Title: Preventing Doomsday Act
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Preventing Doomsday Act
This bill directs the Department of Transportation to publish a report that explains (1) its contingency plan that details a specific plan of action in the case of a shutdown of a rail track in the North River Tunnel underneath the Hudson River and that addresses issues including ensuring commuters, tourists, and others will maintain the ability to travel between New Jersey and New York and throughout the region; and (2) its contingency plan detailing a specific plan of action to ensure minimal disruption to, and negative impact on, national security, the economy, public health, the environment, and property values.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1667 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1667

   To require a report on the contingency plan of the Department of 
Transportation in the event of the failure of a rail track in the North 
                 River Tunnel, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 11, 2019

 Mr. Gottheimer (for himself and Mr. King of New York) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 
                           and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require a report on the contingency plan of the Department of 
Transportation in the event of the failure of a rail track in the North 
                 River Tunnel, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Preventing Doomsday Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) 200,000 riders travel through the 111 year old, two-
        track North River Tunnel under the Hudson River daily.
            (2) The North River Tunnel serves a region that is home to 
        17 percent of the United States population which contributes 20 
        percent to the national Gross Domestic Product.
            (3) The Northeast Corridor, which is operated by Amtrak and 
        runs between Boston, Massachusetts and Washington, DC, has the 
        highest ridership of any intercity rail line in the United 
        States and runs directly through the North River Tunnel.
            (4) Superstorm Sandy caused $65 billion worth of damages 
        and 147 direct deaths in 2012, exacerbating the need to perform 
        extensive repairs to both tracks. A new tunnel must be built to 
        keep regular train service running while the damage is fixed.
            (5) According to the Regional Plan Association, if one of 
        the tracks loses functionality and needs to be shut down, the 
        national economy could lose $16 billion over a 4-year span, 
        equivalent to the loss of 33,000 jobs.
            (6) A tunnel shutdown would significantly decrease 
        transportation options in the region, increasing commute times 
        in many cases by more than an hour a day.
            (7) A tunnel shutdown could also cause $22 billion in 
        decreased property values, $7 billion in lost tax revenue for 
        Federal, State, and local governments, and 38,000 additional 
        car crashes.
            (8) Currently, only 24 trains can use the tunnel every 
        hour. That number would drop to 6 in the event of a shutdown.
            (9) The Gateway Program, which incorporates the Hudson 
        Tunnel Project, would double the number of trains per hour by 
        building a new, flood-proof tunnel.
            (10) The Federal Transit Administration rated the Hudson 
        Tunnel Project ``Medium-Low'' in response to the project's 
        s5309 Capital Investment Grant submission.

SEC. 3. REPORT.

    Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Transportation shall publish a report that explains--
            (1) the contingency plan of the Department of 
        Transportation, in coordination with other relevant Federal 
        agencies, detailing a specific plan of action in the case of a 
        shutdown of a track described in section 2(1) and that 
        addresses issues including ensuring commuters, tourists, and 
        others will maintain the ability to travel between New Jersey 
        and New York and throughout the region; and
            (2) the contingency plan of the Department of 
        Transportation, in coordination with other relevant Federal 
        agencies, detailing a specific plan of action to ensure minimal 
        disruption to, and negative impact on national security, the 
        economy, public health, the environment, and property values.
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