Preventing Doomsday Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1667 To require a report on the contingency plan of the Department of Transpor- tation in the event of the failure of a rail track in the North River Tunnel, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 11, 2019 Mr. GOTTHEIMER (for himself and Mr. KING of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To require a report on the contingency plan of the Depart- ment of Transportation in the event of the failure of a rail track in the North River Tunnel, 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 ‘‘Preventing Doomsday 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Mar 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1667.IH H1667 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1667 IH (1) 200,000 riders travel through the 111 year 1 old, two-track North River Tunnel under the Hud- 2 son River daily. 3 (2) The North River Tunnel serves a region 4 that is home to 17 percent of the United States pop- 5 ulation which contributes 20 percent to the national 6 Gross Domestic Product. 7 (3) The Northeast Corridor, which is operated 8 by Amtrak and runs between Boston, Massachusetts 9 and Washington, DC, has the highest ridership of 10 any intercity rail line in the United States and runs 11 directly through the North River Tunnel. 12 (4) Superstorm Sandy caused $65 billion worth 13 of damages and 147 direct deaths in 2012, exacer- 14 bating the need to perform extensive repairs to both 15 tracks. A new tunnel must be built to keep regular 16 train service running while the damage is fixed. 17 (5) According to the Regional Plan Association, 18 if one of the tracks loses functionality and needs to 19 be shut down, the national economy could lose $16 20 billion over a 4-year span, equivalent to the loss of 21 33,000 jobs. 22 (6) A tunnel shutdown would significantly de- 23 crease transportation options in the region, increas- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Mar 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1667.IH H1667 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1667 IH ing commute times in many cases by more than an 1 hour a day. 2 (7) A tunnel shutdown could also cause $22 bil- 3 lion in decreased property values, $7 billion in lost 4 tax revenue for Federal, State, and local govern- 5 ments, and 38,000 additional car crashes. 6 (8) Currently, only 24 trains can use the tunnel 7 every hour. That number would drop to 6 in the 8 event of a shutdown. 9 (9) The Gateway Program, which incorporates 10 the Hudson Tunnel Project, would double the num- 11 ber of trains per hour by building a new, flood-proof 12 tunnel. 13 (10) The Federal Transit Administration rated 14 the Hudson Tunnel Project ‘‘Medium-Low’’ in re- 15 sponse to the project’s s5309 Capital Investment 16 Grant submission. 17 SEC. 3. REPORT. 18 Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 19 of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall publish 20 a report that explains— 21 (1) the contingency plan of the Department of 22 Transportation, in coordination with other relevant 23 Federal agencies, detailing a specific plan of action 24 in the case of a shutdown of a track described in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Mar 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1667.IH H1667 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1667 IH section 2(1) and that addresses issues including en- 1 suring commuters, tourists, and others will maintain 2 the ability to travel between New Jersey and New 3 York and throughout the region; and 4 (2) the contingency plan of the Department of 5 Transportation, in coordination with other relevant 6 Federal agencies, detailing a specific plan of action 7 to ensure minimal disruption to, and negative im- 8 pact on national security, the economy, public 9 health, the environment, and property values. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Mar 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1667.IH H1667 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS