[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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