[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 88 (Tuesday, May 21, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H3382-H3383]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      ROLLING STOCK PROTECTION ACT

  Mr. MOLINARO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3317) to amend title 49, United States Code, to remove the 
lifetime exemption from the prohibition on procurement of rolling stock 
from certain vehicle manufacturers for parties to executed contracts.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3317

       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 ``Rolling Stock Protection 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. REMOVAL OF LIFETIME EXEMPTION FROM PROHIBITION ON 
                   PROCUREMENT OF ROLLING STOCK FOR PARTIES TO 
                   EXECUTED CONTRACTS.

       Section 5323(u)(5) of title 49, United State Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (B) by striking ``Except as provided in 
     subparagraph (C) and for a contract or subcontract that is 
     not described in subparagraph (A)'' and inserting ``Except as 
     provided in subparagraph (B)'';
       (2) in subparagraph (C) by striking ``Subparagraph (B)'' 
     and inserting ``Subparagraph (A)'';
       (3) by striking subparagraph (A); and
       (4) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as 
     subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Molinaro) and the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Titus) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mr. MOLINARO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material in the Record on H.R. 3317.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MOLINARO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3317, the Rolling Stock 
Protection Act.
  This bipartisan bill, introduced by the Subcommittee on Highways and 
Transit Chairman Rick Crawford, was reported favorably out of the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in May 2023.
  I ask that my colleagues join me in supporting this legislation. The 
bill will prevent Federal tax dollars from being sent to foreign State-
owned enterprises and State-connected businesses for the purchase of 
rolling stock such as railcars and buses.

                              {time}  1715

  Moreover, this bill will block Federal dollars flowing from the 
Federal Transit Administration to rolling stock manufacturers connected 
to the Chinese Communist Party.
  In 2019, Congress enacted the Transportation Infrastructure Vehicle 
Security Act as a provision of the fiscal year 2020 National Defense 
Authorization Act. TIVSA prohibited public transportation agencies that 
receive Federal assistance from using funds to procure vehicles from 
State-owned enterprises.
  Passage of TIVSA was a direct response to alarming national and 
economic security concerns related to China's state-owned enterprise 
rolling stock manufacturers, primarily the China Railway Rolling Stock 
Corporation and Build Your Dreams, whose presence in the bus and 
railcar market had grown significantly.
  That legislation included a loophole that allowed the FTA to grant 
lifetime exemptions to four of the Nation's largest transit agencies, 
allowing them to continue buying rolling stock manufactured by 
companies connected to and dependent on the CCP. This bill we are 
considering today will close that loophole.
  In doing so, H.R. 3317 will enhance American manufacturing 
opportunity in the rolling stock industry. It will help American 
workers and strengthen our domestic supply chain. H.R. 3317 will take 
us another step forward in safeguarding America's national security and 
economic interests.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this legislation, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I, too, rise in support of this legislation which would 
prohibit all U.S. transit agencies from using Federal dollars on rail 
rolling stock from State-owned enterprises, or SOEs.
  As of today, the U.S. doesn't have any domestic transit railcar 
manufacturers. Federal transit policies have been designed over the 
years to reflect that reality while still encouraging domestic 
manufacturing wherever possible.
  While the U.S. remains, at least for now, dependent on global transit 
car manufacturers, we need to ensure fair competition among all 
manufacturers, including SOEs.
  When one entity receives government support for artificially low 
bids, if that is left unchecked over time, other manufacturers will be 
driven out of business. This would make transit cars more expensive in 
the long run and leave systems across the country reliant upon just one 
manufacturer.
  Congress recognized this concern after four U.S. transit agencies 
awarded rolling stock contracts to an SOE that submitted artificially 
low bids.
  The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act first prohibited most 
U.S. transit agencies from using Federal transit funds to purchase 
rolling stock from SOEs. Transit car manufacturers that do not receive 
government subsidies, including manufacturers in South Korea, Japan, 
Spain, and other places, were not affected by this ban. Congress 
exempted the four transit agencies with the initial SOE contracts from 
the ban so as not to disrupt ongoing procurement.
  The legislation that we are considering here today doesn't affect 
those initial contracts or any current options on those contracts, but 
it does prevent future contracts from being executed using Federal 
funds. The bill ensures that all U.S. transit agencies will operate 
under the same rules.
  I would also note that nothing in this legislation impacts what 
transit agencies do with their local funding. It only affects funding 
from the Federal Government for transit railcars.
  As transit agencies continue to receive the record funding provided 
by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, it is critical we ensure the 
market for rolling stock is fair and competitive.
  Ultimately, that will yield the best outcome for transit agencies and 
will help them provide more reliable and effective service for their 
riders.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of 
my time.
  Mr. MOLINARO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Arkansas (Mr. Crawford), the sponsor of H.R. 3317.
  Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I 
rise in support of my bill H.R. 3317, the Rolling Stock Protection Act. 
I ask that my colleagues join me in supporting this simple and direct 
bill.
  In May of last year, this bipartisan legislation was favorably 
reported out of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
  My bill will close a loophole in Federal law that currently allows 
some of the country's largest transit agencies that receive Federal 
Transit Administration dollars to purchase rolling

[[Page H3383]]

stock, such as railcars, from State-owned enterprises and State-
connected businesses, including those linked to the Chinese Communist 
Party.
  Mr. Speaker, I will be honest with you. I thought Congress had fixed 
this problem back in 2019 with the passage of the Transportation 
Infrastructure Vehicle Security Act, or TIVSA. That measure, which was 
included in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, prohibited the 
purchase of rolling stock from State-owned enterprises by transit 
agencies receiving Federal funds.
  Why are we back today? We are here today to make it crystal clear to 
the FTA that CCP-connected companies are never allowed to receive 
taxpayer dollars.
  While TIVSA should have eliminated any future payments of American 
taxpayer dollars to CCP-connected companies, like the China Railway 
Rolling Stock Corporation, the FTA's execution of the law provided 
lifetime exemptions to four transit agencies from the prohibitions on 
contracting with CCP-connected companies.
  I mentioned that the FTA granted lifetime exemptions to four transit 
agencies from the law's prohibitions, and I think it is important that 
we know who we are talking about. The four agencies receiving this 
exemption from the FTA were the Southeastern Pennsylvania 
Transportation Authority, or SEPTA; the Massachusetts Bay 
Transportation Authority, MBTA; the Chicago Transit Authority; and the 
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority.

  I am pleased to report that one of those transit agencies, SEPTA, 
just announced in April that after significant production delays and 
cost overruns, it was exercising the right to terminate its contract 
with CRRC for cause. That is a positive step.
  Alternatively, another agency that received the lifetime exemption, 
the MBTA, recently announced that it is re-upping the contract with 
CRRC and adding another $148 million in rolling stock purchases.
  The enactment of TIVSA should have eliminated any possibility that 
transit agencies that receive Federal funding could continue using 
those dollars to pay for contracts with companies connected to the CCP, 
but 5 years after TIVSA was made law, a major public transit agency is 
expanding just such a contract.
  That is all the more reason we are taking action to pass H.R. 3317 
today. This bill will end, once and for all, the practice of sending 
Federal dollars to CCP-controlled rolling stock companies by 
eliminating these lifetime exemptions.
  Chinese companies that are controlled by the CCP have nearly 
limitless financial resources they can use to undercut domestic rolling 
stock manufacturers. It is an unfair, uncompetitive playing field, and 
I am proud to put an end to it today.
  Let's be clear. The CCP isn't just investing in these State-owned 
enterprises to help them better compete in the market. The CCP is 
trying to take control of the market. The CCP wants to dominate this 
industry and drive American manufacturers out completely. We can't let 
that happen.
  H.R. 3317 is supported by a broad range of organizations, including 
the Transport Workers Union, the Alliance for American Manufacturing, 
the Teamsters, the Railway Supply Institute, and the Rail Security 
Alliance. I thank them for their support of my legislation, and I hope 
that my colleagues will join me in approving the passage of this bill 
today.
  My bill will prevent the CCP from using the rolling stock 
manufacturing market as another tool to undermine our national security 
and our economic interests.
  This is simple legislation that will solve an important concern. H.R. 
3317 is good for American workers and will ensure responsible 
stewardship of American taxpayer dollars.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting my 
legislation.
  Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I just want to say I support this 
legislation and encourage my colleagues to do the same.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. MOLINARO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3317, the Rolling Stock Protection Act, is a 
bipartisan bill that protects American workers, our domestic economic 
interests, and our national security. H.R. 3317 will stop Federal 
dollars from going to rolling stock manufacturers backed and controlled 
by the Chinese Communist Party.
  The bill is a responsive and responsible step that will prohibit 
further erosion of our domestic manufacturing sector by the CCP.
  H.R. 3317 will enhance domestic manufacturing opportunities and 
ensure that United States tax dollars can no longer be paid to 
companies linked to foreign adversarial nations for procurement of 
rolling stock.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge support of this bill, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Molinaro) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 3317.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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