[House Report 114-36]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


114th Congress   }                                          {    Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session     }                                          {    114-36

======================================================================

 
   PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE BILL (H.R. 749) TO REAUTHORIZE 
 FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR PASSENGER RAIL PROGRAMS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, 
  AND PROVIDING FOR PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PERIOD FROM MARCH 6, 2015, 
                         THROUGH MARCH 13, 2015

                                _______
                                

   March 2, 2015.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

               Mr. Woodall, from the Committee on Rules, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                       [To accompany H. Res. 134]

    The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration 
House Resolution 134, by a nonrecord vote, report the same to 
the House with the recommendation that the resolution be 
adopted.

                SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF THE RESOLUTION

    The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 749, the 
Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015, under a 
structured rule. The resolution provides one hour of general 
debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking 
minority member of the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure. The resolution waives all points of order 
against consideration of the bill. The resolution makes in 
order as original text for the purpose of amendment an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text 
of Rules Committee Print 114-9 and provides that it shall be 
considered as read. The resolution waives all points of order 
against that amendment in the nature of a substitute. The 
resolution makes in order only those further amendments printed 
in this report. Each such amendment may be offered only in the 
order printed in this report, may be offered only by a Member 
designated in this report, shall be considered as read, shall 
be debatable for the time specified in this report equally 
divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall 
not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a 
demand for division of the question in the House or in the 
Committee of the Whole. The resolution waives all points of 
order against the amendments printed in this report. The 
resolution provides one motion to recommit with or without 
instructions.
    Section 2 of the resolution provides that on any 
legislative day during the period from March 6, 2015, through 
March 13, 2015: the Journal of the proceedings of the previous 
day shall be considered as approved; and the Chair may at any 
time declare the House adjourned to meet at a date and time to 
be announced by the Chair in declaring the adjournment.
    Section 3 of the resolution provides that the Speaker may 
appoint Members to perform the duties of the Chair for the 
duration of the period addressed by section 2.
    Section 4 of the resolution provides that at any time 
through the legislative day of March 13, 2015, the Chair may 
postpone further consideration of a measure in the House to 
such time as may be designated by the Speaker.

                         EXPLANATION OF WAIVERS

    The waiver of all points of order against consideration of 
the bill includes a waiver of clause 3(e)(1) of rule XIII 
(Ramseyer), requiring a committee report accompanying a bill 
amending or repealing statutes to show, by typographical 
device, parts of statute affected.
    This waiver is necessary because the submission provided by 
the committees was insufficient to meet the standards 
established by the rule in its current form. The Committee on 
Rules continues to work with the House Office of Legislative 
Counsel and committees to determine the steps necessary to 
comply with the updated rule.
    Although the resolution waives all points of order against 
the amendment in the nature of a substitute made in order as 
original text, the committee is not aware of any points of 
order. The waiver of all points of order is prophylactic in 
nature.
    Although the resolution waives all points of order against 
the amendments printed in this report, the committee is not 
aware of any points of order. The waiver of all points of order 
is prophylactic in nature.

                            COMMITTEE VOTES

    The results of each record vote on an amendment or motion 
to report, together with the names of those voting for and 
against, are printed below:

Rules Committee record vote No. 30

    Motion by Mr. McGovern to report an open rule. Defeated: 2-
7.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Majority Members                      Vote               Minority Members               Vote
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ms. Foxx........................................          Nay   Ms. Slaughter.....................          Yea
Mr. Cole........................................          Nay   Mr. McGovern......................          Yea
Mr. Woodall.....................................          Nay   Mr. Hastings of Florida...........  ............
Mr. Burgess.....................................          Nay   Mr. Polis.........................  ............
Mr. Stivers.....................................          Nay
Mr. Collins.....................................          Nay
Mr. Sessions, Chairman..........................          Nay
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                SUMMARY OF THE AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER

    1. McNerney (CA): Ensures that socially and economically 
disadvantaged businesses request for proposals are considered 
for station development opportunities under Section 208 of the 
bill. (10 minutes)
    2. Fitzpatrick (PA): Adds veteran-owned small businesses to 
the participation study required under Section 305. (10 
minutes)
    3. Mica (FL): A proposal for Northeast Corridor Express 
Service. (10 minutes)
    4. Brownley (CA): Requires each state to develop a grade 
crossing action plan, identifying specific solutions for 
improving safety at crossings, including highway-rail grade 
crossing closures or grade separations; and focuses on 
crossings that have experienced recent grade crossing accidents 
or multiple accidents, or are at high risk for accidents. (10 
minutes)
    5. Perlmutter (CO): Requires the Government Accountability 
Office (GAO) to submit to Congress a report evaluating the 
effectiveness of the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) 
2005 rule on the use of locomotive horns at rail crossings. (10 
minutes)
    6. McClintock (CA): Restricts operating subsidies for 
Amtrak. (10 minutes)
    7. Lipinski (IL): Clarifies that passengers using or 
transporting non-motorized transportation are to be considered 
in the Amtrak Office of Inspector General's report on boarding 
procedures in Section 211. (10 minutes)

                    TEXT OF AMENDMENTS MADE IN ORDER

1. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative McNerney of California 
               or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Page 43, line 24, strike ``where appropriate'' and insert 
``including small business concerns owned and controlled by 
socially and economically disadvantaged individuals''.
  Page 44, after line 16, insert the following:
  (d) Definitions.--In this section, the terms ``small business 
concern'' and ``socially and economically disadvantaged 
individual'' have the meanings given such terms in section 
305(c).
                              ----------                              


    2. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Fitzpatrick of 
         Pennsylvania or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Page 63, line 6, insert after ``individuals'' the following: 
``and veteran-owned small businesses''.
  Page 64, after line 13, insert the following:
          (3) Veteran-owned small business.--
                  (A) In general.--The term ``veteran-owned 
                small business'' has the meaning given the term 
                ``small business concern owned and controlled 
                by veterans'' in section 3(q)(3) of the Small 
                Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(q)(3)).
                  (B) Exclusions.--The term ``veteran-owned 
                small business'' does not include any concern 
                or group of concerns controlled by the same 
                veterans that have average annual gross 
                receipts during the preceding 3 fiscal years in 
                excess of $22,410,000 as adjusted annually by 
                the Secretary for inflation.
                              ----------                              


3. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Mica of Florida or His 
                   Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Page 68, after line 9, insert the following new section:

SEC. 308. NORTHEAST CORRIDOR EXPRESS SERVICE.

  (a) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Northeast Corridor Infrastructure 
and Operations Advisory Committee, in consultation with Amtrak, 
shall transmit to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate a report that analyzes the implementation of non-stop, 
high-speed express passenger rail service between Washington, 
District of Columbia, and New York, New York, and between New 
York, New York, and Boston, Massachusetts. The report shall 
consider--
          (1) estimated trip time, ridership, revenue, total 
        cost, capacity, and other metrics for each service;
          (2) impacts on existing Amtrak and commuter rail 
        services; and
          (3) impacts on Northeast Corridor infrastructure.
  (b) Consideration.--Not later than 90 days after the 
transmittal of the report required under subsection (a), the 
Amtrak Board of Directors shall consider implementing such 
services.
                              ----------                              


4. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Brownley of California 
               or Her Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  At the end of the bill, add the following new section:

SEC. 503. STATE ACTION PLANS.

  (a) In General.--The Secretary shall require--
          (1) each State, other than those States identified 
        pursuant to section 202 of the Rail Safety Improvement 
        Act of 2008 (49 U.S.C. 22501 note), to develop and 
        implement, not later than 18 months after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, a State grade crossing action 
        plan; and
          (2) each State that was identified pursuant to 
        section 202 of such Act to update its plan and submit 
        to the Secretary, not later than 1 year after the date 
        of enactment of this Act, a report describing what the 
        State did to implement the plan.
  (b) Contents.--Each plan required under subsection (a) 
shall--
          (1) identify specific solutions for improving safety 
        at crossings, including highway-rail grade crossing 
        closures or grade separations; and
          (2) focus on crossings that have experienced recent 
        grade crossing accidents or multiple accidents, or are 
        at high risk for accidents.
  (c) Assistance.--The Secretary shall provide assistance to 
the States in developing and carrying out, as appropriate, the 
plan required under subsection (a).
  (d) Conditions.--The Secretary may condition the awarding of 
any grants under section 103 of this Act to a State on the 
development of such State's grade crossing action plan.
  (e) Public Availability.--The Secretary shall make each plan 
and report publicly available on an official Internet Web site.
                              ----------                              


5. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Perlmutter of Colorado 
               or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  At the end of the bill, add the following new section:

SEC. 503. QUIET ZONE REPORT.

  Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Comptroller General shall transmit to Congress a 
report evaluating the rule issued by the Federal Railroad 
Administration on the use of locomotive horn at rail crossings. 
Such report shall--
          (1) evaluate the effectiveness of the rule in 
        reducing accidents and fatalities at rail crossings;
          (2) evaluate the effectiveness of the rule in 
        establishing quiet zones;
          (3) identify any barriers to the establishment of 
        quiet zones; and
          (4) estimate the costs associated with their 
        establishment.
                              ----------                              


     6. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative McClintock of 
          California or His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Page 2, line 3, through page 3, line 10, strike section 101.
                              ----------                              


7. An Amendment To Be Offered by Representative Lipinski of Illinois or 
                 His Designee, Debatable for 10 Minutes

  Page 48, line 14, after ``procedures'' insert ``for 
passengers, including passengers using or transporting 
nonmotorized transportation such as wheelchairs and bicycles''.

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