[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 14, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S3136]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. LINCOLN (for herself and Mr. Smith):
  S. 881. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend 
and modify the railroad track maintenance credit; to the Committee on 
Finance.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 881

       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 ``Short Line Railroad 
     Investment Act of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. EXTENSION AND MODIFICATION OF RAILROAD TRACK 
                   MAINTENANCE CREDIT.

       (a) Extension.--
       (1) In general.--Subsection (d) of section 45G of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to qualified railroad 
     track maintenance expenditures) is amended by striking ``for 
     maintaining'' and all that follows and inserting ``for 
     maintaining--
       ``(A) in the case of taxable years beginning after December 
     31, 2004, and before January 1, 2008, railroad track 
     (including roadbed, bridges, and related track structures) 
     owned or leased as of January 1, 2005, by a Class II or Class 
     III railroad (determined without regard to any consideration 
     for such expenditures given by the Class II or Class III 
     railroad which made the assignment of such track), and
       ``(B) in the case of taxable years beginning after December 
     31, 2007, and before January 1, 2011, railroad track 
     (including roadbed, bridges, and related track structures) 
     owned or leased as of January 1, 2007, by a Class II or Class 
     III railroad (determined without regard to any consideration 
     for such expenditures given by the Class II or Class III 
     railroad which made the assignment of such track).''.
       (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 45G of such Code is 
     amended by striking subsection (f).
       (b) Coordination With Section 55.--Section 38(c)(4)(B) of 
     the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 
     ``and'' at the end of clause (i), by striking the period at 
     the end of clause (ii)(II) and inserting ``, and'', and by 
     adding at the end the following new clause:
       ``(iii) the credit determined under section 45G.''.
       (c) Credit Limitation Adjustment.--Subparagraph (A) of 
     section 45G(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
     amended by striking ``$3,500'' and inserting ``$4,500''.
       (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 
     2007.

  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President. I rise today with my colleague Senator 
Lincoln of Arkansas to introduce the Short Line Railroad Investment Act 
of 2007.
  More than 500 short line railroads operate nationally, serving nearly 
every State and account for almost 50,000 miles of track in the United 
States. By connecting to the larger railways, short line railroads are 
critical to farmers and small businesses that need to move their goods 
into the marketplace. Moreover, transporting goods using rail relieves 
highway congestion by decreasing the number of trucks that would 
otherwise move the same products.
  Railroads are capital intensive and require significant investment to 
operate. Today, the unmet infrastructure needs of the short line 
railroads total in the billions of dollars. And capacity and physical 
demands on the short lines continue to grow. The presence of heavier 
rail cars being used today only further exacerbates the need for 
investment to meet the infrastructure needs of the short line 
railroads.
  Currently a tax credit exists to enable increased investment in short 
line railroads. However, this critical credit is set to expire at the 
end of 2007. Current law allows for a taxpayer to claim a tax credit of 
50 cents for every dollar invested in track rehabilitation. The 
extension of the tax credit for short line railroad maintenance and 
rehabilitation is integral to meeting this need.
  The enactment of this credit in the 2004 American Jobs Creation Act 
has encouraged the private sector to increase investment in short line 
freight rail infrastructure. The ultimate beneficiaries of these 
investments will be over 11,000 rail customers employing over 1 million 
Americans in rural and urban areas.
  It is imperative that we extend this credit. I propose a 3-year 
extension of this credit through 2010 that will help achieve the 
original goal of prompting $1.5 billion in new infrastructure 
improvements on short line railroads.
  I urge my colleagues support for this important measure that will 
improve short line railroads that have such a vital role in the 
transportation of goods and our Nation's economy.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
                                 ______