[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 259 Introduced in House (IH)]







                                    


104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 259

   To amend title 49, United States Code, to eliminate provisions of 
   Federal law that provide special support for, or burdens on, the 
    operation of Amtrak as a passenger rail carrier, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 4, 1995

Mr. Hefley (for himself, Mr. Miller of Florida, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Barton 
of Texas, Mr. Combest, and Mr. Schaefer) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
                             Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 49, United States Code, to eliminate provisions of 
   Federal law that provide special support for, or burdens on, the 
    operation of Amtrak as a passenger rail carrier, 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. FINDINGS.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) in 1970, Amtrak was created as a 2-year, federally 
        assisted experiment that was to become an independent and self-
        sufficient entity shortly thereafter;
            (2) although Amtrak is not a department, agency, or 
        instrumentality of the Federal Government, it cannot operate 
        without large, annual Federal subsidies;
            (3) while Amtrak carries only .3 percent of all intercity 
        travelers, it has cost the American taxpayers over 
        $15,000,000,000 in subsidies since its creation;
            (4) Amtrak has been appropriated nearly $1,000,000,000 in 
        Federal subsidies for fiscal year 1995, and General Accounting 
        Office estimates show it could require another $10,000,000,000 
        in subsidies over the next 5 years to remain viable;
            (5) the General Accounting Office has concluded that 
        Amtrak's expenses will continue to increase steadily over the 
        next few years due to its need to--
                    (A) renegotiate its operating agreements with the 
                freight railroads;
                    (B) renegotiate work rules and labor compensation 
                with the 14 unions that represent its employees; and
                    (C) invest in modern locomotives and passenger 
                cars;
            (6) the General Accounting Office has concluded that 
        Amtrak's financial condition has deteriorated to the point that 
        its future costs make recovery difficult;
            (7) the statutory requirements imposed on Amtrak ensure 
        that its rail passenger service will be costly, inefficient, 
        and unable to post a profit; and
            (8) the application of the Railway Labor Act and the 
        Federal Employers' Liability Act to rail passenger service 
        employees is excessive, costly, and burdensome and should be 
        reduced to a more realistic level.
    (b) Repeal.--Section 24101 of title 49, United States Code, and the 
item relating thereto in the table of sections of chapter 241 of such 
title, are repealed.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 24102 of such title is amended--
            (1) by striking paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (6), (7), (10), 
        and (11); and
            (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), (8), and (9) as 
        paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4), respectively.

SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT.

    Section 24103 of such title is amended--
            (1) by repealing subsection (b); and
            (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (b).

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 24104 of such title is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 24104. Authorization of appropriations
    ``There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 
Transportation for the benefit of Amtrak--
            ``(1) $902,000,000 for fiscal year 1996;
            ``(2) $652,000,000 for fiscal year 1997;
            ``(3) $402,000,000 for fiscal year 1998; and
            ``(4) $152,000,000 for fiscal year 1999.''.

SEC. 5. CHAPTER 243 AMENDMENTS.

    Chapter 243 of such title is amended--
            (1) in the table of sections--
                    (A) by striking the items relating to sections 
                24302 through 24315; and
                    (B) by inserting after the item relating to section 
                24301 the following new item:

``24302. Relinquishment of rights to stock, notes, and mortgages.'';
            (2) in section 24301--
                    (A) by repealing subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), 
                (f), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), and (n); and
                    (B) by redesignating subsection (m) as subsection 
                (b);
            (3) by repealing sections 24302 through 25315; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 24302. Relinquishment of rights to stock, notes, and mortgages
    ``The United States relinquishes any rights held by virtue of any 
stock, note of indebtedness, or mortgage issued by or entered into with 
Amtrak.''.

SEC. 6. CHAPTER 245 AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Section 24501(g) Amendment.--Section 24501(g) of such title is 
amended by striking ``Amtrak is exempt'' and inserting in lieu thereof 
``Amtrak Commuter is exempt''.
    (b) Section 24504(c) Repeal.--Section 24504(c) of such title is 
repealed.

SEC. 7. CHAPTERS 247 AND 249 REPEALED.

    Chapters 247 and 249 of such title are repealed.

SEC. 8. SERVICE DISCONTINUANCE.

    (a) Amendment.--Chapter 241 of such title is amended by adding at 
the end the following new section:
``Sec. 24105. Service discontinuance
    ``(a) Wage Continuation or Severance Benefit.--Notwithstanding any 
arrangement in effect before the date of enactment of this section, no 
employee of a rail carrier providing rail passenger transportation 
whose employment is terminated as a result of a discontinuance of 
intercity rail passenger service shall receive any wage continuation or 
severance benefit in excess of 6 months pay. This subsection shall not 
affect the obligations of rail carriers under section 11347 of this 
title.
    ``(b) Transfer.--Notwithstanding any arrangement in effect before 
the date of enactment of this section, a rail carrier providing rail 
passenger transportation may require an employee whose position is 
eliminated as a result of a discontinuance of intercity rail passenger 
service to transfer to any vacant position for which the employee can 
be made qualified on any part of such rail carrier's system. If such 
transfer requires a change in residence or seniority district, the 
employee shall choose--
            ``(1) to transfer to the position and be covered by the 
        collective bargaining agreement applicable to the seniority 
        district to which he is transferred; or
            ``(2) to voluntarily furlough himself at his home location 
        and receive protective benefits not in excess of the amount 
        authorized under subsection (a).
For purposes of this subsection, a transfer shall be considered to 
require a change in residence if the new employment is more than 30 
miles from the employee's place of residence and is farther from that 
residence than was the former work location.''.
    (b) Table of Sections.--The table of sections of chapter 241 of 
such title is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``24105. Service Discontinuance.''.

SEC. 9. FEDERAL EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY ACT.

    The Act entitled ``An Act relating to the liability of common 
carriers by railroad to their employees in certain cases.'', enacted 
April 22, 1908 (45 U.S.C. 51 et seq.; popularly referred to as the 
``Federal Employers' Liability Act'' or the ``Employers' Liability 
Act'') is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
    ``Sec. 11. This Act shall not apply to common carriers to the 
extent they provide rail passenger transportation.''.

SEC. 10. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Rail Services Planning Office Duties.--Section 10362(b)(5) of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking ``(except 
passenger transportation compensation disputes subject to the 
jurisdiction of the Commission under sections 24308(a) and 24903(c)(2) 
of this title).''.
    (b) Authorizing Abandonment and Discontinuance.--Section 
10903(b)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking 
``and section 405(b) of the Rail Passenger Service Act (45 U.S.C. 
565(b))''.
    (c) Employee Protective Arrangements.--Section 11347 of title 49, 
United States Code, is amended by striking ``, and the terms 
established under section 405 of the Rail Passenger Service Act (45 
U.S.C. 565)''.
    (d) Terminal Facilities.--Section 5567 of title 49, United States 
Code, and the item relating thereto in the table of sections of chapter 
55 of such title, are repealed.

SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATES.

    (a) General Rule.--Except as otherwise provided in this section, 
this Act shall take effect 1 year after the date of its enactment.
    (b) Exceptions.--(1) Sections 4, 8, and 9 of this Act shall take 
effect immediately upon enactment.
    (2) The repeal of section 24909 of title 49, United States Code, 
shall take effect on October 1, 1995.
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