

21 (5) by inserting after paragraph (14), as so re22 designated by paragraph (2) of this subsection, the 

23 following new paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(15) the term ‘plug-in hybrid electric vehicle’ 

25 means a hybrid electric vehicle that can operate soleVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:31 Mar 03, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1300.IS H1300

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1 ly on electric power for a minimum of 20 miles 

2 under city driving conditions, and that is capable of 

3 recharging its battery from an offboard electricity 

4 source; and’’. 

5 (b) PLUG-IN HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE MATCHING

6 GRANTS.— 

7 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of En8 ergy shall establish a competitive grant program to 

9 provide not more than 25 grants annually to State 

10 governments, local governments, metropolitan trans11 portation authorities, or combinations thereof for the 

12 purposes of procuring and testing plug-in hybrid 

13 electric vehicles. 

14 (2) APPLICATIONS.— 

15 (A) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall 

16 issue requirements for applying for grants 

17 under the program. The Secretary shall require 

18 that applications, at a minimum, include a de19 scription of how data will be— 

20 (i) collected on the— 

21 (I) performance of the vehicle or 

22 vehicles and the components, includ23 ing the battery, energy management, 

24 and charging systems, under various 


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1 driving speeds, trip ranges, traffic, 

2 and other driving conditions; 

3 (II) costs of the vehicle or vehi4 cles, including acquisition, operating, 

5 and maintenance costs, and how the 

6 project or projects will be self-sus7 taining after Federal assistance is 

8 completed; and 

9 (III) emissions of the vehicle or 

10 vehicles, including greenhouse gases, 

11 and the amount of petroleum dis12 placed as a result of the project or 

13 projects; and 

14 (ii) summarized for dissemination to 

15 the Department of Energy, other grantees, 

16 and the public. 

17 (B) PARTNERS.—An applicant under sub18 paragraph (A) may carry out a project or 

19 projects in partnership with one or more private 

20 entities. 

21 (C) RESTRICTIONS.—The Secretary shall 

22 award grants under this subsection with geo23 graphic diversity such that there is at least one 

24 recipient government partner in every PADD, 


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1 and in every Sub-PADD in the case of PADD 

2 1. 

3 (c) REPORT.—The Secretary of Energy shall report 

4 to Congress on the potential for Federal Government pro5 curement and acquisition of plug-in electric hybrid vehi6 cles, including a proposed schedule for the acquisition of 

7 such vehicles, and including possible participation in com8 mitment programs such as the National Plug-in Partners 

9 Campaign. 

10 SEC. 410. CONGRESSIONAL ALTERNATIVE FUEL USE IN VE11 HICLES. 

12 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 

13 (1) Members of Congress should follow their 

14 own example of setting forth legislation that encour15 ages the use of alternatively fueled vehicles; 

16 (2) in 2005, the total cost of automobile leases 

17 for Members of Congress surpassed $1,000,000, and 

18 a collective switch to alternative fuel vehicles, hybrid 

19 vehicles, or vehicles powered by biofuels could poten20 tially save American taxpayers thousands of dollars 

21 annually; and 

22 (3) the General Services Administration has al23 ready purchased over 68,000 alternative fueled vehi24 cles for the use of Federal customers, more than any 

25 other organization in the United States. 


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1 (b) STUDY.—Not later than 6 months after the date 

2 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

3 transmit to the Congress the results of a study, along with 

4 recommendations, as to how best to enable Members of 

5 Congress to procure alternative fuel vehicles for official 

6 use. 

7 (c) LEASING ADVICE.—The Chief Administrative Of8 ficer of the House of Representatives and the Secretary 

9 of the Senate shall advise Members of their respective bod10 ies as to the available options to lease alternative fuel vehi11 cles, including vehicles treated as alternative fuels vehicles 

12 by the Administrator of General Services under standards 

13 established by the Administrator, any other vehicles pow14 ered by alternative fuel or synthetic fuel, and any other 

15 vehicles powered in whole or in part by flexible-fuel oper16 ating systems, biofuel operating systems, electrical oper17 ating systems, or hybrid-electrical operating systems. 

18 TITLE V—TRANSIT PROMOTION 

19 AND RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE 

20 DEVELOPMENT 

21 Subtitle A—Transit 

22 SEC. 501. INCREASE AND EXPANSION OF EMPLOYER-PRO23 VIDED MASS TRANSIT FRINGE BENEFITS. 

24 (a) EQUALIZATION OF LIMITATION FOR EMPLOYER25 PROVIDED MASS TRANSIT FRINGE BENEFIT WITH LIMIVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:31 Mar 03, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1300.IS H1300

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1 TATION FOR EMPLOYER-PROVIDED PARKING FRINGE

2 BENEFIT.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (A) of section 

4 132(f)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

5 amended by striking ‘‘$100’’ and inserting ‘‘$175’’. 

6 (2) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—Subparagraph 

7 (A) of section 132(f)(6) of such Code is amended by 

8 striking the last sentence thereof. 

9 (b) EXTENSION OF TRANSPORTATION FRINGE BEN10 EFIT TO BICYCLE COMMUTERS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 

12 132(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relat13 ing to general rule for qualified transportation 

14 fringe) is amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(D) Bicycle commuting allowance.’’. 

17 (2) BICYCLE COMMUTING ALLOWANCE DE18 FINED.—Paragraph (5) of section 132(f) of such 

19 Code (relating to definitions) is amended by adding 

20 at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(F) BICYCLE COMMUTING ALLOWANCE.— 

22 The term ‘bicycle commuting allowance’ means 

23 an amount provided to an employee for trans24 portation on a bicycle if such transportation is 


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1 in connection with travel between the employ2 ee’s residence and place of employment.’’. 

3 (3) LIMITATION ON EXCLUSION.—Subpara4 graph (A) of section 132(f)(2) of such Code is 

5 amended by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (A) and (B)’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (A), (B), and (D)’’. 

7 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

8 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

9 December 31, 2006. 

10 SEC. 502. GRANTS TO IMPROVE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION 

11 SERVICES. 

12 (a) AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

13 (1) URBANIZED AREA FORMULA GRANTS.—In 

14 addition to other amounts authorized or made avail15 able, there is authorized to be appropriated 

16 $2,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 to carry out 

17 section 5307 of title 49, United States Code. 

18 (2) FORMULA GRANTS FOR OTHER THAN UR19 BANIZED AREAS.—In addition to other amounts au20 thorized or made available, there is authorized to be 

21 appropriated $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 to 

22 carry out section 5311 of such title. 

23 (b) USE OF FUNDS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Funds appropriated pursu25 ant to this section shall be used for projects that will 


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1 expand or improve public transportation services 

2 provided by existing public transportation systems, 

3 as determined by the Secretary of Transportation. 

4 (2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants using funds 

5 appropriated pursuant to subsection (a)(2), the Sec6 retary shall give priority to projects involving vehi7 cles that use clean fuels or are powered by biofuels. 

8 (c) MATCHING SHARE.— 

9 (1) DEFERRAL.—In awarding a grant for a 

10 project using funds appropriated pursuant to sub11 section (a), the Secretary may permit the recipient 

12 of the grant to defer payment of the non-Federal 

13 share of cost of the project for a period not to ex14 ceed 2 fiscal years. 

15 (2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may permit 

16 such a deferral only if the Secretary determines that 

17 the deferral will not result in a decrease in the ag18 gregate amount of funds provided by the recipient in 

19 a fiscal year for projects under section 5307 or 5311 

20 of such title, as appropriate, as compared to the pre21 ceding fiscal year. 

22 (d) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Funds appropriated 

23 pursuant to this section shall remain available until ex24 pended. 


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1 SEC. 503. STUDY OF FUEL SAVINGS FROM INTELLIGENT 

2 TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS. 

3 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

4 of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall, in consultation 

5 with the Secretary of Transportation, report to Congress 

6 on the potential fuel savings from intelligent transpor7 tation systems that help businesses and consumers to plan 

8 their travel and avoid delays. These systems may include 

9 web-based real-time transit information systems, conges10 tion information systems, carpool information systems, 

11 parking information systems, freight route management, 

12 and traffic management systems. The report shall include 

13 analysis of fuel savings, analysis of system costs, assess14 ment of local, State, and regional differences in applica15 bility, and evaluation of case studies, best practices, and 

16 emerging technologies from both the private and public 

17 sector. 

18 Subtitle B—Secure Access for 

19 Commuter Rail 

20 SEC. 511. SHORT TITLE. 

21 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Transit Rail Ac22 commodation Improvement and Needs Act’’. 

23 SEC. 512. FINDINGS. 

24 The Congress finds that— 

25 (1) modern and efficient fixed guideway trans26 portation is important to the viability and well-being 


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1 of metropolitan areas and to the energy conservation 

2 and self-sufficiency goals of the United States; 

3 (2) public convenience and necessity require the 

4 development of fixed guideway transportation sys5 tems in metropolitan areas presently without such 

6 service, and the expansion of existing systems in 

7 metropolitan areas already receiving such service; 

8 and 

9 (3) use of existing railroad trackage and rights10 of-way in and around metropolitan areas provides a 

11 unique and valuable opportunity for the development 

12 and expansion of fixed guideway transportation fa13 cilities with a minimum of disruption to the environ14 ment and the surrounding community. 

15 SEC. 513. RAIL TRANSIT ACCESS. 

16 (a) AMENDMENT.—Part E of subtitle V of title 49, 

17 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

18 following new chapter: 

19 ‘‘CHAPTER 285—RAIL TRANSIT ACCESS 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘28501. Definitions. 

‘‘28502. Shared use of rail carrier trackage by mass transportation authorities. 

‘‘28503. Shared use of rail rights-of-way by mass transportation authorities. 

‘‘28504. Applicability of other laws. 

‘‘28505. Standards for Board action. 

20 ‘‘§ 28501. Definitions 

21 ‘‘In this chapter— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Board’ means the Surface 

2 Transportation Board; 

3 ‘‘(2) the term ‘capital work’ means mainte4 nance, restoration, reconstruction, capacity enhance5 ment, or rehabilitation work on trackage that would 

6 be treated, in accordance with generally accepted ac7 counting principles, as a capital item rather than an 

8 expense; 

9 ‘‘(3) the term ‘fixed guideway transportation’ 

10 means mass transportation (as defined in section 

11 5302(a)(7)) provided on, by, or using a fixed guide12 way (as defined in section 5302(a)(4)); 

13 ‘‘(4) the term ‘mass transportation authority’ 

14 means a local governmental authority (as defined in 

15 section 5302(a)(6)) established to provide, or make 

16 a contract providing for, fixed guideway transpor17 tation; 

18 ‘‘(5) the term ‘rail carrier’ means a person, 

19 other than a governmental authority, providing com20 mon carrier railroad transportation for compensation 

21 subject to the jurisdiction of the Board under chap22 ter 105; 

23 ‘‘(6) the term ‘segregated fixed guideway facil24 ity’ means a fixed guideway facility constructed 

25 within the railroad right-of-way of a rail carrier but 


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1 physically separate from trackage, including relo2 cated trackage, within the right-of-way used by a 

3 rail carrier for freight transportation purposes; and 

4 ‘‘(7) the term ‘trackage’ means a railroad line 

5 of a rail carrier, including a spur, industrial, team, 

6 switching, side, yard, or station track, and a facility 

7 of a rail carrier. 

8 ‘‘§ 28502. Shared use of rail carrier trackage by mass 

9 transportation authorities 

10 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—If, after a reasonable period of 

11 negotiation, a mass transportation authority cannot reach 

12 agreement with a rail carrier to use trackage of, and have 

13 related services provided by, the rail carrier for purposes 

14 of fixed guideway transportation, the Board shall, upon 

15 application of the mass transportation authority or the rail 

16 carrier, and if the Board finds it necessary or useful to 

17 carry out this chapter— 

18 ‘‘(1) order that the trackage be made available 

19 and the related services be provided to the mass 

20 transportation authority; and 

21 ‘‘(2) prescribe reasonable terms and compensa22 tion for use of the trackage and provision of the re23 lated services, including the performance of capital 

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1 cient and reliable passenger operations on the track2 age to be used. 

3 ‘‘(b) STANDARD FOR COMPENSATION; QUALITY OF

4 SERVICE.—When prescribing reasonable compensation 

5 under subsection (a)(2), the Board shall consider alter6 native cost allocation principles, including incremental cost 

7 and fully allocated cost, under rules promulgated by the 

8 Board within 6 months after the date of the enactment 

9 of the Transit Rail Accommodation Improvement and 

10 Needs Act. The Board shall consider quality of service by 

11 the rail carrier as a major factor when determining com12 pensation for the use of the trackage and providing the 

13 related services. 

14 ‘‘(c) TERMS OF OPERATION.—When prescribing rea15 sonable terms under subsection (a)(2), the Board may pre16 scribe the number of trains that may be operated by or 

17 for the mass transportation authority, the speeds at which 

18 such trains may be operated, and the trackage mainte19 nance levels to be provided by the rail carrier. 

20 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL TRAINS.—When a rail carrier and 

21 a mass transportation authority cannot agree to terms for 

22 the operation of additional trains by or for a mass trans23 portation authority over a rail line of the carrier, the mass 

24 transportation authority or the rail carrier may apply to 

25 the Board for an order establishing such terms. If the 


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1 Board finds it reasonable to carry out this chapter, the 

2 Board shall order the rail carrier to allow operation of the 

3 requested additional trains on such terms as the Board 

4 finds reasonable under the circumstances. 

5 ‘‘(e) TRACKAGE MAINTENANCE.—If a mass transpor6 tation authority believes that maintenance or related cap7 ital work of trackage operated by or for the mass transpor8 tation authority has fallen below a necessary level to main9 tain reliable service at speeds necessary to provide conven10 ient and efficient mass transportation service, the mass 

11 transportation authority may, after notice to the rail car12 rier and a sufficient period for maintenance or related cap13 ital work improvements, apply to the Board for an order 

14 requiring the rail carrier to provide increased or improved 

15 maintenance or related capital work on the trackage. If 

16 the Board finds it reasonable to carry out this part, the 

17 Board shall order the rail carrier to provide such increased 

18 or improved maintenance or related capital work as the 

19 Board finds reasonable under the circumstances. The rem20 edy available under this subsection shall be in addition to 

21 any contract rights that a mass transportation authority 

22 may possess with respect to trackage maintenance or re23 lated capital work. 

24 ‘‘(f) ACCELERATED SPEEDS.—If a rail carrier re25 fuses to allow accelerated speeds for trains operated by 


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1 or for a mass transportation authority, the mass transpor2 tation authority may apply to the Board for an order re3 quiring the rail carrier to allow the accelerated speeds and 

4 related capital work required to permit operation at the 

5 accelerated speeds. The Board shall decide whether accel6 erated speeds are practicable and which capital work 

7 would be required to make accelerated speeds practicable. 

8 The Board shall establish the maximum allowable speeds 

9 for trains operated by or for a mass transportation author10 ity on terms the Board decides are reasonable. 

11 ‘‘(g) PREFERENCE OVER FREIGHT TRANSPOR12 TATION.—Except in an emergency, and consistent with 

13 subtitle E of title V of the PROGRESS Act and regula14 tions issued thereunder, fixed guideway transportation 

15 provided by or for a mass transportation authority pursu16 ant to an order issued under subsection (a) has preference 

17 over freight transportation in using a rail line, junction, 

18 or crossing unless the Board orders otherwise under this 

19 chapter. A rail carrier affected by this subsection may 

20 apply to the Board for relief. If the Board decides that 

21 preference for fixed guideway transportation materially 

22 will lessen the quality of freight transportation provided 

23 to shippers, the Board shall establish the rights of the rail 

24 carrier and the mass transportation authority on reason25 able terms. 


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1 ‘‘(h) FINAL DETERMINATION.—The Board shall 

2 make a determination under this section not later than 

3 120 days after a mass transportation authority or a rail 

4 carrier submits an application to the Board. 

5 ‘‘§ 28503. Shared use of rail rights-of-way by mass 

6 transportation authorities 

7 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—If, after a reasonable 

8 period of negotiation, a mass transportation authority can9 not reach agreement with a rail carrier to acquire an inter10 est in a railroad right-of-way for the construction and op11 eration of a segregated fixed guideway facility, the mass 

12 transportation authority may apply to the Board for an 

13 order requiring the rail carrier to convey an interest to 

14 the authority. The Board, not later than 120 days after 

15 receiving the application, shall order the interest conveyed 

16 if— 

17 ‘‘(1) the mass transportation authority assumes 

18 a reasonable allocation of costs associated with any 

19 necessary relocation of a rail carrier’s trackage with20 in the right-of-way; and 

21 ‘‘(2) the fixed guideway transportation purpose 

22 of the proposed segregated fixed guideway facility 

23 cannot be met adequately at a reasonable cost by ac24 quiring an interest in other property. 


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1 ‘‘(b) COMPENSATION AND TERMS.—A conveyance or2 dered by the Board under this section shall be subject to 

3 the payment of just compensation and to such other rea4 sonable terms as the Board may prescribe. 

5 ‘‘§ 28504. Applicability of other laws 

6 ‘‘(a) BOARD REVIEW OR APPROVAL.—Operations or 

7 conveyances undertaken pursuant to an order issued 

8 under section 28502 or 28503 are not subject to Board 

9 review or approval under subtitle IV of this title unless 

10 the Board, on a case-by-case basis, has determined that 

11 the mass transportation authority has assumed rights or 

12 obligations under such order to provide transportation 

13 subject to the jurisdiction of the Board under chapter 105. 

14 ‘‘(b) CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS FOR CLAIMS.— 

15 Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to limit a rail 

16 transportation provider’s right under section 28103(b) to 

17 enter into contracts that allocate financial responsibility 

18 for claims. 

19 ‘‘§ 28505. Standards for Board action 

20 ‘‘In proceedings under sections 28502 and 28503 the 

21 Board shall utilize, to the extent relevant and feasible, the 

22 principles, standards, and precedents utilized in pro23 ceedings under sections 24308 and 24311(c) involving the 

24 National Railroad Passenger Corporation.’’. 

25 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) LIMITATIONS ON RAIL PASSENGER TRANS2 PORTATION LIABILITY.—Section 28103(a) of title 

3 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or 

4 other fixed guideway transportation’’ after ‘‘com5 muter’’. 

6 (2) TABLE OF CHAPTERS.—The table of chap7 ters of subtitle V of title 49, United States Code, is 

8 amended by adding after the item relating to chap9 ter 283 the following new item: 

‘‘285. RAIL TRANSIT ACCESS ............................................................ 28501’’. 

10 SEC. 514. RAIL TRANSPORTATION POLICY. 

11 Section 10101 of title 49, United States Code, is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

14 (14); 

15 (2) by striking the period at the end of para16 graph (15) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

18 paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(16) to encourage and promote the operation 

20 of safe, efficient, and reliable commuter rail pas21 senger service and other fixed guideway transpor22 tation systems, including operations where the serv23 ice will share lines, corridors, or other facilities with 

24 freight railroads or with intercity rail passenger 

25 service.’’. 


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1 Subtitle C—Intercity Passenger 

2 Rail and Rail Bond Program 

3 SEC. 521. CAPITAL ASSISTANCE FOR INTERCITY PAS4 SENGER RAIL SERVICE; STATE RAIL PLANS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part C of subtitle V of title 49, 

6 United States Code, is amended by inserting the following 

7 after chapter 243: 

‘‘CHAPTER 244—INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE CORRIDOR 

CAPITAL ASSISTANCE 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘24401. Definitions. 

‘‘24402. Capital investment grants to support intercity passenger rail service. 

‘‘24403. Project management oversight. 

‘‘24404. Use of capital grants to finance first-dollar liability of grant project. 

‘‘24405. Grant conditions. 

‘‘24406. Authorization of appropriations. 

8 ‘‘§ 24401. Definitions 

9 ‘‘In this chapter: 

10 ‘‘(1) APPLICANT.—The term ‘applicant’ means 

11 a State (including the District of Columbia), a group 

12 of States, an Interstate Compact, or a public agency 

13 established by one or more States and having re14 sponsibility for providing intercity passenger rail 

15 service. 

16 ‘‘(2) CAPITAL PROJECT.—The term ‘capital 

17 project’ means a project or program in a State rail 

18 plan developed under chapter 225 of this title for— 

19 ‘‘(A) acquiring, constructing, improving, or 

20 inspecting equipment or a facility for use in or 


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1 for the primary benefit of intercity passenger 

2 rail service, expenses incidental to the acquisi3 tion or construction (including designing, engi4 neering, location surveying, mapping, environ5 mental studies, and acquiring rights-of-way), 

6 payments for the capital portions of rail track7 age rights agreements, highway-rail grade 

8 crossing improvements related to intercity pas9 senger rail service, security, mitigating environ10 mental impacts, communication and signaliza11 tion improvements, relocation assistance, ac12 quiring replacement housing sites, and acquir13 ing, constructing, relocating, and rehabilitating 

14 replacement housing; 

15 ‘‘(B) rehabilitating, remanufacturing or 

16 overhauling rail rolling stock and facilities used 

17 primarily in intercity passenger rail service; 

18 ‘‘(C) costs associated with developing State 

19 rail plans; and 

20 ‘‘(D) the first-dollar liability costs for in21 surance related to the provision of intercity pas22 senger rail service under section 24404. 

23 ‘‘(3) INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE.— 

24 The term ‘intercity passenger rail service’ means 

25 transportation services with the primary purpose of 


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1 passenger transportation between towns, cities and 

2 metropolitan areas by rail, including high-speed rail, 

3 as defined in section 24102. 

4 ‘‘§ 24402. Capital investment grants to support inter5 city passenger rail service 

6 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.— 

7 ‘‘(1) The Secretary of Transportation may 

8 make grants under this section to an applicant to 

9 assist in financing the capital costs of facilities and 

10 equipment necessary to provide or improve intercity 

11 passenger rail transportation. 

12 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall require that a grant 

13 under this section be subject to the terms, condi14 tions, requirements, and provisions the Secretary de15 cides are necessary or appropriate for the purposes 

16 of this section, including requirements for the dis17 position of net increases in value of real property re18 sulting from the project assisted under this section 

19 and shall prescribe procedures and schedules for the 

20 awarding of grants under this chapter, including ap21 plication and qualification procedures and a record 

22 of decision on applicant eligibility. The Secretary 

23 shall issue a final rule establishing such procedures 

24 not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 

25 of this chapter. 


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

2 ‘‘(1) The Secretary may not approve a grant for 

3 a project under this section unless the Secretary 

4 finds that the project is part of a State rail plan de5 veloped under chapter 225 of this title and that the 

6 applicant or recipient has or will have the legal, fi7 nancial, and technical capacity to carry out the 

8 project, satisfactory continuing control over the use 

9 of the equipment or facilities, and the capability and 

10 willingness to maintain the equipment or facilities. 

11 ‘‘(2) An applicant shall provide sufficient infor12 mation upon which the Secretary can make the find13 ings required by this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(3) If an applicant has not selected the pro15 posed operator of its service competitively, the appli16 cant shall provide written justification to the Sec17 retary showing why the proposed operator is the 

18 best, taking into account price and other factors, 

19 and that use of the proposed operator will not un20 necessarily increase the cost of the project. 

21 ‘‘(c) PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Sec22 retary, in selecting the recipients of financial assistance 

23 to be provided under subsection (a), shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) require that each proposed project meet all 

2 safety and security requirements that are applicable 

3 to the project under law; 

4 ‘‘(2) give preference to projects with high levels 

5 of estimated ridership, increased on-time perform6 ance, reduced trip time, additional service frequency, 

7 or other significant service enhancements; 

8 ‘‘(3) encourage intermodal connectivity through 

9 projects that provide direct connections between 

10 train stations, airports, bus terminals, subway sta11 tions, ferry ports, and other modes of transpor12 tation; 

13 ‘‘(4) ensure that each project is compatible 

14 with, and is operated in conformance with— 

15 ‘‘(A) plans developed pursuant to the re16 quirements of section 135 of title 23, United 

17 States Code; and 

18 ‘‘(B) the national rail plan (if it is avail19 able); and 

20 ‘‘(5) favor the following kinds of projects: 

21 ‘‘(A) Projects that are expected to have a 

22 significant favorable impact on air or highway 

23 traffic congestion, capacity, or safety. 

24 ‘‘(B) Projects that also improve freight or 

25 commuter rail operations. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Projects that have significant envi2 ronmental benefits. 

3 ‘‘(D) Projects that are— 

4 ‘‘(i) at a stage of preparation that all 

5 pre-commencement compliance with envi6 ronmental protection requirements has al7 ready been completed; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) ready to be commenced. 

9 ‘‘(E) Projects with positive economic and 

10 employment impacts. 

11 ‘‘(F) Projects that encourage the use of 

12 positive train control technologies. 

13 ‘‘(G) Projects that have commitments of 

14 funding from non-Federal Government sources 

15 in a total amount that exceeds the minimum 

16 amount of the non-Federal contribution re17 quired for the project. 

18 ‘‘(H) Projects that involve donated prop19 erty interests or services. 

20 ‘‘(I) Projects that are identified by the 

21 Surface Transportation Board as necessary to 

22 improve the on time performance and reliability 

23 of intercity passenger rail under section 

24 24308(f). 


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1 ‘‘(d) AMTRAK ELIGIBILITY.—To receive a grant 

2 under this section, the National Railroad Passenger Cor3 poration may enter into a cooperative agreement with 1 

4 or more States to carry out 1 or more projects on a State 

5 rail plan’s ranked list of rail capital projects developed 

6 under section 22504(a)(5) of this title. 

7 ‘‘(e) LETTERS OF INTENT, FULL FUNDING GRANT

8 AGREEMENTS, AND EARLY SYSTEMS WORK AGREE9 MENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) The Secretary may issue a letter of intent 

11 to an applicant announcing an intention to obligate, 

12 for a major capital project under this section, an 

13 amount from future available budget authority speci14 fied in law that is not more than the amount stipu15 lated as the financial participation of the Secretary 

16 in the project. 

17 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may make a full funding 

18 grant agreement with an applicant. The agreement 

19 shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) establish the terms of participation by 

21 the United States Government in a project 

22 under this section; 

23 ‘‘(B) establish the maximum amount of 

24 Government financial assistance for the project; 


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1 ‘‘(C) cover the period of time for com2 pleting the project, including a period extending 

3 beyond the period of an authorization; and 

4 ‘‘(D) make timely and efficient manage5 ment of the project easier according to the law 

6 of the United States. 

7 ‘‘(3) The total estimated amount of future obli8 gations of the Government and contingent commit9 ments to incur obligations covered by all outstanding 

10 letters of intent, full funding grant agreements, and 

11 early systems work agreements may be not more 

12 than the amount authorized under section 24406, 

13 less an amount the Secretary reasonably estimates is 

14 necessary for grants under this section not covered 

15 by a letter. The total amount covered by new letters 

16 and contingent commitments included in full funding 

17 grant agreements and early systems work agree18 ments may be not more than a limitation specified 

19 in law. 

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

21 ‘‘(1)(A) Based on engineering studies, studies 

22 of economic feasibility, and information on the ex23 pected use of equipment or facilities, the Secretary 

24 shall estimate the net project cost. 


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1 ‘‘(B) A grant for the project shall not exceed 80 

2 percent of the project net capital cost. 

3 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall give priority in allo4 cating future obligations and contingent commit5 ments to incur obligations to grant requests seeking 

6 a lower Federal share of the project net capital cost. 

7 ‘‘(2) 50 percent of the average amounts ex8 pended by a State or group of States (including the 

9 District of Columbia) for capital projects to benefit 

10 intercity passenger rail service in fiscal years 2006 

11 and 2007 shall be credited towards the matching re12 quirements for grants awarded under this section. 

13 The Secretary may require such information as nec14 essary to verify such expenditures. 

15 ‘‘(3) 50 percent of the average amounts ex16 pended by a State or group of States (including the 

17 District of Columbia) in a fiscal year beginning in 

18 2008 for capital projects to benefit intercity pas19 senger rail service or for the operating costs of such 

20 service above the average of expenditures made for 

21 such service in fiscal years 2006 and 2007 shall be 

22 credited towards the matching requirements for 

23 grants awarded under this section. The Secretary 

24 may require such information as necessary to verify 

25 such expenditures. 


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1 ‘‘(g) UNDERTAKING PROJECTS IN ADVANCE.— 

2 ‘‘(1) The Secretary may pay the Federal share 

3 of the net capital project cost to an applicant that 

4 carries out any part of a project described in this 

5 section according to all applicable procedures and re6 quirements if— 

7 ‘‘(A) the applicant applies for the payment; 

8 ‘‘(B) the Secretary approves the payment; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(C) before carrying out the part of the 

11 project, the Secretary approves the plans and 

12 specifications for the part in the same way as 

13 other projects under this section. 

14 ‘‘(2) The cost of carrying out part of a project 

15 includes the amount of interest earned and payable 

16 on bonds issued by the applicant to the extent pro17 ceeds of the bonds are expended in carrying out the 

18 part. However, the amount of interest under this 

19 paragraph may not be more than the most favorable 

20 interest terms reasonably available for the project at 

21 the time of borrowing. The applicant shall certify, in 

22 a manner satisfactory to the Secretary, that the ap23 plicant has shown reasonable diligence in seeking the 

24 most favorable financial terms. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall consider changes in 

2 capital project cost indices when determining the es3 timated cost under paragraph (2) of this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(h) 2-YEAR AVAILABILITY.—Funds appropriated 

5 under this section shall remain available until expended. 

6 If any amount provided as a grant under this section is 

7 not obligated or expended for the purposes described in 

8 subsection (a) within 2 years after the date on which the 

9 State received the grant, such sums shall be returned to 

10 the Secretary for other intercity passenger rail develop11 ment projects under this section at the discretion of the 

12 Secretary. 

13 ‘‘(i) PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A metropolitan planning 

15 organization, State transportation department, or 

16 other project sponsor may enter into an agreement 

17 with any public, private, or nonprofit entity to coop18 eratively implement any project funded with a grant 

19 under this chapter. 

20 ‘‘(2) FORMS OF PARTICIPATION.—Participation 

21 by an entity under paragraph (1) may consist of— 

22 ‘‘(A) ownership or operation of any land, 

23 facility, locomotive, rail car, vehicle, or other 

24 physical asset associated with the project; 

25 ‘‘(B) cost-sharing of any project expense; 


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1 ‘‘(C) carrying out administration, construc2 tion management, project management, project 

3 operation, or any other management or oper4 ational duty associated with the project; and 

5 ‘‘(D) any other form of participation ap6 proved by the Secretary. 

7 ‘‘(3) SUBALLOCATION.—A State may allocate 

8 funds under this section to any entity described in 

9 paragraph (1). 

10 ‘‘(j) SPECIAL TRANSPORTATION CIRCUMSTANCES.— 

11 In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall allocate 

12 an appropriate portion of the amounts available under this 

13 section to provide grants to States in which there is no 

14 intercity passenger rail service for the purpose of funding 

15 freight rail capital projects that are on a State rail plan 

16 developed under chapter 225 of this title that provide pub17 lic benefits (as defined in chapter 225) as determined by 

18 the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘§ 24403. Project management oversight 

20 ‘‘(a) PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN REQUIRE21 MENTS.—To receive Federal financial assistance for a 

22 major capital project under this chapter, an applicant 

23 must prepare and carry out a project management plan 

24 approved by the Secretary of Transportation. 

25 ‘‘(b) SECRETARIAL OVERSIGHT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) The Secretary may use no more than 0.5 

2 percent of amounts made available in a fiscal year 

3 for capital projects under this chapter to enter into 

4 contracts to oversee the construction of such 

5 projects. 

6 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may use amounts available 

7 under paragraph (1) of this subsection to make con8 tracts for safety, procurement, management, and fi9 nancial compliance reviews and audits of a recipient 

10 of amounts under paragraph (1). 

11 ‘‘(3) The Federal Government shall pay the en12 tire cost of carrying out a contract under this sub13 section. 

14 ‘‘(c) ACCESS TO SITES AND RECORDS.—Each recipi15 ent of assistance under this chapter shall provide the Sec16 retary and a contractor the Secretary chooses under sub17 section (b) of this section with access to the construction 

18 sites and records of the recipient when reasonably nec19 essary. 

20 ‘‘§ 24404. Use of capital grants to finance first-dollar 

21 liability of grant project 

22 ‘‘Notwithstanding the requirements of section 24402 

23 of this chapter, the Secretary of Transportation may ap24 prove the use of capital assistance under this chapter to 

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1 ability insurance coverage for rail passenger service associ2 ated with the capital assistance grant, but the coverage 

3 may not exceed $20,000,000 per occurrence or 

4 $20,000,000 in aggregate per year. 

5 ‘‘§ 24405. Grant conditions 

6 ‘‘(a) DOMESTIC BUYING PREFERENCE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out a 

9 project funded in whole or in part with a grant 

10 under this chapter, the grant recipient shall 

11 purchase only— 

12 ‘‘(i) unmanufactured articles, mate13 rial, and supplies mined or produced in the 

14 United States; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) manufactured articles, material, 

16 and supplies manufactured in the United 

17 States substantially from articles, material, 

18 and supplies mined, produced, or manufac19 tured in the United States. 

20 ‘‘(B) DE MINIMIS AMOUNT.—Subpara21 graph (A) applies only to a purchase in an total 

22 amount that is not less than $1,000,000. 

23 ‘‘(2) EXEMPTIONS.—On application of a recipi24 ent, the Secretary may exempt a recipient from the 

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1 cides that, for particular articles, material, or sup2 plies— 

3 ‘‘(A) such requirements are inconsistent 

4 with the public interest; 

5 ‘‘(B) the cost of imposing the requirements 

6 is unreasonable; or 

7 ‘‘(C) the articles, material, or supplies, or 

8 the articles, material, or supplies from which 

9 they are manufactured, are not mined, pro10 duced, or manufactured in the United States in 

11 sufficient and reasonably available commercial 

12 quantities and are not of a satisfactory quality. 

13 ‘‘(3) UNITED STATES DEFINED.—In this sub14 section, the term ‘the United States’ means the 

15 States, territories, and possessions of the United 

16 States and the District of Columbia. 

17 ‘‘(b) OPERATORS DEEMED RAIL CARRIERS AND EM18 PLOYERS FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES.—A person that con19 ducts rail operations over rail infrastructure constructed 

20 or improved with funding provided in whole or in part in 

21 a grant made under this chapter— 

22 ‘‘(1) shall be considered an employer for pur23 poses of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45 

24 U.S.C. 231 et seq.); and 


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1 ‘‘(2) shall be considered a carrier for purposes 

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

3 ‘‘(c) GRANT CONDITIONS.—The Secretary shall re4 quire as a condition of making any grant under this chap5 ter that includes the improvement or use of rights-of-way 

6 owned by a railroad that— 

7 ‘‘(1) a written agreement exist between the ap8 plicant and the railroad regarding such use and 

9 ownership, including— 

10 ‘‘(A) any compensation for such use; 

11 ‘‘(B) assurances regarding the adequacy of 

12 infrastructure capacity to accommodate both 

13 existing and future freight and passenger oper14 ations; and 

15 ‘‘(C) an assurance by the railroad that col16 lective bargaining agreements with the rail17 road’s employees (including terms regulating 

18 the contracting of work) will remain in full 

19 force and effect according to their terms for 

20 work performed by the railroad on the railroad 

21 transportation corridor; and 

22 ‘‘(2) the applicant agrees to comply with— 

23 ‘‘(A) the standards of section 24312 of this 

24 title, as such section was in effect on September 

25 1, 2003, with respect to the project in the same 


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1 manner that the National Railroad Passenger 

2 Corporation is required to comply with those 

3 standards for construction work financed under 

4 an agreement made under section 24308(a) of 

5 this title; and 

6 ‘‘(B) the protective arrangements estab7 lished under section 504 of the Railroad Revi8 talization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 

9 (45 U.S.C. 836) with respect to employees af10 fected by actions taken in connection with the 

11 project to be financed in whole or in part by 

12 grants under this chapter. 

13 ‘‘(d) REPLACEMENT OF EXISTING INTERCITY PAS14 SENGER RAIL SERVICE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT

16 FOR INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL PROJECTS.—Any 

17 entity providing intercity passenger railroad trans18 portation that begins operations after the date of en19 actment of this Act on a project funded in whole or 

20 in part by grants made under this chapter and re21 places intercity rail passenger service that was pro22 vided by Amtrak, unless such service was provided 

23 solely by Amtrak to another entity, as of such date 

24 shall enter into an agreement with the authorized 


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1 bargaining agent or agents for adversely affected 

2 employees of the predecessor provider that— 

3 ‘‘(A) gives each such qualified employee of 

4 the predecessor provider priority in hiring ac5 cording to the employee’s seniority on the pred6 ecessor provider for each position with the re7 placing entity that is in the employee’s craft or 

8 class and is available within 3 years after the 

9 termination of the service being replaced; 

10 ‘‘(B) establishes a procedure for notifying 

11 such an employee of such positions; 

12 ‘‘(C) establishes a procedure for such an 

13 employee to apply for such positions; and 

14 ‘‘(D) establishes rates of pay, rules, and 

15 working conditions. 

16 ‘‘(2) IMMEDIATE REPLACEMENT SERVICE.— 

17 ‘‘(A) NEGOTIATIONS.—If the replacement 

18 of preexisting intercity rail passenger service oc19 curs concurrent with or within a reasonable 

20 time before the commencement of the replacing 

21 entity’s rail passenger service, the replacing en22 tity shall give written notice of its plan to re23 place existing rail passenger service to the au24 thorized collective bargaining agent or agents 

25 for the potentially adversely affected employees 


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1 of the predecessor provider at least 90 days be2 fore the date on which it plans to commence 

3 service. Within 5 days after the date of receipt 

4 of such written notice, negotiations between the 

5 replacing entity and the collective bargaining 

6 agent or agents for the employees of the prede7 cessor provider shall commence for the purpose 

8 of reaching agreement with respect to all mat9 ters set forth in subparagraphs (A) through (D) 

10 of paragraph (1). The negotiations shall con11 tinue for 30 days or until an agreement is 

12 reached, whichever is sooner. If at the end of 

13 30 days the parties have not entered into an 

14 agreement with respect to all such matters, the 

15 unresolved issues shall be submitted for arbitra16 tion in accordance with the procedure set forth 

17 in subparagraph (B). 

18 ‘‘(B) ARBITRATION.—If an agreement has 

19 not been entered into with respect to all mat20 ters set forth in subparagraphs (A) through (D) 

21 of paragraph (1) as described in subparagraph 

22 (A) of this paragraph, the parties shall select 

23 an arbitrator. If the parties are unable to agree 

24 upon the selection of such arbitrator within 5 

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1 tional Mediation Board, which shall provide a 

2 list of seven arbitrators with experience in arbi3 trating rail labor protection disputes. Within 5 

4 days after such notification, the parties shall al5 ternately strike names from the list until only 

6 1 name remains, and that person shall serve as 

7 the neutral arbitrator. Within 45 days after se8 lection of the arbitrator, the arbitrator shall 

9 conduct a hearing on the dispute and shall 

10 render a decision with respect to the unresolved 

11 issues among the matters set forth in subpara12 graphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (1). This 

13 decision shall be final, binding, and conclusive 

14 upon the parties. The salary and expenses of 

15 the arbitrator shall be borne equally by the par16 ties; all other expenses shall be paid by the 

17 party incurring them. 

18 ‘‘(3) SERVICE COMMENCEMENT.—A replacing 

19 entity under this subsection shall commence service 

20 only after an agreement is entered into with respect 

21 to the matters set forth in subparagraphs (A) 

22 through (D) of paragraph (1) or the decision of the 

23 arbitrator has been rendered. 

24 ‘‘(4) SUBSEQUENT REPLACEMENT OF SERV25 ICE.—If the replacement of existing rail passenger 


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1 service takes place within 3 years after the replacing 

2 entity commences intercity passenger rail service, 

3 the replacing entity and the collective bargaining 

4 agent or agents for the adversely affected employees 

5 of the predecessor provider shall enter into an agree6 ment with respect to the matters set forth in sub7 paragraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (1). If the 

8 parties have not entered into an agreement with re9 spect to all such matters within 60 days after the 

10 date on which the replacing entity replaces the pred11 ecessor provider, the parties shall select an arbi12 trator using the procedures set forth in paragraph 

13 (2)(B), who shall, within 20 days after the com14 mencement of the arbitration, conduct a hearing and 

15 decide all unresolved issues. This decision shall be 

16 final, binding, and conclusive upon the parties. 

17 ‘‘(e) INAPPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN RAIL OPER18 ATIONS.—Nothing in this section applies to— 

19 ‘‘(1) commuter rail passenger transportation 

20 (as defined in section 24102(4) of this title) oper21 ations of a State or local government authority (as 

22 those terms are defined in section 5302(11) and (6), 

23 respectively, of this title) eligible to receive financial 

24 assistance under section 5307 of this title, or to its 

25 contractor performing services in connection with 


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1 commuter rail passenger operations (as so defined); 

2 or 

3 ‘‘(2) the National Railroad Passenger Corpora4 tion’s access rights to railroad rights of way and fa5 cilities under current law for projects funded under 

6 this chapter where train operating speeds do not ex7 ceed 79 miles per hour. 

8 ‘‘§ 24406. Authorization of appropriations. 

9 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec10 retary of Transportation for carrying out this chapter 

11 $200,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 

12 2012.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The table of chap14 ters for subtitle V of title 49, United States Code, is 

15 amended by inserting the following after the item relating 

16 to chapter 243: 

‘‘244. INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE CAPITAL ASSISTANCE ................................................................... 24401’’. 

17 SEC. 522. STATE RAIL PLANS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part B of subtitle V of title 49, 

19 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘CHAPTER 225—STATE RAIL PLANS AND 

22 HIGH PRIORITY PROJECTS 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘22501. Definitions. 

‘‘22502. Authority. 

‘‘22503. Purposes. 


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‘‘22504. Transparency; coordination; review. 

‘‘22505. Content. 

‘‘22506. Review. 

1 ‘‘§ 22501. Definitions 

2 ‘‘In this subchapter: 

3 ‘‘(1) PRIVATE BENEFIT.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘private 

5 benefit’— 

6 ‘‘(i) means a benefit accrued to a per7 son or private entity, other than the Na8 tional Railroad Passenger Corporation, 

9 that directly improves the economic and 

10 competitive condition of that person or en11 tity through improved assets, cost reduc12 tions, service improvements, or any other 

13 means as defined by the Secretary; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) shall be determined on a project15 by-project basis, based upon an agreement 

16 between the parties. 

17 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary may 

18 seek the advice of the States and rail carriers 

19 in further defining this term. 

20 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC BENEFIT.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘public ben22 efit’— 

23 ‘‘(i) means a benefit accrued to the 

24 public in the form of enhanced mobility of 


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1 people or goods, environmental protection 

2 or enhancement, congestion mitigation, en3 hanced trade and economic development, 

4 improved air quality or land use, more effi5 cient energy use, enhanced public safety or 

6 security, reduction of public expenditures 

7 due to improved transportation efficiency 

8 or infrastructure preservation, and any 

9 other positive community effects as defined 

10 by the Secretary; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) shall be determined on a project12 by-project basis, based upon an agreement 

13 between the parties. 

14 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary may 

15 seek the advice of the States and rail carriers 

16 in further defining this term. 

17 ‘‘(3) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any of 

18 the 50 States and the District of Columbia. 

19 ‘‘(4) STATE RAIL TRANSPORTATION AUTHOR20 ITY.—The term ‘State rail transportation authority’ 

21 means the State agency or official responsible under 

22 the direction of the Governor of the State or a State 

23 law for preparation, maintenance, coordination, and 

24 administration of the State rail plan. 


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1 ‘‘§ 22502. Authority 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State may prepare and 

3 maintain a State rail plan in accordance with the provi4 sions of this subchapter. 

5 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—For the preparation and peri6 odic revision of a State rail plan, a State shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) establish or designate a State rail trans8 portation authority to prepare, maintain, coordinate, 

9 and administer the plan; 

10 ‘‘(2) establish or designate a State rail plan ap11 proval authority to approve the plan; 

12 ‘‘(3) submit the State’s approved plan to the 

13 Secretary of Transportation for review; and 

14 ‘‘(4) revise and resubmit a State-approved plan 

15 no less frequently than once every 5 years for re16 approval by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘§ 22503. Purposes 

18 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of a State rail plan 

19 are as follows: 

20 ‘‘(1) To set forth State policy involving freight 

21 and passenger rail transportation, including com22 muter rail operations, in the State. 

23 ‘‘(2) To establish the period covered by the 

24 State rail plan. 


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1 ‘‘(3) To present priorities and strategies to en2 hance rail service in the State that benefits the pub3 lic. 

4 ‘‘(4) To serve as the basis for Federal and 

5 State rail investments within the State. 

6 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION.—A State rail plan shall be co7 ordinated with other State transportation planning goals 

8 and programs and set forth rail transportation’s role with9 in the State transportation system. 

10 ‘‘§ 22504. Transparency; coordination; review 

11 ‘‘(a) PREPARATION.—A State shall provide adequate 

12 and reasonable notice and opportunity for comment and 

13 other input to the public, rail carriers, commuter and tran14 sit authorities operating in, or affected by rail operations 

15 within the State, units of local government, and other in16 terested parties in the preparation and review of its State 

17 rail plan. 

18 ‘‘(b) INTERGOVERNMENTAL COORDINATION.—A 

19 State shall review the freight and passenger rail service 

20 activities and initiatives by regional planning agencies, re21 gional transportation authorities, and municipalities with22 in the State, or in the region in which the State is located, 

23 while preparing the plan, and shall include any rec24 ommendations made by such agencies, authorities, and 

25 municipalities as deemed appropriate by the State. 


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1 ‘‘§ 22505. Content 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State rail plan shall con3 tain the following: 

4 ‘‘(1) An inventory of the existing overall rail 

5 transportation system and rail services and facilities 

6 within the State and an analysis of the role of rail 

7 transportation within the State’s surface transpor8 tation system. 

9 ‘‘(2) A review of all rail lines within the State, 

10 including proposed high speed rail corridors and sig11 nificant rail line segments not currently in service. 

12 ‘‘(3) A statement of the State’s passenger rail 

13 service objectives, including minimum service levels, 

14 for rail transportation routes in the State. 

15 ‘‘(4) A general analysis of rail’s transportation, 

16 economic, and environmental impacts in the State, 

17 including congestion mitigation, trade and economic 

18 development, air quality, land-use, energy-use, and 

19 community impacts. 

20 ‘‘(5) A long-range rail investment program for 

21 current and future freight and passenger infrastruc22 ture in the State that meets the requirements of 

23 subsection (b). 

24 ‘‘(6) A statement of public financing issues for 

25 rail projects and service in the State, including a list 

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1 ating funding resources, public subsidies, State tax2 ation, and other financial policies relating to rail in3 frastructure development. 

4 ‘‘(7) An identification of rail infrastructure 

5 issues within the State that reflects consultation 

6 with all relevant stake holders. 

7 ‘‘(8) A review of major passenger and freight 

8 intermodal rail connections and facilities within the 

9 State, including seaports, and prioritized options to 

10 maximize service integration and efficiency between 

11 rail and other modes of transportation within the 

12 State. 

13 ‘‘(9) A review of publicly funded projects within 

14 the State to improve rail transportation safety and 

15 security, including all major projects funded under 

16 section 130 of title 23. 

17 ‘‘(10) A performance evaluation of passenger 

18 rail services operating in the State, including pos19 sible improvements in those services, and a descrip20 tion of strategies to achieve those improvements. 

21 ‘‘(11) A compilation of studies and reports on 

22 high-speed rail corridor development within the 

23 State not included in a previous plan under this sub24 chapter, and a plan for funding any recommended 

25 development of such corridors in the State. 


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1 ‘‘(12) A statement that the State is in compli2 ance with the requirements of section 22102. 

3 ‘‘(b) LONG-RANGE SERVICE AND INVESTMENT PRO4 GRAM.— 

5 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM CONTENT.—A long-range rail 

6 investment program included in a State rail plan 

7 under subsection (a)(5) shall include the following 

8 matters: 

9 ‘‘(A) A list of any rail capital projects ex10 pected to be undertaken or supported in whole 

11 or in part by the State. 

12 ‘‘(B) A detailed funding plan for those 

13 projects. 

14 ‘‘(2) PROJECT LIST CONTENT.—The list of rail 

15 capital projects shall contain— 

16 ‘‘(A) a description of the anticipated public 

17 and private benefits of each such project; and 

18 ‘‘(B) a statement of the correlation be19 tween— 

20 ‘‘(i) public funding contributions for 

21 the projects; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) the public benefits. 

23 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATIONS FOR PROJECT LIST.—In 

24 preparing the list of freight and intercity passenger 

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1 thority should take into consideration the following 

2 matters: 

3 ‘‘(A) Contributions made by non-Federal 

4 and non-State sources through user fees, 

5 matching funds, or other private capital involve6 ment. 

7 ‘‘(B) Rail capacity and congestion effects. 

8 ‘‘(C) Effects to highway, aviation, and 

9 maritime capacity, congestion, or safety. 

10 ‘‘(D) Regional balance. 

11 ‘‘(E) Environmental impact. 

12 ‘‘(F) Economic and employment impacts. 

13 ‘‘(G) Projected ridership and other service 

14 measures for passenger rail projects. 

15 ‘‘§ 22506. Review 

16 ‘‘The Secretary shall prescribe procedures for States 

17 to submit State rail plans for review under this title, in18 cluding standardized format and data requirements.’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of chap20 ters for subtitle V of title 49, United States Code, is 

21 amended by inserting the following after the item relating 

22 to chapter 223: 

‘‘225. STATE RAIL PLANS ................................................................... 22501’’. 


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1 SEC. 523. RAIL COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND CONTENT.—Chapter 249 

3 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at 

4 the end the following: 

5 ‘‘§ 24910. Rail cooperative research program 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

7 and carry out a rail cooperative research program. The 

8 program shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) address, among other matters, intercity 

10 rail passenger and freight rail services, including ex11 isting rail passenger and freight technologies and 

12 speeds, incrementally enhanced rail systems and in13 frastructure, and new high-speed wheel-on-rail sys14 tems and rail security; 

15 ‘‘(2) address ways to expand the transportation 

16 of international trade traffic by rail, enhance the ef17 ficiency of intermodal interchange at ports and other 

18 intermodal terminals, and increase capacity and 

19 availability of rail service for seasonal freight needs; 

20 ‘‘(3) consider research on the interconnected21 ness of commuter rail, passenger rail, freight rail, 

22 and other rail networks; and 

23 ‘‘(4) give consideration to regional concerns re24 garding rail passenger and freight transportation, 

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1 ices, and regional intercity rail corridors, projects, 

2 and entities. 

3 ‘‘(b) CONTENT.—The program to be carried out 

4 under this section shall include research designed— 

5 ‘‘(1) to identify the unique aspects and at6 tributes of rail passenger and freight service; 

7 ‘‘(2) to develop more accurate models for evalu8 ating the impact of rail passenger and freight serv9 ice, including the effects on highway and airport and 

10 airway congestion, environmental quality, and energy 

11 consumption; 

12 ‘‘(3) to develop a better understanding of modal 

13 choice as it affects rail passenger and freight trans14 portation, including development of better models to 

15 predict utilization; 

16 ‘‘(4) to recommend priorities for technology 

17 demonstration and development; 

18 ‘‘(5) to meet additional priorities as determined 

19 by the advisory board established under subsection 

20 (c), including any recommendations made by the Na21 tional Research Council; 

22 ‘‘(6) to explore improvements in management, 

23 financing, and institutional structures; 

24 ‘‘(7) to address rail capacity constraints that 

25 affect passenger and freight rail service through a 


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1 wide variety of options, ranging from operating im2 provements to dedicated new infrastructure, taking 

3 into account the impact of such options on oper4 ations; 

5 ‘‘(8) to improve maintenance, operations, cus6 tomer service, or other aspects of intercity rail pas7 senger and freight service; 

8 ‘‘(9) to recommend objective methodologies for 

9 determining intercity passenger rail routes and serv10 ices, including the establishment of new routes, the 

11 elimination of existing routes, and the contraction or 

12 expansion of services or frequencies over such 

13 routes; 

14 ‘‘(10) to review the impact of equipment and 

15 operational safety standards on the further develop16 ment of high speed passenger rail operations con17 nected to or integrated with non-high speed freight 

18 or passenger rail operations; and 

19 ‘‘(11) to recommend any legislative or regu20 latory changes necessary to foster further develop21 ment and implementation of high speed passenger 

22 rail operations while ensuring the safety of such op23 erations that are connected to or integrated with 

24 non-high speed freight or passenger rail operations. 

25 ‘‘(c) ADVISORY BOARD.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—In consultation with 

2 the heads of appropriate Federal departments and 

3 agencies, the Secretary shall establish an advisory 

4 board to recommend research, technology, and tech5 nology transfer activities related to rail passenger 

6 and freight transportation. 

7 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The advisory board shall 

8 include— 

9 ‘‘(A) representatives of State transpor10 tation agencies; 

11 ‘‘(B) transportation and environmental 

12 economists, scientists, and engineers; and 

13 ‘‘(C) representatives of Amtrak, the Alaska 

14 Railroad, freight railroads, transit operating 

15 agencies, intercity rail passenger agencies, rail16 way labor organizations, and environmental or17 ganizations. 

18 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.—The Sec19 retary may make grants to, and enter into cooperative 

20 agreements with, the National Academy of Sciences to 

21 carry out such activities relating to the research, tech22 nology, and technology transfer activities described in sub23 section (b) as the Secretary deems appropriate.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis 

2 for chapter 249 is amended by adding at the end the fol3 lowing: 

‘‘24910. Rail cooperative research program.’’. 

4 SEC. 524. HIGH-SPEED INTERCITY RAIL FACILITY BONDS. 

5 (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 261 of title 49, United 

6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing new section: 

8 ‘‘§ 26106. High-speed rail infrastructure bonds 

9 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary may designate 

10 bonds for purposes of subsection (f) or section 54A of the 

11 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 if— 

12 ‘‘(1) the bonds are to be issued by— 

13 ‘‘(A) a State, if the entire railroad pas14 senger transportation corridor containing the 

15 infrastructure project to be financed is within 

16 the State; 

17 ‘‘(B) 1 or more of the States that have en18 tered into an agreement or an interstate com19 pact consented to by Congress under section 

20 410(a) of Public Law 105–134 (49 U.S.C. 

21 24101 nt); or 

22 ‘‘(C) an agreement or an interstate com23 pact described in subparagraph (B); 

24 ‘‘(2) the bonds are for the purpose of financ25 ing— 


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1 ‘‘(A) projects that make a substantial con2 tribution to providing the infrastructure and 

3 equipment required to complete a high-speed 

4 rail transportation corridor (including projects 

5 for the acquisition, financing, or refinancing of 

6 equipment and other capital improvements, in7 cluding the introduction of new high-speed tech8 nologies such as magnetic levitation systems, 

9 track or signal improvements, the elimination of 

10 grade crossings, development of intermodal fa11 cilities, improvement of train speeds or safety, 

12 or both, and station rehabilitation or construc13 tion), but only if the Secretary determines that 

14 the projects are part of a viable and comprehen15 sive high-speed rail transportation corridor de16 sign for intercity passenger service, including a 

17 design for minimally operable segments of a 

18 corridor designated under section 104(d)(2) of 

19 title 23, United States Code; or 

20 ‘‘(B) projects for the Alaska Railroad; 

21 ‘‘(3) for a railroad passenger transportation 

22 corridor design that includes the use of rights-of-way 

23 owned by a freight railroad, a written agreement ex24 ists between the applicant and the freight railroad 

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1 pensation for such use and assurances regarding the 

2 adequacy of infrastructure capacity to accommodate 

3 both existing and future freight and passenger oper4 ations, and including an assurance by the freight 

5 railroad that collective bargaining agreements with 

6 the freight railroad’s employees (including terms 

7 regulating the contracting of work) shall remain in 

8 full force and effect according to their terms for 

9 work performed by the freight railroad on such rail10 road passenger transportation corridor; 

11 ‘‘(4) the corridor design eliminates existing rail12 way-highway grade crossings that the Secretary de13 termines would impede high-speed rail operations; 

14 ‘‘(5) the applicant agrees to comply with— 

15 ‘‘(A) the standards of section 24312, as in 

16 effect on September 1, 2002, with respect to 

17 the project in the same manner that the Na18 tional Railroad Passenger Corporation is re19 quired to comply with such standards for con20 struction work financed under an agreement 

21 made under section 24308(a); and 

22 ‘‘(B) the protective arrangements estab23 lished under section 504 of the Railroad Revi24 talization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 

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1 fected by actions taken in connection with the 

2 project to be financed by the bond; and 

3 ‘‘(6) the applicant agrees not to pay the prin4 cipal or interest on the bonds using funds derived di5 rectly or indirectly from the Highway Trust Fund, 

6 except as permitted by law as of the date of the en7 actment of this section. 

8 ‘‘(b) BOND AMOUNT LIMITATION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of bonds des10 ignated under this section may not exceed— 

11 ‘‘(A) in the case of subsection (f) bonds, 

12 $1,200,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 

13 2008 through 2017; and 

14 ‘‘(B) in the case of section 54A bonds, 

15 $1,200,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 

16 2008 through 2017. 

17 ‘‘(2) CARRYOVER OF UNUSED LIMITATION.—If 

18 for any fiscal year the limitation amount under sub19 paragraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) exceeds— 

20 ‘‘(A) with respect to subparagraph (A) of 

21 paragraph (1), the amount of subsection (f) 

22 bonds issued during such year; or 

23 ‘‘(B) with respect to subparagraph (B) of 

24 paragraph (1), the amount of section 54A 

25 bonds issued during such year, 


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1 the limitation amount under subparagraph (A) or 

2 (B) of paragraph (1), as the case may be, for the 

3 following fiscal year (through fiscal year 2021) shall 

4 be increased by the amount of such excess. 

5 ‘‘(c) PREFERENCE.—The Secretary shall give pref6 erence to the designation under this section of bonds for 

7 projects— 

8 ‘‘(1) to be funded through a combination of 

9 subsection (f) bonds and section 54A bonds; 

10 ‘‘(2) which propose to link rail passenger serv11 ice with other modes of transportation; 

12 ‘‘(3) expected to have a significant impact on 

13 air traffic congestion; 

14 ‘‘(4) expected to also improve commuter rail op15 erations; 

16 ‘‘(5) where all environmental work has already 

17 been completed and the project is ready to com18 mence; or 

19 ‘‘(6) that have received financial commitments 

20 and other support of State and local governments. 

21 ‘‘(d) TIMELY DISPOSITION OF APPLICATION.—The 

22 Secretary shall grant or deny a requested designation 

23 within 9 months after receipt of an application. 

24 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) FROM ISSUER OF BONDS.—The issuer of 

2 bonds designated under subsection (a) shall report 

3 annually to the Secretary regarding the terms of 

4 outstanding designated bonds and the progress made 

5 with respect to the project financed by the bonds. 

6 ‘‘(2) FROM SECRETARY.—The Secretary, in 

7 consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, 

8 shall transmit to the Congress an annual report 

9 which includes— 

10 ‘‘(A) reports received under paragraph (1); 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(B) an assessment of the progress made 

13 toward completion of high-speed rail transpor14 tation corridors resulting from projects financed 

15 by bonds designated under subsection (a). 

16 ‘‘(f) TAX TREATMENT OF SUBSECTION (f) BONDS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) EXCLUSION FROM GROSS INCOME.—The 

18 interest on a bond designated by the Secretary 

19 under subsection (a) for purposes of this subsection 

20 shall be excluded from gross income under section 

21 103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, notwith22 standing section 149(c) of such Code. 

23 ‘‘(2) EXEMPTION FROM VOLUME CAP.—For 

24 purposes of section 146 of such Code, a bond des25 ignated by the Secretary under subsection (a) for 


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1 purposes of this subsection shall be considered to be 

2 exempt from the volume cap of the issuing authority 

3 in the same manner as bonds listed in subsection (g) 

4 of such section 146. 

5 ‘‘(g) REFINANCING RULES.—Bonds designated by 

6 the Secretary under subsection (a) may be issued for refi7 nancing projects only if the indebtedness being refinanced 

8 (including any obligation directly or indirectly refinanced 

9 by such indebtedness) was originally incurred by the 

10 issuer— 

11 ‘‘(1) after the date of the enactment of this sec12 tion; 

13 ‘‘(2) for a term of not more than 3 years; 

14 ‘‘(3) to finance projects described in subsection 

15 (a)(2); and 

16 ‘‘(4) in anticipation of being refinanced with 

17 proceeds of a bond designated under subsection (a). 

18 ‘‘(h) PROVISIONS REGARDING HIGH-SPEED RAIL

19 SERVICE.— 

20 ‘‘(1) STATUS AS EMPLOYER OR CARRIER.—Any 

21 entity providing railroad transportation (within the 

22 meaning of section 20102) that begins operations 

23 after the date of the enactment of this section and 

24 that uses property acquired pursuant to this section 

25 (except as provided in subsection (a)(2)(B)), shall be 


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1 considered an employer for purposes of the Railroad 

2 Retirement Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231 et seq.) and 

3 considered a carrier for purposes of the Railway 

4 Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). 

5 ‘‘(2) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT.— 

6 Any entity providing high-speed intercity passenger 

7 railroad transportation (within the meaning of sec8 tion 20102) that begins operations after the date of 

9 enactment of this section on a project funded in 

10 whole or in part by bonds designated under sub11 section (a), and replaces intercity rail passenger 

12 service that was provided by another entity as of the 

13 date of enactment of this section, shall enter into an 

14 agreement with the authorized bargaining agent or 

15 agents for employees of the predecessor provider 

16 that— 

17 ‘‘(A) gives each employee of the prede18 cessor provider priority in hiring according to 

19 the employee’s seniority on the predecessor pro20 vider for each position with the replacing entity 

21 that is in the employee’s craft or class and is 

22 available within three years after the termi23 nation of the service being replaced; 

24 ‘‘(B) establishes a procedure for notifying 

25 such an employee of such positions; 


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1 ‘‘(C) establishes a procedure for such an 

2 employee to apply for such positions; and 

3 ‘‘(D) establishes rates of pay, rules, and 

4 working conditions. 

5 ‘‘(3) IMMEDIATE REPLACEMENT OF EXISTING

6 RAIL PASSENGER SERVICE.— 

7 ‘‘(A) NEGOTIATIONS.—If the replacement 

8 of preexisting intercity rail passenger service oc9 curs concurrent with or within a reasonable 

10 amount of time before the commencement of 

11 the replacing entity’s high-speed rail passenger 

12 service, the replacing entity shall give written 

13 notice of its plan to replace existing rail pas14 senger service to the authorized collective bar15 gaining agent or agents for the employees of 

16 the predecessor provider at least 90 days prior 

17 to the date it plans to commence service. With18 in 5 days after the date of receipt of such writ19 ten notice, negotiations between the replacing 

20 entity and the collective bargaining agent or 

21 agents for the employees of the predecessor pro22 vider shall commence for the purpose of reach23 ing agreement with respect to all matters set 

24 forth in paragraph (2) (A)–(D). The negotia25 tions shall continue for 30 days or until an 


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1 agreement is reached, whichever is sooner. If at 

2 the end of 30 days the parties have not entered 

3 into an agreement with respect to all such mat4 ters, the unresolved issues shall be submitted 

5 for arbitration in accordance with the procedure 

6 set forth in subparagraph (B). 

7 ‘‘(B) ARBITRATION.—If an agreement has 

8 not been entered into with respect to all mat9 ters set forth in paragraph (2) (A)–(D) as pro10 vided in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, 

11 the parties shall select an arbitrator. If the par12 ties are unable to agree upon the selection of 

13 such arbitrator within 5 days, either or both 

14 parties shall notify the National Mediation 

15 Board, which shall provide a list of seven arbi16 trators with experience in arbitrating rail labor 

17 protection disputes. Within 5 days after such 

18 notification, the parties shall alternately strike 

19 names from the list until only one name re20 mains, and that person shall serve as the neu21 tral arbitrator. Within 45 days after selection of 

22 the arbitrator, the arbitrator shall conduct a 

23 hearing on the dispute and shall render a deci24 sion with respect to the unresolved issues set 

25 forth in paragraph (2) (A)–(D). This decision 


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1 shall be final, binding, and conclusive upon the 

2 parties. The salary and expenses of the arbi3 trator shall be borne equally by the parties; all 

4 other expenses shall be paid by the party incur5 ring them. 

6 ‘‘(C) SERVICE COMMENCEMENT.—A re7 placing entity under this paragraph shall com8 mence service only after an agreement is en9 tered into with respect to the matters set forth 

10 in paragraph (2) (A)–(D) or the decision of the 

11 arbitrator has been rendered. 

12 ‘‘(4) SUBSEQUENT REPLACEMENT OF EXISTING

13 RAIL PASSENGER SERVICE.—If the replacement of 

14 existing rail passenger service takes place within 3 

15 years after the replacing entity commences high16 speed rail passenger service, the replacing entity and 

17 the collective bargaining agent or agents for the em18 ployees of the predecessor provider shall enter into 

19 an agreement with respect to the matters set forth 

20 in paragraph (2) (A)–(D). If the parties have not 

21 entered into an agreement with respect to all such 

22 matters within 60 days after the date on which the 

23 replacing entity replaces the predecessor provider, 

24 the parties shall select an arbitrator using the proce25 dures set forth in paragraph (3)(B), who shall, withVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:31 Mar 03, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00112 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1300.IS H1300

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1 in 20 days after the commencement of the arbitra2 tion, conduct a hearing and decide all unresolved 

3 issues. This decision shall be final, binding, and con4 clusive upon the parties. 

5 ‘‘(i) ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS.—Not later than 6 

6 months after the date of the enactment of this section, 

7 the Secretary shall issue regulations for carrying out this 

8 section. 

9 ‘‘(j) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

10 ‘‘(1) SUBSECTION (f) BOND.—The term ‘sub11 section (f) bond’ means a bond designated by the 

12 Secretary under subsection (a) for purposes of sub13 section (f). 

14 ‘‘(2) SECTION 54A BOND.—The term ‘section 

15 54A bond’ means a bond designated by the Sec16 retary under subsection (a) for purposes of section 

17 54A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating 

18 to credit to holders of qualified high-speed rail infra19 structure bonds).’’. 

20 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of 

21 sections of chapter 261 of title 49, United States Code, 

22 is amended by adding after the item relating to section 

23 26105 the following new item: 

‘‘26106. High-speed rail infrastructure bonds.’’. 


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1 SEC. 525. TAX CREDIT TO HOLDERS OF QUALIFIED HIGH2 SPEED RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE BONDS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart H of part IV of sub4 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

5 1986 (relating to credits against tax) is amended by add6 ing at the end the following new section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 54A. CREDIT TO HOLDERS OF QUALIFIED HIGH8 SPEED RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE BONDS. 

9 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—If a taxpayer holds 

10 a qualified high-speed rail infrastructure bond on one or 

11 more credit allowance dates of the bond occurring during 

12 any taxable year, there shall be allowed as a credit against 

13 the tax imposed by this chapter for the taxable year an 

14 amount equal to the sum of the credits determined under 

15 subsection (b) with respect to such dates. 

16 ‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF CREDIT.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of the credit 

18 determined under this subsection with respect to any 

19 credit allowance date for a qualified high-speed rail 

20 infrastructure bond is 25 percent of the annual cred21 it determined with respect to such bond. 

22 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL CREDIT.—The annual credit de23 termined with respect to any qualified high-speed 

24 rail infrastructure bond is the product of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the credit rate determined by the Sec2 retary under paragraph (3) for the day on 

3 which such bond was sold, multiplied by 

4 ‘‘(B) the outstanding face amount of the 

5 bond. 

6 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION.—For purposes of para7 graph (2), with respect to any qualified high-speed 

8 rail infrastructure bond, the Secretary shall deter9 mine daily or cause to be determined daily a credit 

10 rate which shall apply to the first day on which 

11 there is a binding, written contract for the sale or 

12 exchange of the bond. The credit rate for any day 

13 is the credit rate which the Secretary or the Sec14 retary’s designee estimates will permit the issuance 

15 of qualified high-speed rail infrastructure bonds with 

16 a specified maturity or redemption date without dis17 count and without interest cost to the qualified 

18 issuer. 

19 ‘‘(4) CREDIT ALLOWANCE DATE.—For purposes 

20 of this section, the term ‘credit allowance date’ 

21 means— 

22 ‘‘(A) March 15, 

23 ‘‘(B) June 15, 

24 ‘‘(C) September 15, and 

25 ‘‘(D) December 15. 


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1 Such term includes the last day on which the bond 

2 is outstanding. 

3 ‘‘(5) SPECIAL RULE FOR ISSUANCE AND RE4 DEMPTION.—In the case of a bond which is issued 

5 during the 3-month period ending on a credit allow6 ance date, the amount of the credit determined 

7 under this subsection with respect to such credit al8 lowance date shall be a ratable portion of the credit 

9 otherwise determined based on the portion of the 3- 

10 month period during which the bond is outstanding. 

11 A similar rule shall apply when the bond is re12 deemed. 

13 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION BASED ON AMOUNT OF TAX.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The credit allowed under 

15 subsection (a) for any taxable year shall not exceed 

16 the excess of— 

17 ‘‘(A) the sum of the regular tax liability 

18 (as defined in section 26(b)) plus the tax im19 posed by section 55, over 

20 ‘‘(B) the sum of the credits allowable 

21 under this part (other than subpart C, sections 

22 1400N(l) and 54, and this section). 

23 ‘‘(2) CARRYOVER OF UNUSED CREDIT.—If the 

24 credit allowable under subsection (a) exceeds the 

25 limitation imposed by paragraph (1) for such taxable 


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1 year, such excess shall be carried to the succeeding 

2 taxable year and added to the credit allowable under 

3 subsection (a) for such taxable year. 

4 ‘‘(d) CREDIT INCLUDED IN GROSS INCOME.—Gross 

5 income includes the amount of the credit allowed to the 

6 taxpayer under this section (determined without regard to 

7 subsection (c)) and the amount so included shall be treat8 ed as interest income. 

9 ‘‘(e) QUALIFIED HIGH-SPEED RAIL INFRASTRUC10 TURE BOND.—For purposes of this part, the term ‘quali11 fied high-speed rail infrastructure bond’ means any bond 

12 issued as part of an issue if— 

13 ‘‘(1) the issuer certifies that the Secretary of 

14 Transportation has designated the bond for purposes 

15 of this section under section 26106(a) of title 49, 

16 United States Code, as in effect on the date of the 

17 enactment of this section, 

18 ‘‘(2) 95 percent or more of the proceeds from 

19 the sale of such issue are to be used for expenditures 

20 incurred after the date of the enactment of this sec21 tion for any project described in section 26106(a)(2) 

22 of title 49, United States Code, 

23 ‘‘(3) the term of each bond which is part of 

24 such issue does not exceed 20 years, 


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1 ‘‘(4) the payment of principal with respect to 

2 such bond is the obligation solely of the issuer, and 

3 ‘‘(5) the issue meets the requirements of sub4 section (f) (relating to arbitrage). 

5 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULES RELATING TO ARBITRAGE.— 

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 at least 95 percent of the 

11 proceeds from the sale 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 95 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the issue 


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1 is not expended for 1 or more qualified projects 

2 within the 3-year period beginning on the date of 

3 issuance, but the requirements of paragraph (1) are 

4 otherwise met, an issue shall be treated as con5 tinuing to meet the requirements of this subsection 

6 if either— 

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

8 from the sale of the issue to redeem bonds of 

9 the issue within 90 days after the end of such 

10 3-year period, or 

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

12 ‘‘(i) The issuer spends at least 75 per13 cent of the proceeds from the sale of the 

14 issue for 1 or more qualified projects with15 in the 3-year period beginning on the date 

16 of issuance. 

17 ‘‘(ii) Either— 

18 ‘‘(I) the issuer spends at least 95 

19 percent of the proceeds from the sale 

20 of the issue for 1 or more qualified 

21 projects within the 4-year period be22 ginning on the date of issuance, or 

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

25 proceeds from the sale of the issue 


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1 that accrue after the end of the 3-year 

2 period beginning on the date of 

3 issuance and uses all unspent pro4 ceeds from the sale of the issue to re5 deem bonds of the issue within 90 

6 days after the end of the 4-year pe7 riod beginning on the date of 

8 issuance. 

9 ‘‘(g) RECAPTURE OF PORTION OF CREDIT WHERE

10 CESSATION OF COMPLIANCE.— 

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

12 issued purported to be a qualified high-speed rail in13 frastructure bond ceases to be such a qualified bond, 

14 the issuer shall pay to the United States (at the 

15 time required by the Secretary) an amount equal to 

16 the sum of— 

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

18 under this section with respect to such bond 

19 (determined without regard to subsection (c)) 

20 for taxable years ending during the calendar 

21 year in which such cessation occurs and the 2 

22 preceding calendar years, and 

23 ‘‘(B) interest at the underpayment rate 

24 under section 6621 on the amount determined 

25 under subparagraph (A) for each calendar year 


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1 for the period beginning on the first day of 

2 such calendar year. 

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

4 timely pay the amount required by paragraph (1) 

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

6 chapter on each holder of any such bond which is 

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

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

9 the aggregate decrease in the credits allowed under 

10 this section to such holder for taxable years begin11 ning in such 3 calendar years which would have re12 sulted solely from denying any credit under this sec13 tion with respect to such issue for such taxable 

14 years. 

15 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULES.— 

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

17 the taxable year shall be increased under para18 graph (2) only with respect to credits allowed 

19 by reason of this section which were used to re20 duce tax liability. In the case of credits not so 

21 used to reduce tax liability, the carryforwards 

22 under subsection (c) shall be appropriately ad23 justed. 

24 ‘‘(B) NO CREDITS AGAINST TAX.—Any in25 crease in tax under paragraph (2) shall not be 


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1 treated as a tax imposed by this chapter for 

2 purposes of determining— 

3 ‘‘(i) the amount of any credit allow4 able under this part, or 

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

6 by section 55. 

7 ‘‘(h) OTHER DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.— 

8 For purposes of this section— 

9 ‘‘(1) BOND.—The term ‘bond’ includes any ob10 ligation. 

11 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED PROJECT.—The term ‘qualified 

12 project’ means any project described in section 

13 26106(a)(2) of title 49, United States Code. 

14 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF CHANGES IN USE.—For 

15 purposes of subsection (e)(2), the proceeds from the 

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

17 qualified project to the extent that the issuer takes 

18 any action within its control which causes such pro19 ceeds not to be used for a qualified project. The Sec20 retary shall prescribe regulations specifying remedial 

21 actions that may be taken (including conditions to 

22 taking such remedial actions) to prevent an action 

23 described in the preceding sentence from causing a 

24 bond to fail to be a qualified high-speed rail infra25 structure bond. 


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1 ‘‘(4) PARTNERSHIP; S CORPORATION; AND

2 OTHER PASS-THRU ENTITIES.—Under regulations 

3 prescribed by the Secretary, in the case of a partner4 ship, trust, S corporation, or other pass-thru entity, 

5 rules similar to the rules of section 41(g) shall apply 

6 with respect to the credit allowable under subsection 

7 (a). 

8 ‘‘(5) BONDS HELD BY REGULATED INVEST9 MENT COMPANIES.—If any qualified high-speed rail 

10 infrastructure bond is held by a regulated invest11 ment company, the credit determined under sub12 section (a) shall be allowed to shareholders of such 

13 company under procedures prescribed by the Sec14 retary. 

15 ‘‘(6) REPORTING.—Issuers of qualified high16 speed rail infrastructure bonds shall submit reports 

17 similar to the reports required under section 

18 149(e).’’. 

19 (b) REPORTING.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (A) of section 

21 6049(d)(8) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

22 amended— 

23 (A) by inserting ‘‘, 54A(d),’’ after ‘‘54(g)’’, 

24 and 


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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘, 54A(b)(4),’’ after 

2 ‘‘54(b)(4)’’. 

3 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The heading 

4 of section 6049(d)(8) of such Code is amended by 

5 striking ‘‘CLEAN RENEWABLE ENERGY BONDS’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘CERTAIN TAX CREDIT BONDS’’. 

7 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of subparts 

8 for subpart H of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 

9 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing new item: 

‘‘Sec. 54A. Credit to holders of qualified high-speed rail infrastructure bonds.’’. 

11 (d) ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS.—Not later than 6 

12 months after the date of the enactment of this section, 

13 the Secretary of the Treasury shall issue regulations for 

14 carrying out this section and the amendments made by 

15 this section. 

16 (e) HIGH-SPEED INTERCITY RAIL FACILITIES.— 

17 (1) REQUIREMENT TO MEET TITLE 49 RE18 QUIREMENTS.—Section 142(i) of the Internal Rev19 enue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end 

20 the following new paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—A bond 

22 issued as part of an issue described in subsection 

23 (a)(11) shall not be considered an exempt facility 

24 bond unless the requirements of paragraphs (1) 


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1 through (6) of section 26106(a) of title 49, United 

2 States Code, are met.’’. 

3 (2) REVISION OF SPEED REQUIREMENT.—Sec4 tion 142(i)(1) of such Code is amended by striking 

5 ‘‘150 miles per hour’’ and inserting ‘‘110 miles per 

6 hour’’. 

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

8 this section shall apply to obligations issued after the date 

9 of the enactment of this Act. 

10 Subtitle D—Energy Supply and 

11 Freight Rail 

12 SEC. 531. SHORT TITLE. 

13 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Railroad Track 

14 Modernization Act of 2007’’. 

15 SEC. 532. CAPITAL GRANTS FOR RAILROAD TRACK. 

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

17 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘CHAPTER 223—CAPITAL GRANTS FOR 

19 RAILROAD TRACK 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘22301. Capital grants for railroad track. 

20 ‘‘§ 22301. Capital grants for railroad track 

21 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 

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

23 Transportation shall establish a program of capital 

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1 provement of railroad track (including roadbed, 

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

3 class III railroads. Such grants shall be for rehabili4 tating, preserving, or improving track used primarily 

5 for freight transportation to a standard ensuring 

6 that the track can be operated safely and efficiently, 

7 including grants for rehabilitating, preserving, or im8 proving track to handle 286,000 pound rail cars. 

9 Grants may be provided under this chapter— 

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

11 railroad; or 

12 ‘‘(B) with the concurrence of the class II 

13 or class III railroad, to a State or local govern14 ment. 

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

16 III railroad applicants for a grant under this chap17 ter are encouraged to utilize the expertise and assist18 ance of State transportation agencies in applying for 

19 and administering such grants. State transportation 

20 agencies are encouraged to provide such expertise 

21 and assistance to such railroads. 

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

23 December 31, 2007, the Secretary shall issue tem24 porary regulations to implement the program under 

25 this section. Subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5 


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1 does not apply to a temporary regulation issued 

2 under this paragraph or to an amendment to such 

3 a temporary regulation. 

4 ‘‘(4) FINAL REGULATIONS.—Not later than Oc5 tober 1, 2008, the Secretary shall issue final regula6 tions to implement the program under this section. 

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

8 Federal share for carrying out a project under this section 

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

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

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

12 be approved by the Secretary on a case by case basis con13 sistent with this chapter. 

14 ‘‘(c) PROJECT ELIGIBILITY.—For a project to be eli15 gible for assistance under this section the track must have 

16 been operated or owned by a class II or class III railroad 

17 as of the date of the enactment of the Railroad Track 

18 Modernization Act of 2007. 

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

20 section shall be used to implement track capital projects 

21 as soon as possible. In no event shall grant funds be con22 tractually obligated for a project later than the end of the 

23 third Federal fiscal year following the year in which the 

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


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

2 reallocation. 

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

4 grants for projects as provided in subsection (a), the Sec5 retary may also make grants to supplement direct loans 

6 or loan guarantees made under title V of the Railroad Re7 vitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 

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

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

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

11 credit risk premiums, lowering rates of interest, or pro12 viding for a holiday on principal payments. 

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

14 require as a condition of any grant made under this sec15 tion that the recipient railroad provide a fair arrangement 

16 at least as protective of the interests of employees who 

17 are affected by the project to be funded with the grant 

18 as the terms imposed under section 11326(a), as in effect 

19 on the date of the enactment of the Railroad Track Mod20 ernization Act of 2007. 

21 ‘‘(g) LABOR STANDARDS.— 

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

23 ensure that laborers and mechanics employed by 

24 contractors and subcontractors in construction work 

25 financed by a grant made under this section will be 


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1 paid wages not less than those prevailing on similar 

2 construction in the locality, as determined by the 

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

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

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

6 section only after being assured that required labor 

7 standards will be maintained on the construction 

8 work. 

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

10 bargaining agreement negotiated under the Railway 

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

12 purposes of this subsection to comply with the Act 

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

14 40 U.S.C. 276a et seq.). 

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

16 of the projects carried out with grant assistance under this 

17 section to determine the public interest benefits associated 

18 with the light density railroad networks in the States and 

19 their contribution to a multimodal transportation system. 

20 Not later than March 31, 2009, the Secretary shall report 

21 to Congress any recommendations the Secretary considers 

22 appropriate regarding the eligibility of light density rail 

23 networks for Federal infrastructure financing. 

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

25 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 


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

2 2008 through 2010 for carrying out this section.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item relating 

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

5 title 49, United States Code, is amended to read as fol6 lows: 

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

7 Subtitle E—Rail Reliability 

8 SEC. 541. RELIABILITY OF RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION OF 

9 ENERGY SUPPLIES. 

10 (a) FINDING.—The Congress finds that the Nation’s 

11 rail system is a critical part of national security, and that 

12 the Surface Transportation Board has the obligation and 

13 authority to ensure that the Nation’s rail infrastructure 

14 is adequate to enable safe, efficient, and reliable delivery 

15 of passengers, energy supplies, and other goods and serv16 ices, and that the Nation’s rail carriers meet their common 

17 carrier obligations to deliver products and maintain infra18 structure at a level which provides for the safe, efficient, 

19 and reliable delivery of passengers, energy supplies, and 

20 other goods and services. 

21 (b) RELIABILITY REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 

22 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sur23 face Transportation Board, after consultation with the 

24 Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Energy, the 

25 Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Agriculture, the 


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1 Secretary of Defense, and the Chairman of the Federal 

2 Energy Regulatory Commission, shall issue regulations re3 quiring implementation of the reliability standards ap4 proved under this section. 

5 (c) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 

6 term ‘‘reliability standard’’ means a requirement, ap7 proved by the Surface Transportation Board under this 

8 section, to provide for reliable and timely operation of rail9 road transportation of passengers, energy supplies, and 

10 other goods and services. The term shall include a require11 ment for operation and maintenance of the railroad sys12 tem as well as for efficient transfer of freight cars and 

13 train sets between different railroads. 

14 (d) ADVISORY PANEL.—Not later than 90 days after 

15 the date of enactment of this Act, the Surface Transpor16 tation Board shall establish an advisory panel, consisting 

17 of representatives of the rail carrier industry, energy sup18 ply companies, and industrial and individual consumers of 

19 energy and rail transportation services. Such advisory 

20 panel shall ensure its independence of the users, owners, 

21 and operators of the railroad system while ensuring fair 

22 stakeholder representation in the selection of its directors, 

23 ensure balanced decisionmaking in any committee or orga24 nizational structure, and provide for reasonable notice and 

25 opportunity for public comment, due process, openness, 


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1 and balance of interests in developing reliability standards 

2 and otherwise exercising its duties. Such advisory panel 

3 shall, after obtaining all relevant stakeholder comments, 

4 make recommendations for the establishment of standards 

5 for rail operations to ensure the timely and efficient trans6 portation of fuels and energy feedstocks, especially during 

7 times of energy or fuel supply emergencies. The first such 

8 recommendations shall be transmitted to the Surface 

9 Transportation Board not later than 270 days after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act. These recommendations 

11 may include suggestions for expanded rail infrastructure 

12 to expand, connect new, or bolster existing points within 

13 the current rail line network. 

14 (e) SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD AP15 PROVAL.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Surface Transportation 

17 Board may approve, by rule or order, a proposed re18 liability standard or modification to a reliability 

19 standard if it determines that the standard is just, 

20 reasonable, not unduly discriminatory or pref21 erential, and in the public interest. The Surface 

22 Transportation Board shall use the recommenda23 tions developed by the advisory panel under sub24 section (d) with respect to the content of a proposed 

25 standard or modification to a reliability standard. A 


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1 proposed standard or modification shall take effect 

2 upon approval by the Surface Transportation Board. 

3 The Surface Transportation Board shall approve or 

4 disapprove the first recommended standards trans5 mitted by the advisory panel not later than 1 year 

6 after receiving such transmittal. 

7 (2) REMAND.—The Surface Transportation 

8 Board shall remand to the advisory panel for further 

9 consideration a proposed reliability standard or a 

10 modification to a reliability standard that the Sur11 face Transportation Board disapproves in whole or 

12 in part. 

13 (3) SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD INITI14 ATED STANDARDS.—The Surface Transportation 

15 Board, upon its own motion or upon complaint, may 

16 request the advisory panel to submit to the Surface 

17 Transportation Board a recommendation for a pro18 posed reliability standard or modification to a reli19 ability standard that addresses a specific matter if 

20 the Surface Transportation Board considers such a 

21 new or modified reliability standard appropriate to 

22 carry out this section. If the advisory panel fails to 

23 submit a proposed or modified standard within 1 

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1 portation Board, the Board may implement its own 

2 standard to carry out this section. 

3 (4) CONFLICT.—A final rule adopted under this 

4 section shall include fair processes for the identifica5 tion and timely resolution of any conflict between a 

6 reliability standard and any function, rule, order, 

7 tariff, rate schedule, or agreement accepted, ap8 proved, or ordered by the Surface Transportation 

9 Board applicable to a rail carrier. Such rail carrier 

10 shall continue to comply with such function, rule, 

11 order, tariff, rate schedule, or agreement accepted 

12 approved, or ordered by the Surface Transportation 

13 Board until— 

14 (A) the Surface Transportation Board 

15 finds a conflict exists between a reliability 

16 standard and any such provision; 

17 (B) the Surface Transportation Board or18 ders a change to such provision; and 

19 (C) the ordered change becomes effective. 

20 If the Surface Transportation Board determines 

21 that a reliability standard needs to be changed as a 

22 result of such a conflict, it shall order the advisory 

23 panel to develop and recommend to the Surface 

24 Transportation Board a modified reliability stand25 ard. 


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1 (5) PENALTIES.—On its own motion or upon 

2 complaint, the Surface Transportation Board may 

3 order compliance with a reliability standard and may 

4 impose a penalty against a rail carrier or other enti5 ty if the Surface Transportation Board finds, after 

6 notice and opportunity for a hearing, that the rail 

7 carrier or other entity has engaged or is about to en8 gage in any acts or practices that constitute or will 

9 constitute a violation of a reliability standard. 

Æ 


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