I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3090 
To establish a grant program to support interstate rail compacts and improve 
the safety, efficiency, or reliability of passenger and freight rail transpor-
tation systems, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 11, 2021 
Mr. COHEN (for himself, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illi-
nois, and Mr. BLUMENAUER) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To establish a grant program to support interstate rail com-
pacts and improve the safety, efficiency, or reliability 
of passenger and freight rail transportation systems, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Interstate Rail Com-
pacts Advancement Act of 2021’’. 
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SEC. 2. INTERSTATE RAIL COMPACTS. 
(a) IDENTIFICATION.—Section 410 of the Amtrak 
Reform and Accountability Act of 1997 (Public Law 105– 
134; 49 U.S.C. 24101 note) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(2) by striking ‘‘(except 
funds made available for Amtrak)’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) INTERSTATE RAIL COMPACTS PROGRAM.—The 
Secretary of Transportation shall— 
‘‘(1) make available on a publicly accessible 
website a list of interstate rail compacts established 
in accordance with subsection (a); 
‘‘(2) provide information to the public regarding 
interstate rail compacts, including how States may 
establish interstate rail compacts under subsection 
(a); and 
‘‘(3) annually update the information provided 
under paragraph (2).’’. 
(b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Chapter 229 of title 49, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘§ 22909. Interstate rail compacts support program 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop and 
implement a program for providing administrative assist-
ance grants to an applicant, on a competitive basis, to sup-
port interstate and regional efforts— 
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‘‘(1) to improve the safety, efficiency, or reli-
ability of intercity passenger rail; and 
‘‘(2) to promote and develop intercity passenger 
rail service, including through initiating, restoring, 
or enhancing intercity passenger rail service. 
‘‘(b) APPLICANT SELECTION CRITERIA.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In awarding grants under 
this section, the Secretary shall consider— 
‘‘(A) the amount of funding received (in-
cluding funding from railroads) or other signifi-
cant participation by State, local, and regional 
governmental and private entities; 
‘‘(B) the applicant’s work to facilitate and 
encourage regional planning for passenger rail 
improvement, enhancement, and development; 
‘‘(C) the applicant’s work to foster, 
through rail transportation systems, economic 
development, particularly in rural communities 
and for disadvantaged populations; 
‘‘(D) the applicant’s efforts to provide 
guidance to local communities on public and 
private resources relate to community concerns, 
such as congestion, rail and grade crossing 
safety, trespasser prevention, quiet zones, 
idling, and rail line relocations; 
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‘‘(E) whether the applicant seeks to restore 
service over routes formerly operated by Am-
trak, including routes described in section 
11304(a) of the Passenger Rail Reform and In-
vestment Act of 2015 (title XI of division A of 
Public Law 114–94); 
‘‘(F) the applicant’s dedication to pro-
viding intercity passenger rail service to regions 
and communities that are underserved or not 
served by other intercity public transportation; 
‘‘(G) whether the applicant is enhancing 
connectivity and geographic coverage of the ex-
isting national network of intercity rail pas-
senger service; 
‘‘(H) the applicant’s efforts to engage with 
entities to deploy railroad safety technology or 
programs, including trespassing prevention, rail 
integrity inspection systems, or grade crossing 
safety; 
‘‘(I) whether the applicant prepares re-
gional rail and corridor service development 
plans and corresponding environmental anal-
ysis; 
‘‘(J) whether the applicant would maximize 
the net benefits of the funds authorized for use 
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under this section, considering the cost-benefit 
analysis of the proposed project, including an-
ticipated private and public benefits relative to 
the costs of the proposed project; and 
‘‘(K) whether the applicant has engaged 
with the Federal, local, or State government 
and transportation planning agencies to identify 
projects necessary to enhance multimodal con-
nections or facilitate service integration between 
rail service and other modes, including between 
intercity rail passenger transportation and 
intercity bus service, commercial air service, or 
commuter rail service. 
‘‘(2) PREFERENCE.—In selecting grant recipi-
ents, the Secretary shall give preference to appli-
cants that are initiating, restoring, or enhancing 
intercity rail passenger transportation. 
‘‘(c) APPLICATION PROCESS.—The Secretary shall 
prescribe the form and manner of filing applications under 
this section. 
‘‘(d) PERFORMANCE MEASURES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish performance measures for each grant recipient 
to assess progress in achieving strategic goals and 
objectives. 
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‘‘(2) ANNUAL REPORT.— The Secretary shall 
require grant recipients to submit an annual report 
of the activities of such recipient and information re-
lated to applicable performance measures, which 
may include— 
‘‘(A) a demonstration of progress to 
achieve or advance the relevant criteria de-
scribed in subsection (c); and 
‘‘(B) receipt of non-Federal matching 
funds from each member State at least once 
during each fiscal year. 
‘‘(e) FEDERAL SHARE OF TOTAL PROJECT COST.— 
The Secretary shall require each recipient of a grant under 
this subsection to provide a non-Federal match of not less 
than 50 percent of the administrative costs of the inter-
state rail compact. 
‘‘(f) APPLICABLE REQUIREMENTS.—The use of any 
amounts appropriated for grants under this section shall 
be subject to the applicable requirements under this chap-
ter. 
‘‘(g) APPLICABILITY.—Amounts appropriated to 
carry out this section shall remain available until ex-
pended. 
‘‘(h) LIMITATIONS.— 
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