‘‘§ 26104. Authorization of appropriations 
‘‘(a) FISCAL YEARS 2006 THROUGH 2013.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary— 
‘‘(1) $70,000,000 for carrying out section 
26101; and 
‘‘(2) $30,000,000 for carrying out section 
26102, 
for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 2013. 
‘‘(b) FUNDS TO REMAIN AVAILABLE.—Funds made 
available under this section shall remain available until ex-
pended.’’. 
TITLE 
III—RAIL 
INFRASTRUC-
TURE 
FINANCE 
CORPORA-
TION 
SEC. 301. ESTABLISHMENT OF CORPORATION. 
There is established a nonprofit corporation, to be 
known as the ‘‘Rail Infrastructure Finance Corporation’’. 
The Rail Infrastructure Finance Corporation is not an 
agency or establishment of the United States Government 
for purposes of any Federal law, including the Securities 
Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and 
the Trust Indenture Act of 1939. The Corporation shall 
be subject to the provisions of this title and, to the extent 
consistent with this section, to the laws of the State of 
Delaware applicable to corporations not for profit.
SEC. 302. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 
(a) APPOINTMENT.—The Rail Infrastructure Fi-
nance Corporation shall have a Board of Directors con-
sisting of 9 voting members appointed by the President, 
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The 
President shall submit all nominations for the initial 
Board not less than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act. Not more than 5 voting members of the Board 
may be members of the same political party. 
(b) MEMBERSHIP QUALIFICATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The 9 voting members of 
the Board shall be appointed from among citizens of 
the United States (not regular full-time employees of 
the United States) who are eminent in the fields of 
rail transportation, rail financing, intermodal trans-
portation planning, and the financing and manage-
ment of large-scale, long-term public-private cooper-
ative projects. 
(2) REPRESENTATION
OF
SPECIFIC
INTER-
ESTS.—Of the 9 voting members of the Board, 8 
shall be selected as follows: 
(A) 1 member from among individuals who 
represent the interests of freight rail transpor-
tation.
(B) 1 member from among individuals who 
represent the interests of intermodal transpor-
tation. 
(C) 1 member from among individuals who 
represent the interests of passenger rail trans-
portation. 
(D) 1 member from among individuals who 
represent the interests of the States. 
(E) 1 member from among individuals who 
represent the interests of intercity passenger 
rail users. 
(F) 1 member from among individuals who 
represent the interests of organized rail labor. 
(G) 2 members from among persons who 
are involved in finance. 
(c) INCORPORATION.—The voting members initially 
appointed to the Board of Directors shall serve as 
incorporators and, upon the establishment of a quorum, 
shall take whatever actions are necessary to establish the 
Corporation under the laws of Delaware. 
(d) TERMS
OF OFFICE.—Voting members of the 
Board shall be appointed for terms of 6 years. No voting 
member of the Board shall be eligible to serve in excess 
of 2 consecutive full terms.
(e) VACANCIES.—A voting member of the Board ap-
pointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration 
of the term for which the member’s predecessor was ap-
pointed shall be appointed for the remainder of such term. 
Except as provided in subsection (f), upon the expiration 
of a voting member’s term, the member shall continue to 
serve until a successor is appointed. 
(f) ATTENDANCE REQUIRED.—Voting members of 
the Board shall attend not less than 50 percent of all duly 
convened meetings of the Board in any calendar year. A 
voting member who fails to meet the requirement of the 
preceding sentence shall forfeit membership and the Presi-
dent shall appoint a new member to fill the resulting va-
cancy not later than 90 days after such vacancy is deter-
mined by the Chairman of the Board. 
(g) PRESIDENT OF AMTRAK.—The President of Am-
trak shall serve as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the 
Board of Directors. 
(h) ELECTION
OF CHAIRMAN
AND VICE CHAIR-
MAN.—Voting members of the Board shall annually elect 
1 of their voting members to be Chairman and elect 1 or 
more of their voting members as a Vice Chairman or Vice 
Chairmen. 
(i) COMPENSATION.—The voting members of the 
Board shall not, by reason of such membership, be consid-
ered to be officers or employees of the United States. 
Those voting members shall, while attending meetings of 
the Board or while engaged in duties related to such meet-
ings or other activities of the Board pursuant to this Act, 
be entitled to receive compensation at the rate of $300 
per day, including traveltime. No Board voting member 
shall receive compensation for service on the Board of 
more than $10,000 in any fiscal year. While away from 
their homes or regular places of business, all Board mem-
bers shall be allowed travel and actual, reasonable, and 
necessary expenses. 
(j) MEETINGS OPEN TO PUBLIC.—All meetings of 
the Board of Directors of the Corporation, including any 
committee of the Board, shall be open to the public under 
such terms, conditions, and exceptions as the Board may 
establish. 
(k) QUORUM AND PROCEEDINGS.—Five voting mem-
bers of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the Board 
to conduct business. All decisions of the Board shall be 
entered upon the records of the Board. 
SEC. 303. OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Rail Infrastructure Finance 
Corporation shall have a President, and such other officers 
as may be named and appointed by the Board for terms 
and at rates of compensation fixed by the Board. No indi-
vidual other than a citizen of the United States may be 
an officer of the Corporation. No officer of the Corpora-
tion may receive any salary or other compensation (except 
for compensation for services on boards of directors of 
other organizations that do not receive funds from the 
Corporation, on committees of such boards, and in similar 
activities for such organizations) from any sources other 
than the Corporation for services rendered during the pe-
riod of his or her employment by the Corporation. Service 
by any officer on boards of directors of other organiza-
tions, on committees of such boards, and in similar activi-
ties for such organizations shall be subject to annual ad-
vance approval by the Board and subject to the provisions 
of a Statement of Ethical Conduct adopted by the Cor-
poration. All officers shall serve at the pleasure of the 
Board. An officer of the corporation shall not be consid-
ered to be an officer or employee of the United States by 
virtue of such office. 
(b) NONPARTISAN NATURE OF APPOINTMENTS.—No 
political test or qualification shall be used in selecting, ap-
pointing, promoting, or taking other personnel actions 
with respect to officers, agents, or employees of the Cor-
poration.
SEC. 304. NONPROFIT AND NONPOLITICAL NATURE OF THE 
CORPORATION. 
(a) STOCK.—The Rail Infrastructure Finance Cor-
poration shall have no power to issue any shares of stock, 
or to declare or pay any dividends. 
(b) NO PRIVATE BENEFIT.—No part of the income 
or assets of the Corporation shall inure to the benefit of 
any director, officer, employee, or any other individual ex-
cept as salary or reasonable compensation for services. 
(c) POLITICAL ACTIVITY PROHIBITED.—The Cor-
poration may not contribute to or otherwise support any 
political party or candidate for elective public office. 
(d) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—No director, officer, 
or employee of the Corporation shall in any manner, di-
rectly or indirectly, participate in the deliberation upon or 
the determination of any question affecting his or her per-
sonal interests or the interests of any corporation, partner-
ship, or organization in which he or she has a direct or 
indirect financial interest. Board members shall recuse 
themselves from Board decisions that directly affect either 
them or any company or organization that they represent 
or in which they have a financial interest regarding grants 
and other financial assistance provided to States by the 
Board. 
SEC. 305. PURPOSE AND ACTIVITIES OF CORPORATION. 
(a) PURPOSE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Rail Infrastructure Fi-
nance Corporation shall, through the issuance of 
qualified rail infrastructure bonds in accordance 
with section 54 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 and this title, provide financial support for 
projects approved under sections 201 and 202. 
(2) SELECTION OF PROJECTS.—The Board of 
Directors may award grants for projects that have 
been approved by the Secretary of Transportation 
under sections 201 and 202. In selecting projects for 
such awards, the Board shall— 
(A) give preference to projects with high 
levels of estimated ridership, increased on-time 
performance, reduced trip time, and additional 
service frequency; 
(B) give preference to projects that encour-
age intermodal connectivity through direct con-
nections between train stations, airports, bus 
terminals, subway stations, ferry ports, and 
other modes of transportation; 
(C) ensure a general balance of grant 
funding across geographic regions of the United 
States, and avoid a disproportionate concentra-
tion of funding in any single Corridor;
(D) favor projects that also improve 
freight or commuter rail operations; 
(E) favor projects that are expected to 
have a significant favorable impact on air or 
highway traffic congestion, capacity, or safety; 
(F) favor projects that have significant en-
vironmental benefits; 
(G) favor projects that have positive eco-
nomic and employment impacts; 
(H) favor projects that encourage the use 
of positive train control technology; 
(I) favor projects that enhance national se-
curity; and 
(J) favor projects that have commitments 
of non-Federal funding in a total amount that 
exceeds the minimum amount required. 
(3) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Board shall 
not award contract authority under this title in an 
aggregate amount greater than $500,000,000 for 
any fiscal year. Awards shall be available for expend-
iture over a 6-year period. 
(4) NON-FEDERAL MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 
Recipients of awards under this title shall provide 
from non-Federal sources at least 20 percent of the 
costs of the project for which the award is made.
(5) DISTRIBUTION OF AWARDS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts award-
ed under this title for any fiscal year— 
(i) 75 percent shall be for projects de-
scribed in section 201; 
(ii) 10 percent shall be for projects 
described in section 202(a)(1); 
(iii) 5 percent shall be for projects de-
scribed in section 202(a)(2); 
(iv) 5 percent shall be for projects de-
scribed in section 202(a)(3); and 
(v) 5 percent shall be for projects de-
scribed in section 202(a)(4). 
(B) CARRYOVER.—If sufficient viable ap-
plications are not available to distribute the en-
tire amount under subparagraph (A)(i), (ii), 
(iii), (iv), or (v) for a fiscal year, the remainder 
of amounts unspent shall be available for addi-
tional awards within the same category for sub-
sequent fiscal years. 
(b) BOND ISSUANCE AUTHORITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to carry out its 
purposes, the Corporation is authorized to issue 
qualified rail infrastructure bonds (as defined in sec-
tion 54(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986)
during the 6-year period beginning on the day after 
the date of enactment of this Act. 
(2) LIMITATION.—The total face amount of the 
bonds outstanding under paragraph (1) at any time 
may not exceed $30,000,000,000. 
(3) NO FEDERAL GUARANTEE.— 
(A) OBLIGATIONS INSURED BY THE COR-
PORATION.—No obligation that is insured, 
guaranteed, or otherwise backed by the Cor-
poration shall be deemed to be an obligation 
that is guaranteed by the full faith and credit 
of the United States. 
(B) SPECIAL RULE.—This paragraph shall 
not affect the determination of whether such 
obligation is guaranteed for purposes of Federal 
income taxes. 
(C) SECURITIES OFFERED BY THE COR-
PORATION.—No debt or equity securities of the 
Corporation shall be deemed to be guaranteed 
by the full faith and credit of the United 
States. 
(4) AUTHORITY.—To carry out the purpose set 
forth in subsection (a) and engage in the activities 
described in subsection (b), the Corporation shall
have the usual powers conferred upon a nonprofit 
corporation under the laws of the State of Delaware. 
(c) FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.—The Corporation shall 
be eligible to receive discretionary grants, contracts, gifts, 
contributions, or technical assistance from any department 
or agency of the Federal Government, but only to the ex-
tent permitted by law and to the extent necessary to carry 
out the purpose set forth in subsection (a) and the activi-
ties described in subsection (b). 
SEC. 306. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than May 15 of each 
year, the Rail Infrastructure Finance Corporation shall 
submit an annual report for the fiscal year ending on Sep-
tember 30 of the preceding year to the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 
the House of Representatives. The report shall include a 
comprehensive and detailed report of the Corporation’s op-
erations, activities, financial condition, and accomplish-
ments under this title and such recommendations as the 
Corporation considers appropriate. 
(b) AVAILABILITY
FOR TESTIMONY.—The officers 
and directors of the Corporation shall be available to tes-
tify before those committees with respect to such report
or any other matter which such committees may deter-
mine. 
SEC. 307. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS. 
(a) BUDGET.—The Rail Infrastructure Finance Cor-
poration shall establish an annual budget for the Corpora-
tion, including the Rail Infrastructure Investment Account 
under subsection (c). 
(b) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.— 
(1) REQUIREMENT FOR PLAN.—The Corpora-
tion shall conduct a study and prepare a plan on 
how the Corporation can best achieve the purposes 
and fulfill the requirements of this title. 
(2) CONSULTATION.—In preparing the plan, 
the Corporation may consult with representatives of 
State and local governments, railroads, and other 
similar entities. 
(3) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The plan, which 
shall be based on the conclusions resulting from the 
study conducted under paragraph (1), shall be sub-
mitted by the Corporation to the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen-
ate and the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure of the House of Representatives not later 
than 180 days after the date on which the Corpora-
tion is incorporated. Unless directed otherwise by
law, the Corporation shall implement the plan dur-
ing the first fiscal year beginning after the fiscal 
year in which the plan is submitted to Congress. 
(c) 
RAIL
INFRASTRUCTURE
INVESTMENT
AC-
COUNT.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Board of Directors 
for the Corporation shall establish an account to be 
known as the Rail Infrastructure Investment Ac-
count (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Account’’). 
(2) DEPOSIT OF BOND PROCEEDS.—The Cor-
poration shall deposit the proceeds of sales of any 
bonds issued under section 54 of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 into the Account. 
(3) DEPOSIT
OF
NON-FEDERAL
CONTRIBU-
TIONS.—The Board shall deposit all non-Federal 
contributions received into the Account. 
(4) DISBURSEMENTS.—The Board may make 
available and may disburse, during the first fiscal 
year beginning after the date of enactment of this 
Act and during each succeeding fiscal year there-
after, such funds as may be available for obligation 
and expenditure from the Account. 
(5) USE OF ACCOUNT FUNDS.—Funds in the 
Account—
(A) shall be used by the Corporation for 
investment purposes through the Rail Infra-
structure Finance Trust established under sec-
tion 308 to generate an amount sufficient— 
(i) to repay the principal of the bonds 
at their maturity; and 
(ii) to pay the administrative costs of 
the Corporation and the Rail Infrastruc-
ture Finance Trust; and 
(B) shall, to the extent of the net spend-
able proceeds in the account, be held in the Rail 
Infrastructure Finance Trust established under 
section 308 and be available for distribution as 
grants of financial assistance for projects ap-
proved under sections 201 and 202. 
(6) NET SPENDABLE PROCEEDS DEFINED.—In 
this subsection, the term ‘‘net spendable proceeds’’, 
with respect to the Rail Infrastructure Investment 
Account, means the amount, determined by the 
Board of Trustees of the Rail Infrastructure Fi-
nance Trust, equal to the excess of— 
(A) the total amount in such Account, over 
(B) the amount in such Account that is 
needed for uses under paragraph (5)(A). 
(d) RECORDS AND AUDIT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Account and the Cor-
poration shall be audited annually in accordance 
with generally accepted auditing standards by inde-
pendent certified public accountants or independent 
licensed public accountants certified or licensed by a 
regulatory authority of a State or other political sub-
division of the United States. The audits shall be 
conducted at the place or places where the accounts 
of the Corporation are normally kept. All books, ac-
counts, financial records, reports, files, and all other 
papers, things, or property belonging to or in use by 
the Corporation and necessary to facilitate the au-
dits shall be made available to the person or persons 
conducting the audits; and full facilities for verifying 
transactions with the balances or securities held by 
depositories, fiscal agents and custodians shall be af-
forded to such person or persons. 
(2) AUDIT REPORT.—The report of each such 
independent audit shall be included in the annual re-
port required by section 306. The audit report shall 
set forth the scope of the audit and include such 
statements as are necessary to present fairly the 
Corporation’s assets and liabilities, surplus or def-
icit, with an analysis of the changes therein during 
the year, supplemented in reasonable detail by a
statement of the Corporation’s income and expenses 
during the year, and a statement of the sources and 
application of funds, together with the independent 
auditor’s opinion of those statements. 
(3) ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES.—Not later than 
1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Corporation shall develop accounting principles 
which shall be used uniformly by all entities receiv-
ing funds under this title, taking into account orga-
nizational differences among various categories of 
such entities. Such principles shall be designed to 
account fully for all funds received and expended for 
purposes of this title by such entities. 
(4) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
RECIPIENTS.—Each 
entity receiving funds under this title shall— 
(A) keep its books, records, and accounts 
in such form as may be required by the Cor-
poration; 
(B) either— 
(i) undergo an annual audit by inde-
pendent certified public accountants or 
independent licensed public accountants 
certified or licensed by a regulatory au-
thority of a State, which audit shall be in
accordance with auditing standards devel-
oped by the Corporation; or 
(ii) submit a financial statement in 
lieu of the audit described in clause (i) if 
the Corporation determines that the cost 
burden of such audit on such entity is ex-
cessive in light of the financial condition of 
such entity; and 
(C) furnish biennially to the Corporation a 
copy of the audit report or financial statement 
required pursuant to the subparagraph (B), as 
well as such other information regarding fi-
nances (including an annual financial report) as 
the Corporation may require. 
(5) ADDITIONAL RECORDKEEPING.—Any recipi-
ent of assistance by grant or contract under this 
title, other than a fixed price contract awarded pur-
suant to competitive bidding procedures, shall keep 
such records as may be reasonably necessary to dis-
close fully the amount and the disposition by such 
recipient of such assistance, the total cost of the 
project or undertaking in connection with which 
such assistance is given or used, and the amount 
and nature of that portion of the cost of the projects