[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1020 Introduced in House (IH)]
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
following 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 Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION. 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Railroad Track Modernization 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.
``Sec. 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, particularly
when handling 286,000 pound rail cars. The Secretary 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
approved 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 methodology 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 paragraph (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 contractually 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 Secretary may also make
grants to supplement direct loans or loan guarantees made under title V
of the Railroad Revitalization 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 providing for a holiday on principal payments.
``(f) Employee Protection.--The Secretary shall require as a
condition of any grant made under this section 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
Interstate 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 follows:
``223. CAPITAL GRANTS FOR RAILROAD TRACK.................... 22301''.
(c) Repeal.--Chapter 221 of title 49, United States Code (Local
Rail Freight Assistance), and the item relating thereto in the table of
chapters of subtitle V of such title are repealed.
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