I 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 651 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 22, 2009 Mr. King of New York (for himself and Mr. Pascrell) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To provide for certain tunnel life safety and rehabilitation projects for Amtrak.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Northeast Corridor Rail Tunnel Safety Act.

2.

Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation $898,000,000, to remain available until expended, for the use of Amtrak to complete New York tunnel life safety projects and to rehabilitate tunnels in Washington, DC, and Baltimore, Maryland.

3.

Availability of funds

The Secretary shall not make funds appropriated under section 2 available to Amtrak for a project unless the Secretary has received from Amtrak and has approved an engineering and financial plan for that project.

4.

Inspector General review

The Inspector General of the Department of Transportation shall conduct and transmit to the Congress an annual review to determine whether the expenditure and obligation of funds made available under this Act are consistent with the purposes for which those funds are made available.