American High-Speed Rail Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1845 To amend chapter 261 of title 49, United States Code, to provide for high- speed rail corridor development, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 11, 2021 Mr. MOULTON (for himself, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Penn- sylvania, and Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To amend chapter 261 of title 49, United States Code, to provide for high-speed rail corridor development, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American High-Speed 4 Rail Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1845.IH H1845 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1845 IH SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO CERTAIN HIGH-SPEED RAIL AS- 1 SISTANCE PROVISIONS. 2 (a) APPLICABILITY.—Amendments made by this Act, 3 and the applications of such amendments to other persons 4 or circumstances, to chapter 261 shall apply to any Fed- 5 eral assistance provided on or after the date of the enact- 6 ment of this Act. 7 (b) HIGH-SPEED RAIL CORRIDOR PLANNING.—Sec- 8 tion 26101 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 9 (1) in subsection (a)— 10 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or 11 group of public agencies for corridor planning 12 for up to 50 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘, a group 13 of public agencies, or a consortium composed of 14 a public agency or group of public agencies and 15 a private entity, for corridor planning for up to 16 100 percent’’; 17 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘No 18 less’’ and all that follows through the period at 19 the end and inserting ‘‘The Secretary shall 20 prioritize providing financial assistance for cor- 21 ridor planning activities with respect to which 22 at least 20 percent of the total costs associated 23 with eligible activities shall be from specified fi- 24 nancial sources.’’; and 25 (C) by adding at the end the following: 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1845.IH H1845 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1845 IH ‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘specified fi- 1 nancial source’ means— 2 ‘‘(A) the Railroad Rehabilitation and Im- 3 provement Finance program under chapter V of 4 the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Re- 5 form Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 821 et seq.); 6 ‘‘(B) the transportation infrastructure fi- 7 nance and innovation program in chapter 6 of 8 title 23; 9 ‘‘(C) funding provided by the government 10 of a country that is adjacent to the inter- 11 national border of the United States through 12 which the proposed corridor will cross; 13 ‘‘(D) a State, local, or private source; or 14 ‘‘(E) any combination of the sources de- 15 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (D). 16 ‘‘(4) For any funds derived from the programs 17 described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of para- 18 graph (3) that are used for costs associated with eli- 19 gible activities, such funds shall be repaid from 20 State, local, or private sources.’’; 21 (2) in subsection (b)— 22 (A) by striking paragraph (2); and 23 (B) by striking ‘‘(1) A corridor’’ and in- 24 serting ‘‘A corridor’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1845.IH H1845 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1845 IH (3) in subsection (c)— 1 (A) in paragraph (13) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 2 the end; 3 (B) by redesignating paragraph (14) as 4 paragraph (16); and 5 (C) by inserting after paragraph (13) the 6 following: 7 ‘‘(14) impacts associated with equity, resilience, 8 sustainability, economic development, and climate; 9 ‘‘(15) the potential to serve an eligible place, as 10 such term is defined in section 41731; and’’; and 11 (4) by adding at the end the following sub- 12 section: 13 ‘‘(d) PROJECTS OR ACTIVITIES FOR HIGHER-SPEED 14 RAIL.— 15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to grants 16 awarded under this section, the Secretary may 17 award not more than 20 percent of grants under 18 this section for projects or activities for higher-speed 19 rail. 20 ‘‘(2) RELEVANT REQUIREMENTS.—With respect 21 to grants under paragraph (1), the Secretary may 22 apply requirements for high-speed rail to projects or 23 activities for higher-speed rail, where applicable.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1845.IH H1845 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1845 IH (c) HIGH-SPEED RAIL TECHNOLOGY IMPROVE- 1 MENTS.—Section 26102 of title 49, United States Code, 2 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub- 3 section: 4 ‘‘(d) FACTOR TO CONSIDER.—In providing financial 5 assistance to eligible recipients under subsection (b), the 6 Secretary may consider activities that incorporate the use 7 of technologies that facilitate intermodal connections and 8 connections with other passenger rail systems.’’. 9 (d) SAFETY REGULATIONS.—Section 26103 of title 10 49, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘such’’ 11 and all that follows and inserting ‘‘comprehensive, per- 12 formance-based regulations for all high-speed rail projects. 13 Such regulations shall not inhibit interoperability within 14 the high-speed rail network.’’ 15 (e) DEFINITIONS.—Section 26105 of title 49, United 16 States Code, is amended— 17 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘of more than 18 125 miles per hour’’ and inserting ‘‘of 186 miles per 19 hour or more’’; and 20 (2) by adding at the end the following para- 21 graph: 22 ‘‘(7) the term ‘higher-speed’— 23 ‘‘(A) means all forms of nonhighway 24 ground transportation that run on rails or elec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1845.IH H1845 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1845 IH tromagnetic guideways providing transportation 1 service which is— 2 ‘‘(i) reasonably expected to reach sus- 3 tained speeds of more than 110 miles per 4 hour but less than 186 miles per hour; and 5 ‘‘(ii) made available to members of the 6 general public as passengers; and 7 ‘‘(B) does not include rapid transit oper- 8 ations within an urban area that are not con- 9 nected to the general rail system of transpor- 10 tation.’’. 11 (f) HIGH-SPEED RAIL CORRIDOR DEVELOPMENT.— 12 Section 26106 of title 49, United States Code, is amend- 13 ed— 14 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 15 following: ‘‘In carrying out the program, the Sec- 16 retary may designate high-speed rail corridors.’’; 17 (2) in subsection (b)— 18 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or Am- 19 trak’’ and inserting ‘‘, Amtrak, or a consortium 20 of a private entity and one or more of any of 21 the entities listed in this paragraph’’; 22 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe- 23 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘before the date 24 of the enactment of MAP–21 (Public Law 112– 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1845.IH H1845 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1845 IH 141) or a corridor designated by the Secretary 1 under subsection (a).’’; and 2 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘of at 3 least 110 miles per hour’’ and inserting ‘‘of 186 4 miles per hour or more’’; 5 (3) in subsection (e)— 6 (A) in paragraph (2)— 7 (i) in subparagraph (B)(i)— 8 (I) in subclause (I), by adding 9 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 10 (II) in subclause (II), by striking 11 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 12 (ii) in subparagraph (B)(ii)(IV), by 13 inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 14 (iii) in subparagraph (C)(i)— 15 (I) in subclause (II) by inserting 16 ‘‘, including where a grant will sup- 17 port the plans of an Interstate Pas- 18 senger Rail Commission or other enti- 19 ty with the goal of developing a re- 20 gional passenger rail system involving 21 2 or more States’’ before the semi- 22 colon; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1845.IH H1845 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1845 IH (II) in subclause (IV), by insert- 1 ing ‘‘electrification or’’ after ‘‘in- 2 volve’’; and 3 (III) in subclause (V), by striking 4 the semicolon and inserting ‘‘, includ- 5 ing as a result of transit-oriented de- 6 velopment, connectivity between areas 7 of high-economic development and 8 areas with a low cost of living, or the 9 agglomeration of effects along a pas- 10 senger rail corridor.’’; 11 (IV) in subclause (VI) by striking 12 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 13 (V) by redesignating subclause 14 (VII) as subclause (IX); and 15 (VI) by inserting after subclause 16 (VI) the following: 17 ‘‘(VII) impacts associated with 18 equity, resilience, sustainability, eco- 19 nomic development and climate 20 ‘‘(VIII) ability to serve an eligible 21 place, as such term is defined in sec- 22 tion 41731; and’’; and 23 (B) in paragraph (3)— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1845.IH H1845 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1845 IH (i) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and 1 inserting ‘‘(A) The Secretary’’; and 2 (ii) by adding at the end the fol- 3 lowing: 4 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall not establish 5 mandatory spending timelines for costs and ac- 6 tivities associated with the project.’’; 7 (4) in the heading of subsection (f), by striking 8 ‘‘FEDERAL SHARE’’ and inserting ‘‘FUNDING’’; 9 (5) in subsection (f), 10 (A) by striking ‘‘The Federal share’’ and 11 all that follows and inserting ‘‘(1) FEDERAL 12 SHARE.—With respect to the net capital cost of 13 a project financed under this section, the Fed- 14 eral share of such cost may be up to 100 per- 15 cent.’’; and 16 (B) by adding at the end the following new 17 paragraph: 18 ‘‘(2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 19 ‘‘(A) The Secretary shall prioritize financ- 20 ing capital projects in high-speed rail corridors 21 with respect to which at least 20 percent of the 22 project net capital cost is funded through speci- 23 fied financial sources. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1845.IH H1845 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1845 IH ‘‘(B) In this section, the term ‘specified fi- 1 nancial source’ means— 2 ‘‘(i) the Railroad Rehabilitation and 3 Improvement Finance program under 4 chapter V of the Railroad Revitalization 5 and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 6 U.S.C. 821 et seq.); 7 ‘‘(ii) the transportation infrastructure 8 finance and innovation program in chapter 9 6 of title 23; 10 ‘‘(iii) funding provided by the govern- 11 ment of a country that is adjacent to the 12 international border of the United States 13 through which the proposed corridor will 14 cross; 15 ‘‘(iv) a State, local, or private source; 16 or 17 ‘‘(v) any combination of the sources 18 described in clauses (i) through (v). 19 ‘‘(C) For any funds derived from the pro- 20 grams described in clauses (i) or (ii) of sub- 21 paragraph (B) that are used to finance costs 22 associated with capital projects in high-speed 23 rail corridors, such funds shall be repaid from 24 State, local, or private sources.’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1845.IH H1845 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1845 IH (6) by striking subsection (g) and inserting the 1 following: 2 ‘‘(g) PRESIDENTIAL BORDER PERMITS.—With re- 3 spect to any project that requires construction, connection, 4 operation, or maintenance, at the international boundaries 5 of the United States, the Secretary of State shall provide 6 the applicant of such project with the necessary Presi- 7 dential permits required for such project, unless the Sec- 8 retary of State determines that the provision of such per- 9 mit would not be in the interest of national security.’’; and 10 (7) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the 11 following: 12 ‘‘(h) PROJECTS OR ACTIVITIES FOR HIGHER-SPEED 13 RAIL.— 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to grants 15 awarded under this section, the Secretary may 16 award not more than 20 percent of grants under 17 this section for projects or activities for higher-speed 18 rail. 19 ‘‘(2) RELEVANT REQUIREMENTS.—With respect 20 to grants under paragraph (1), the Secretary may 21 apply requirements for high-speed rail to projects or 22 activities for higher-speed rail, where applicable.’’. 23 (g) INTERSTATE COMPACTS.—Section 410(b)(2) of 24 the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997 (49 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1845.IH H1845 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1845 IH U.S.C. 24101 note) is amended by striking ‘‘(except funds 1 made available for Amtrak)’’. 2 (h) ADVANCE ACQUISITION.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 242 of title 49, 4 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 5 section 24202 the following: 6 ‘‘§ 24203. Advance acquisition 7 ‘‘(a) RAIL CORRIDOR PRESERVATION.—The Sec- 8 retary may allow a recipient of a grant under this part 9 or part D of this subtitle for a passenger rail project to 10 acquire right-of-way and adjacent real property interests 11 before or during the completion of the environmental re- 12 views for a project that may use such property interests 13 if the acquisition is otherwise permitted under Federal 14 law. 15 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION.—Before authorizing advance 16 acquisition under this section, the Secretary shall verify 17 that— 18 ‘‘(1) the recipient has authority to acquire the 19 real property interest; 20 ‘‘(2) the acquisition of the real property inter- 21 est— 22 ‘‘(A) is for a transportation purpose; 23 ‘‘(B) will not cause significant adverse en- 24 vironmental impact; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1845.IH H1845 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 1845 IH ‘‘(C) will not limit the choice of reasonable 1 alternatives for the proposed project or other- 2 wise influence the decision of the Secretary on 3 any approval required for the project; 4 ‘‘(D) does not prevent the lead agency 5 from making an impartial decision as to wheth- 6 er to accept an alternative that is being consid- 7 ered; 8 ‘‘(E) complies with other applicable Fed- 9 eral laws and regulations; and 10 ‘‘(F) will not result in [Text truncated for display. 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