[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1210 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1210

 To provide an equitable process for strengthening the passenger rail 
service network of Amtrak through the timely closure and realignment of 
                 routes with low economic performance.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 20, 1997

  Mr. Wolf (for himself, Mr. Packard,  and Mr. DeLay) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 
 and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide an equitable process for strengthening the passenger rail 
service network of Amtrak through the timely closure and realignment of 
                 routes with low economic performance.

    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 ``Amtrak Route Closure and Realignment 
Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. THE COMMISSION.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established an independent commission 
to be known as the ``Total Realignment of Amtrak Commission'' (in this 
Act referred to as the ``Commission'').
    (b) Appointment.--The Commission shall be composed of eleven 
members as follows:
            (1) Three individuals appointed by the President, 
        including--
                    (A) the Secretary of Transportation;
                    (B) one representative of a rail labor union; and
                    (C) one representative of a rail management.
            (2) Four individuals who collectively have expertise in 
        rail finance, economic analysis, legal issues, and other 
        relevant areas, to be appointed by the Majority Leader of the 
        Senate, in consultation with the Minority Leader.
            (3) Four individuals who collectively have expertise in 
        rail finance, economic analysis, legal issues, and other 
        relevant areas, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of 
        Representatives, in consultation with the Minority Leader.
Appointments under this subsection shall be made within 15 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. Individuals appointed under 
paragraphs (2) and (3) shall not be employees of the Department of 
Transportation or representatives of a rail labor union or rail 
management.
    (c) Chairman.--Within 10 days after the 15-day period described in 
subsection (b), or the appointment of the last member of the Commission 
under such subsection, whichever occurs first, a majority of the 
members of the Commission may elect a chairman from among its 
membership. If a chairman is not elected within such 10-day period, the 
President shall select a chairman for the Commission from among its 
membership.
    (d) Meetings.--(1) Each meeting of the Commission shall be open to 
the public.
    (2) All the proceedings, information, and deliberations of the 
Commission shall be open or available, upon request, to the Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on 
Appropriations of the Senate, and to the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
Representatives.
    (e) Pay and Travel Expenses.--(1)(A) Each member, other than the 
Chairman, shall be paid at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the 
minimum annual rate of basic pay payable for level IV of the Executive 
Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each 
day (including travel time) during which the member is engaged in the 
actual performance of duties vested in the Commission.
    (B) The Chairman shall be paid for each day referred to in 
subparagraph (A) at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the minimum 
annual rate of basic pay payable for level III of the Executive 
Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, United States Code.
    (C) Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) and (B), officers and 
employees of the Federal Government shall not be paid under this 
paragraph for service on the Commission.
    (2) Members shall receive travel expenses, including per diem in 
lieu of subsistence, in accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 
5, United States Code.
    (f) Director of Staff.--The Commission shall appoint a Director, 
who shall be paid at the rate of basic pay payable for level IV of the 
Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code.
    (g) Staff.--(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Director, with the 
approval of the Commission, may appoint and fix the pay of not more 
than 5 additional employees.
    (2) The Director may make such appointments without regard to the 
provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in 
the competitive service, and any personnel so appointed may be paid 
without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of 
chapter 53 of that title relating to classification and General 
Schedule pay rates, except that an individual so appointed may not 
receive pay in excess of the annual rate of basic pay payable for level 
V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United 
States Code.
    (h) Hearings and Sessions.--The Commission may, for the purpose of 
carrying out this Act, hold hearings, sit and act at times and places, 
take testimony, and receive evidence as the Commission considers 
appropriate. The Commission may administer oaths or affirmations to 
witnesses appearing before it.
    (i) Information.--The Commission may secure directly from any 
department or agency of the United States information necessary to 
enable it to carry out this Act. Upon request of the Chairman of the 
Commission, the head of that department or agency shall furnish that 
information to the Commission to the extent otherwise permitted by law.
    (j) Mails.--The Commission may use the United States mails in the 
same manner and under the same conditions as other departments and 
agencies of the United States.
    (k) Administrative Support Services.--The Administrator of General 
Services shall provide to the Commission, on a reimbursable basis, such 
administrative support services as the Commission may request.
    (l) Experts or Consultants.--The Commission may procure by 
contract, to the extent funds are available, the temporary or 
intermittent services of experts or consultants pursuant to section 
3109 of title 5, United States Code.
    (m) Termination.--The Commission shall terminate 30 days after 
transmitting a report under section 3(e).

SEC. 3. DUTIES.

    (a) Economic Performance Rankings.--The Commission shall examine 
economic data for Amtrak's system and develop system-wide performance 
rankings of all routes based on long-term economic loss.
    (b) Identification of Candidate Routes for Closure or 
Realignment.--(1) The Commission shall identify routes which are 
candidates for closure or realignment, based on the performance 
rankings developed under subsection (a) and on the following 
principles:
            (A) The system which remains after closure and realignment 
        of routes shall not be required to be a national, 
        interconnected system.
            (B) Federal operating subsidies for Amtrak shall be assumed 
        to decline over the 5-year period beginning on the date of the 
        enactment of a joint resolution under section 4, possibly to 
        the point of zero Federal operating subsidy.
            (C) The rail labor protection costs of Amtrak shall be 
        calculated both--
                    (i) at the level required under rail labor laws as 
                in effect when the Commission is identifying routes 
                under this subsection; and
                    (ii) at the level which would be required if 
                amendments to rail labor laws were enacted that--
                            (I) limit to a maximum of 6 months any wage 
                        continuation or severance benefit for an 
                        employee of Amtrak whose employment is 
                        terminated as a result of a discontinuance of 
                        intercity rail passenger service; and
                            (II) permit Amtrak to require any employee 
                        whose position is eliminated as a result of 
                        such a discontinuance to transfer to another 
                        part of Amtrak's system.
    (2) The Commission shall specifically examine ridership forecasts 
and other assumptions supporting continued service on the Northeast 
Corridor, particularly with respect to the continuation of the 
electrification of the Northeast Corridor between New Haven, 
Connecticut, and Boston, Massachusetts.
    (c) Consideration of Quality of Life Factors.--(1) Each route 
identified under subsection (b) as a candidate for closure or 
realignment shall be reviewed to determine whether there are important 
social, environmental, or other quality of life factors which should be 
considered in determining whether to close or realign the route. The 
commission shall also consider the effect on airport congestion and the 
availability of alternative modes of transportation, especially in 
rural areas, before recommending any closure or realignment.
    (2) The Commission shall hold public hearings to obtain testimony 
from State and local officials, and other interested parties, with 
respect to factors described in paragraph (1).
    (d) Optional Uses for Abandoned Rail Lines.--The Commission shall 
also examine optional uses for abandoned rail lines.
    (e) Recommendations.--The Commission shall, within 120 days after 
the election or selection of its chairman under section 2(c), transmit 
to the Congress and the President a report on its activities under this 
Act, including recommendations developed under this section for 
the closure and realignment of routes in Amtrak's passenger rail 
system.

SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION OF COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS.

    (a) Terms of the Resolution.--For purposes of this section, the 
term ``joint resolution'' means only a joint resolution which is 
introduced within the 10-day period beginning on the date on which the 
Commission transmits its recommendations to the Congress under section 
3(e), and--
            (1) which does not have a preamble;
            (2) the matter after the resolving clause of which is as 
        follows: ``That Congress approves the recommendations of the 
        Total Realignment of Amtrak Commission as submitted on 
        ______'', the blank space being filled in with the appropriate 
        date; and
            (3) the title of which is as follows: ``Joint resolution 
        approving the recommendations of the Total Realignment of 
        Amtrak Commission.''.
    (b) Referral.--A resolution described in subsection (a) that is 
introduced in the House of Representatives shall be referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives. A resolution described in subsection (a) introduced in 
the Senate shall be referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate.
    (c) Discharge.--If the committee to which a resolution described in 
subsection (a) is referred has not reported such resolution (or an 
identical resolution) by the end of the 20-day period beginning on the 
date on which the Commission transmits the report to the Congress under 
section 3(e), such committee shall be, at the end of such period, 
discharged from further consideration of such resolution, and such 
resolution shall be placed on the appropriate calendar of the House 
involved.
    (d) Consideration.--(1) On or after the third day after the date on 
which the committee to which such a resolution is referred has 
reported, or has been discharged (under subsection (c)) from further 
consideration of, such a resolution, it is in order (even though a 
previous motion to the same effect has been disagreed to) for any 
Member of the respective House to move to proceed to the consideration 
of the resolution. A Member may make the motion only on the day after 
the calendar day on which the Member announces to the House concerned 
the Member's intention to make the motion. All points of order against 
the resolution (and against consideration of the resolution) are 
waived. The motion is highly privileged in the House of Representatives 
and is privileged in the Senate and is not debatable. The motion is not 
subject to amendment, or to a motion to postpone, or to a motion to 
proceed to the consideration of other business. A motion to reconsider 
the vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be 
in order. If a motion to proceed to the consideration of the resolution 
is agreed to, the respective House shall immediately proceed to 
consideration of the joint resolution without intervening motion, 
order, or other business, and the resolution shall remain the 
unfinished business of the respective House until disposed of.
    (2) Debate on the resolution, and on all debatable motions and 
appeals in connection therewith, shall be limited to not more than 2 
hours, which shall be divided equally between those favoring and those 
opposing the resolution. An amendment to the resolution is not in 
order. A motion further to limit debate is in order and not debatable. 
A motion to postpone, or a motion to proceed to the consideration of 
other business, or a motion to recommit the resolution is not in order. 
A motion to reconsider the vote by which the resolution is agreed to or 
disagreed to is not in order.
    (3) Immediately following the conclusion of the debate on a 
resolution described in subsection (a) and a single quorum call at the 
conclusion of the debate if requested in accordance with the rules of 
the appropriate House, the vote on final passage of the resolution 
shall occur.
    (4) Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating to the 
application of the rules of the Senate or the House of Representatives, 
as the case may be, to the procedure relating to a resolution described 
in subsection (a) shall be decided without debate.
    (e) Consideration by Other House.--(1) If, before the passage by 
one House of a resolution of that House described in subsection (a), 
that House receives from the other House a resolution described in 
subsection (a), then the following procedures shall apply:
            (A) The resolution of the other House shall not be referred 
        to a committee and may not be considered in the House receiving 
        it except in the case of final passage as provided in 
        subparagraph (B)(ii).
            (B) With respect to a resolution described in subsection 
        (a) of the House receiving the resolution--
                    (i) the procedure in that House shall be the same 
                as if no resolution had been received from the other 
                House; but
                    (ii) the vote on final passage shall be on the 
                resolution of the other House.
    (2) Upon disposition of the resolution received from the other 
House, it shall no longer be in order to consider the resolution that 
originated in the receiving House.
    (f) Rules of the Senate and House.--This section is enacted by 
Congress--
            (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate 
        and House of Representatives, respectively, and as such it is 
        deemed a part of the rules of each House, respectively, but 
        applicable only with respect to the procedure to be followed in 
        that House in the case of a resolution described in subsection 
        (a), and it supersedes other rules only to the extent that it 
        is inconsistent with such rules; and
            (2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of 
        either House to change the rules (so far as relating to the 
        procedure of that House) at any time, in the same manner, and 
        to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of that 
        House.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated not to exceed $2,500,000 
for carrying out this Act.
                                 <all>