American High-Speed Rail Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8926 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 DECEMBER 9, 2020 Mr. MOULTON (for himself, Ms. DELBENE, and Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE 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 deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction 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 22:48 Dec 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8926.IH H8926 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8926 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 22:48 Dec 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8926.IH H8926 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8926 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’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:48 Dec 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8926.IH H8926 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8926 IH (3) by adding at the end the following sub- 1 section: 2 ‘‘(d) PROJECTS OR ACTIVITIES FOR HIGHER-SPEED 3 RAIL.— 4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to grants 5 awarded under this section, the Secretary may 6 award not more than 20 percent of grants under 7 this section for projects or activities for higher-speed 8 rail. 9 ‘‘(2) RELEVANT REQUIREMENTS.—With respect 10 to grants under paragraph (1), the Secretary may 11 apply requirements for high-speed rail to projects or 12 activities for higher-speed rail, where applicable.’’. 13 (c) HIGH-SPEED RAIL TECHNOLOGY IMPROVE- 14 MENTS.—Section 26102 of title 49, United States Code, 15 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub- 16 section: 17 ‘‘(d) FACTOR TO CONSIDER.—In providing financial 18 assistance to eligible recipients under subsection (b), the 19 Secretary may consider activities that incorporate the use 20 of technologies that facilitate intermodal connections and 21 connections with other passenger rail systems.’’. 22 (d) SAFETY REGULATIONS.—Section 26103 of title 23 49, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘such’’ 24 and all that follows and inserting ‘‘comprehensive, per- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:48 Dec 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8926.IH H8926 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8926 IH formance-based regulations for all high-speed rail projects. 1 Such regulations shall not inhibit interoperability within 2 the high-speed rail network.’’ 3 (e) DEFINITIONS.—Section 26105 of title 49, United 4 States Code, is amended— 5 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘of more than 6 125 miles per hour’’ and inserting ‘‘of 186 miles per 7 hour or more’’; and 8 (2) by adding at the end the following para- 9 graph: 10 ‘‘(7) the term ‘higher-speed’— 11 ‘‘(A) means all forms of nonhighway 12 ground transportation that run on rails or elec- 13 tromagnetic guideways providing transportation 14 service which is— 15 ‘‘(i) reasonably expected to reach sus- 16 tained speeds of more than 110 miles per 17 hour but less than 186 miles per hour; and 18 ‘‘(ii) made available to members of the 19 general public as passengers; and 20 ‘‘(B) does not include rapid transit oper- 21 ations within an urban area that are not con- 22 nected to the general rail system of transpor- 23 tation.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:48 Dec 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8926.IH H8926 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8926 IH (f) HIGH-SPEED RAIL CORRIDOR DEVELOPMENT.— 1 Section 26106 of title 49, United States Code, is amend- 2 ed— 3 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 4 following: ‘‘In carrying out the program, the Sec- 5 retary may designate high-speed rail corridors.’’; 6 (2) in subsection (b)— 7 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or Am- 8 trak’’ and inserting ‘‘, Amtrak, or a consortium 9 of a private entity and one or more of any of 10 the entities listed in this paragraph’’; 11 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe- 12 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘before the date 13 of the enactment of MAP–21 (Public Law 112– 14 141) or a corridor designated by the Secretary 15 under subsection (a).’’; and 16 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘of at 17 least 110 miles per hour’’ and inserting ‘‘of 186 18 miles per hour or more’’; 19 (3) in subsection (e)— 20 (A) in paragraph (2)— 21 (i) in subparagraph (B)(i)— 22 (I) in clause (I), by adding ‘‘and’’ 23 at the end; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:48 Dec 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8926.IH H8926 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8926 IH (II) in clause (II), by striking 1 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 2 (ii) in subparagraph (B)(ii)(IV), by 3 inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 4 (iii) in subparagraph (C)(i)— 5 (I) in clause (IV), by inserting 6 ‘‘electrification or’’ after ‘‘involve’’; 7 and 8 (II) in clause (V), by striking the 9 semicolon and inserting ‘‘, including 10 as a result of transit-oriented develop- 11 ment, connectivity between areas of 12 high-economic development and areas 13 with a low cost of living, or the ag- 14 glomeration of effects along a pas- 15 senger rail corridor.’’; and 16 (B) in paragraph (3)— 17 (i) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and 18 inserting ‘‘(A) The Secretary’’; and 19 (ii) by adding at the end the fol- 20 lowing: 21 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall not establish 22 mandatory spending timelines for costs and ac- 23 tivities associated with the project.’’; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:48 Dec 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8926.IH H8926 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8926 IH (4) in the heading of subsection (f), by striking 1 ‘‘FEDERAL SHARE’’ and inserting ‘‘FUNDING’’; 2 (5) in subsection (f), 3 (A) by striking ‘‘The Federal share’’ and 4 all that follows and inserting ‘‘(1) FEDERAL 5 SHARE.—With respect to the net capital cost of 6 a project financed under this section, the Fed- 7 eral share of such cost may be up to 100 per- 8 cent.’’; and 9 (B) by adding at the end the following new 10 paragraph: 11 ‘‘(2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 12 ‘‘(A) The Secretary shall prioritize financ- 13 ing capital projects in high-speed rail corridors 14 with respect to which at least 20 percent of the 15 project net capital cost is funded through speci- 16 fied financial sources. 17 ‘‘(B) In this section, the term ‘specified fi- 18 nancial source’ means— 19 ‘‘(i) the Railroad Rehabilitation and 20 Improvement Finance program under 21 chapter V of the Railroad Revitalization 22 and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 23 U.S.C. 821 et seq.); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:48 Dec 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8926.IH H8926 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8926 IH ‘‘(ii) the transportation infrastructure 1 finance and innovation program in chapter 2 6 of title 23; 3 ‘‘(iii) funding provided by the govern- 4 ment of a country that is adjacent to the 5 international border of the United States 6 through which the proposed corridor will 7 cross; 8 ‘‘(iv) a State, local, or private source; 9 or 10 ‘‘(v) any combination of the sources 11 described in clauses (i) through (v). 12 ‘‘(C) For any funds derived from the pro- 13 grams described in clauses (i) or (ii) of sub- 14 paragraph (B) that are used to finance costs 15 associated with capital projects in high-speed 16 rail corridors, such funds shall be repaid from 17 State, local, or private sources.’’; 18 (6) by striking subsection (g) and inserting the 19 following: 20 ‘‘(g) PRESIDENTIAL BORDER PERMITS.—With re- 21 spect to any project that requires construction, connection, 22 operation, or maintenance, at the international boundaries 23 of the United States, the Secretary of State shall provide 24 the applicant of such project with the necessary Presi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:48 Dec 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8926.IH H8926 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8926 IH dential permits required for such project, unless the Sec- 1 retary of State determines that the provision of such per- 2 mit would not be in the interest of national security.’’; and 3 (7) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the 4 following: 5 ‘‘(h) RAILROAD RIGHT-OF-WAY.— 6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Prior to the completion of 7 environmental reviews required for the project or 8 corridor planning activity, the Secretary shall assist 9 a recipient of grant under section 26101 or this sec- 10 tion with the acquisition of a right-of-way if the ac- 11 quisition of such right-of-way is otherwise permitted 12 under Federal law. 13 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON DEVELOPMENT.—With re- 14 spect to a right-of-way granted under paragraph (1), 15 the recipient of such grant shall not develop such 16 right-of-way until such recipient completes all re- 17 quired environmental reviews for the project or cor- 18 ridor planning activity. 19 ‘‘(i) PROJECTS OR ACTIVITIES FOR HIGHER-SPEED 20 RAIL.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to grants 22 awarded under this section, the Secretary may 23 award not more than 20 percent of grants under 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:48 Dec 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8926.IH H8926 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8926 IH this section for projects or activities for higher-speed 1 rail. 2 ‘‘(2) RELEVANT REQUIREMENTS.—With respect 3 to grants under paragraph (1), the Secretary may 4 apply requirements for high-speed rail to projects or 5 activities for higher-speed rail, where applicable.’’. 6 (g) INTERSTATE COMPACTS.—Section 410(b)(2) of 7 the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997 (49 8 U.S.C. 24101 note) is amended by striking ‘‘(except funds 9 made available for Amtrak)’’. 10 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 11 Section 26104 of title 49, United States Code, is 12 amended— 13 (a) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows: 14 ‘‘(a) HIGH-SPEED RAIL CORRIDOR PLANNING.— 15 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 16 26101 $3,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 17 through 2025.’’; 18 (b) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (e); 19 and 20 (c) by inserting after subsection (a) the following: 21 ‘‘(b) HIGH-SPEED RAIL TECHNOLOGY IMPROVE- 22 MENTS.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 23 out section 26102 $3,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 24 2021 through 2025. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:48 Dec 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8926.IH H8926 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8926 IH ‘‘(c) HIGH-SPEED RAIL CORRIDOR DEVELOP- 1 MENT.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 2 out section 26106 $35,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 3 2021 through 2025. 4 ‘‘(d) RESTRICTION.—Not more than 20 percent of 5 the total funds made available under sections 26101 and 6 26106 for a fiscal year may be spent on projects or activi- 7 ties for higher-speed passenger trains.’’. 8 SEC. 4. TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT PLANNING. 9 (a) METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING.— 10 Section 5303 of title 49, United States Code, is amend- 11 ed— 12 (1) in subsection (h)(1)— 13 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and 14 efficiency’’ and inserting ‘‘efficiency, regional 15 land development, and economic development’’; 16 (B) in subparagraph (H), by striking ‘‘; 17 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 18 (C) in subparagraph (I), by striking the 19 period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 20 and 21 (D) by adding at the end the following 22 subparagraphs: 23 ‘‘(J) decrease user travel time, decrease 24 cost or expenses for users and the transpor- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:48 Dec 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8926.IH H8926 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 8926 IH tation system, increase in user safety, and pro- 1 ductivity gains for the metropolitan area cal- 2 culated at present value; and 3 ‘‘(K) decrease the public health, environ- 4 mental, and oth [Text truncated for display. 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