I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1020
To authorize the Secretary of Transportation to establish a grant program
for the rehabilitation, preservation, or improvement of railroad track.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 14, 2001
Mr. QUINN (for himself, Mr. CLEMENT, and Mr. BACHUS) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Transportation to establish
a grant program for the rehabilitation, preservation, or
improvement of railroad track.
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 ‘‘Railroad Track Mod-
ernization Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. CAPITAL GRANTS FOR RAILROAD TRACK.
(a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 223 of title 49, United
States Code, is amended to read as follows:
‘‘CHAPTER 223—CAPITAL GRANTS FOR
RAILROAD TRACK
‘‘Sec.
‘‘22301. Capital grants for railroad track.
‘‘§ 22301. Capital grants for railroad track
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary
of Transportation shall establish a program of capital
grants to class II and class III railroads to rehabilitate,
preserve, or improve railroad track (including roadbed,
bridges, and related track structures) used primarily for
freight transportation to a standard ensuring that such
railroad track can be operated safely and efficiently, par-
ticularly when handling 286,000 pound rail cars. The Sec-
retary shall issue regulations to implement the program.
‘‘(b) MAXIMUM FEDERAL SHARE.—The maximum
Federal share for carrying out a project under this section
shall be 80 percent of the project cost. The non-Federal
share may be provided by any non-Federal source in cash,
equipment, supplies, or other in-kind contributions ap-
proved by the Secretary.
‘‘(c) PROJECT ELIGIBILITY STANDARDS.—For a
project to be eligible for assistance under this section—
(1) the ratio of benefits to costs for the project
must be more than 1.0 as calculated by a method-
ology established by the Secretary for calculating the
ratio of benefits to costs of projects proposed under
this section; and
(2) the track must have been operated by a
class II or class III railroad as of the date of the
enactment of the Railroad Track Modernization Act
of 2001.
The Secretary may waive the requirement under para-
graph (1) if the Secretary determines that a project is in
the public interest.
‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants provided under this
section shall be used to implement track capital projects
as soon as possible. In no event shall grant funds be con-
tractually obligated for a project later than the end of the
third Federal fiscal year following the year in which the
grant was awarded. Any funds not so obligated by the end
of such fiscal year shall be returned to the Secretary for
reallocation.
‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL PURPOSE.—In addition to making
grants for projects as provided in subsection (a), the Sec-
retary may also make grants to supplement direct loans
or loan guarantees made under title V of the Railroad Re-
vitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45
U.S.C. 822(d)), for projects described in the last sentence
of section 502(d) of such title. Grants made under this
subsection may be used, in whole or in part, for paying
credit risk premiums, lowering rates of interest, or pro-
viding for a holiday on principal payments.
‘‘(f) EMPLOYEE PROTECTION.—The Secretary shall
require as a condition of any grant made under this sec-
tion that the recipient railroad provide a fair arrangement
at least as protective of the interests of employees who
are affected by the project to be funded with the grant
as the terms imposed under section 5(2)(f) of the Inter-
state Commerce Act before February 5, 1976.
‘‘(g) LABOR STANDARDS.—
‘‘(1) PREVAILING WAGES.—The Secretary shall
ensure that laborers and mechanics employed by
contractors and subcontractors in construction work
financed by a grant made under this section will be
paid wages not less than those prevailing on similar
construction in the locality, as determined by the
Secretary of Labor under the Act of March 3, 1931
(known as the Davis-Bacon Act; 40 U.S.C. 276a et
seq.). The Secretary shall make a grant under this
section only after being assured that required labor
standards will be maintained on the construction
work.
‘‘(2) WAGE RATES.—Wage rates in a collective
bargaining agreement negotiated under the Railway
Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) are deemed for
purposes of this subsection to comply with the Act
of March 3, 1931 (known as the Davis-Bacon Act;
40 U.S.C. 276a et seq.).
‘‘(h) STUDY.—The Secretary shall conduct a study
of the projects carried out with grant assistance under this
section to determine the public interest benefits associated
with the light density railroad networks in the States and
their contribution to a multimodal transportation system.
Not later than March 31, 2003, the Secretary shall report
to Congress any recommendations the Secretary considers
appropriate regarding the eligibility of light density rail
networks for Federal infrastructure financing.
‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of
Transportation $350,000,000 for each of the fiscal years
2002 through 2004 for carrying out this section.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item relating
to chapter 223 in the table of chapters of subtitle V of
title 49, United States Code, is amended to read as fol-
lows:
‘‘223. CAPITAL GRANTS FOR RAILROAD TRACK .......................... 22301’’.
(c) REPEAL.—Chapter 221 of title 49, United States
Code (Local Rail Freight Assistance), and the item relat-
ing thereto in the table of chapters of subtitle V of such
title are repealed.
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