Intercity Passenger Rail Trust Fund Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4187 To establish the Intercity Passenger Rail Trust Fund to ensure a safe, sustainable, convenient transportation option for the people of the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 2, 2020 Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself and Mr. UDALL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works JULY 27, 2020 Committee discharged; referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To establish the Intercity Passenger Rail Trust Fund to ensure a safe, sustainable, convenient transportation op- tion for the people of the United States, 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 ‘‘Intercity Passenger 4 Rail Trust Fund Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:57 Jul 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4187.RCS S4187 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 S 4187 RCS SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress makes the following findings: 2 (1) An effective transportation system for the 3 Nation requires dedicated, predictable Federal fund- 4 ing for various capital and operating expenses, as 5 demonstrated by the Highway Trust Fund, which 6 supports all Federal highway programs, most public 7 transit programs, and many Federal transportation 8 safety programs. 9 (2) Intercity passenger rail is the only surface 10 transportation mode in the United States that— 11 (A) does not receive any Federal funding 12 through a trust fund for capital investment; 13 and 14 (B) is completely dependent on annual dis- 15 cretionary appropriations for both its capital ex- 16 penses and its operating costs. 17 (3) In fiscal year 2019, Amtrak experienced 18 record ridership, a historic low operating loss, and a 19 record capital spend rate. 20 (4) In markets with sufficient infrastructure 21 and train frequency, Amtrak has proven to be an ef- 22 fective mode of transportation compared to commer- 23 cial air and bus service and private automobile use. 24 (5) Intercity passenger rail offers substantial 25 safety, energy, and environmental advantages com- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:57 Jul 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4187.RCS S4187 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 S 4187 RCS pared to most other transportation modes, but dec- 1 ades of insufficient capital funding has drastically 2 limited the role that intercity passenger rail can play 3 in the Nation’s overall transportation network. 4 (6) There are critical capital needs for the 5 Northeast Corridor and the National Network, in- 6 cluding infrastructure, fleet, stations, and facilities. 7 (7) Adding to the urgency of these capital in- 8 vestment needs, due to changing demographics, pop- 9 ulation growth, urbanization, and changing travel 10 trends, intercity passenger rail will be needed to help 11 move our Nation into the future. 12 (8) For these reasons, an Intercity Passenger 13 Rail Trust Fund is needed now, more than ever, to 14 ensure a safe, sustainable, convenient transportation 15 option for the people of the United States. 16 SEC. 3. INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL TRUST FUND. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A of chapter 98 of the 18 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 19 the end the following: 20 ‘‘SEC. 9512. INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL TRUST FUND. 21 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 22 Treasury of the United States a trust fund, which shall 23 be known as the ‘Intercity Passenger Rail Trust Fund’, 24 consisting of such amounts as may be appropriated or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:57 Jul 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4187.RCS S4187 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 S 4187 RCS credited to the Intercity Passenger Railroad Trust Fund 1 as provided in this section and section 9602(b). 2 ‘‘(b) TRANSFER TO INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL 3 TRUST FUND.— 4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is hereby appro- 5 priated to the Intercity Passenger Rail Trust Fund 6 for fiscal year 2021, and for each fiscal year there- 7 after, an amount equal to 50 percent of the average 8 annual amounts appropriated to the Highway Trust 9 Fund under section 9503 for fiscal years 2008 10 through 2020. 11 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATION OF 12 ADDITIONAL SUMS.—There are hereby authorized to 13 be appropriated to the Intercity Passenger Rail 14 Trust Fund such additional sums as may be re- 15 quired to make the expenditures referred to in sub- 16 section (c). 17 ‘‘(c) EXPENDITURES FROM THE INTERCITY PAS- 18 SENGER RAIL TRUST FUND.—Amounts in the Intercity 19 Passenger Rail Trust Fund shall be available for obliga- 20 tion without further appropriations action for making ex- 21 penditures to carry out section 24314 of title 49.’’. 22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 23 for subchapter A of chapter 98 of such Code is amended 24 by adding at the end the following new item: 25 ‘‘Sec. 9512. Intercity Passenger Rail Trust Fund.’’. VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:57 Jul 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S4187.RCS S4187 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 S 4187 RCS SEC. 4. INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL TRUST FUND EXPEND- 1 ITURES. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 243 of title 49, United 3 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 24313 4 the following: 5 ‘‘§ 24314. Intercity Passenger Rail Trust Fund ex- 6 penditures 7 ‘‘(a) EXPENDITURES FROM THE INTERCITY PAS- 8 SENGER RAIL TRUST FUND.—Amounts deposited into the 9 Intercity Passenger Rail Trust Fund each fiscal year pur- 10 suant to section 9512(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 11 1986 shall be available for obligation, without further ap- 12 propriation, in accordance with the ratios set forth in sub- 13 section (b). Amounts made available under this section 14 shall remain available until expended. 15 ‘‘(b) INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL TRUST FUND EX- 16 PENDITURE RATIOS.—The Secretary may use amounts 17 deposited into the Intercity Passenger Rail Trust Fund 18 each fiscal year to award grants to Amtrak, in accordance 19 with the process described in section 24319. Of the grant 20 funds awarded pursuant to this subsection— 21 ‘‘(1) 40 percent shall be used for activities asso- 22 ciated with the Northeast Corridor; and 23 ‘‘(2) 60 percent shall be used for activities asso- 24 ciated with the National Network. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:57 Jul 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4187.RCS S4187 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 S 4187 RCS ‘‘(c) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section 1 may be construed as prohibiting discretionary funding 2 from being provided to Amtrak.’’. 3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 4 chapter 243 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 5 by inserting after the item relating to section 24313 the 6 following: 7 ‘‘24314. Intercity Passenger Rail Trust Fund expenditures.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:57 Jul 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4187.RCS S4187 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS