49 U.S.C. § 24319 — Grant process and reporting

Page 697 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 24319 shall transmit to the State-Supported Route Committee and Northeast Corridor Commis- sion a letter that includes the information de- scribed under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2). (h) DEFINITION OF NORTHEAST CORRIDOR.—Not- withstanding section 24102, for purposes of this section, the term ‘‘Northeast Corridor’’ means the Northeast Corridor main line between Bos- ton, Massachusetts, and the District of Colum- bia, and facilities and services used to operate and maintain that line. (Added Pub. L. 114–94, div. A, title XI, § 11201(a), Dec. 4, 2015, 129 Stat. 1625; amended Pub. L. 117–58, div. B, title II, § 22205, Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 699.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 11101 of the Passenger Rail Reform and In- vestment Act of 2015, referred to in subsec. (c)(1)(A), (2)(A), is section 11101 of title XI of div. A of Pub. L. 114–94, Dec. 4, 2015, 129 Stat. 1622, which is not classified to the Code. Section 209 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Im- provement Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 24101 note), referred to in subsec. (c)(2)(B), probably means section 209 of div. B of Pub. L. 110–432, which is set out as a note under sec- tion 24101 of this title. AMENDMENTS 2021—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 117–58, § 22205(1), sub- stituted ‘‘, including Federal grant funds, and costs among Amtrak service lines’’ for ‘‘and costs among Amtrak business lines’’. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 117–58, § 22205(2), amended subsec. (b) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015, the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with Amtrak, shall define an account structure and im- provements to accounting methodologies, as necessary, to support, at a minimum, the Northeast Corridor and the National Network.’’ Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 117–58, § 22205(3), inserted ‘‘, maintaining, and updating’’ after ‘‘defining’’ in in- troductory provisions. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 117–58, § 22205(4), inserted ‘‘, maintaining, and updating’’ after ‘‘defining’’ in in- troductory provisions. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 117–58, § 22205(5), amended subsec. (e) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (e) related to implementation of account structures and improve- ments and reporting of updated profit and loss state- ments for each of business lines and asset categories to Secretary. Subsecs. (h), (i). Pub. L. 117–58, § 22205(6), (7), redesig- nated subsec. (i) as (h) and struck out former subsec. (h). Prior to amendment, text of subsec. (h) read as fol- lows: ‘‘Not later than 2 years after the date of enact- ment of the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015, Amtrak shall submit to the Secretary a report assessing the account and reporting structure estab- lished under this section and providing any rec- ommendations for further action. Not later than 180 days after the date of receipt of such report, the Sec- retary shall provide an assessment that supplements Amtrak’s report and submit the Amtrak report with the supplemental assessment to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc- ture of the House of Representatives.’’ Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Oct. 1, 2015, see section 1003 of Pub. L. 114–94, set out as an Effective Date of 2015 Amend- ment note under section 5313 of Title 5, Government Or- ganization and Employees. § 24318. Costs and revenues (a) ALLOCATION.—Amtrak shall establish and maintain internal controls to ensure Amtrak’s costs, revenues, and other compensation are ap- propriately allocated to the Northeast Corridor, including train services or infrastructure, or the National Network, including proportional shares of common and fixed costs. (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the ability of Amtrak to enter into an agreement with 1 or more States to allocate operating and capital costs under section 209 of the Passenger Rail In- vestment and Improvement Act of 2008 (49 U.S.C. 24101 note). (c) DEFINITION OF NORTHEAST CORRIDOR.—Not- withstanding section 24102, for purposes of this section, the term ‘‘Northeast Corridor’’ means the Northeast Corridor main line between Bos- ton, Massachusetts, and the District of Colum- bia, and facilities and services used to operate and maintain that line. (Added Pub. L. 114–94, div. A, title XI, § 11202(a), Dec. 4, 2015, 129 Stat. 1628; amended Pub. L. 117–58, div. B, title II, § 22206(a), Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 700.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 209 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Im- provement Act of 2008, referred to in subsec. (b), is sec- tion 209 of div. B of Pub. L. 110–432, which is set out as a note under section 24101 of this title. AMENDMENTS 2021—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 117–58 struck out ‘‘Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Pas- senger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015,’’ before ‘‘Amtrak’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Oct. 1, 2015, see section 1003 of Pub. L. 114–94, set out as an Effective Date of 2015 Amend- ment note under section 5313 of Title 5, Government Or- ganization and Employees. § 24319. Grant process and reporting (a) PROCEDURES FOR GRANT REQUESTS.—The Secretary of Transportation shall— (1) establish and maintain substantive and procedural requirements, including schedules, for grant requests under this section; and (2) report any changes to such procedures to— (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate; (B) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; (C) the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representa- tives; and Page 698 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 24319 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives. (b) GRANT REQUESTS.—Amtrak shall transmit to the Secretary a grant request annually, or as additionally required, for Federal funds appro- priated to the Secretary of Transportation for the use of Amtrak. (c) CONTENTS.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Each grant request under subsection (b) shall, as applicable— (A) categorize and identify, by source, the Federal funds and program income that will be used for the upcoming fiscal year for each of the Northeast Corridor and National Net- work in 1 of the categories or subcategories set forth in paragraph (2); (B) describe the operations, services, pro- grams, projects, and other activities to be funded within each of the categories set forth in paragraph (2), including— (i) the estimated scope, schedule, and budget necessary to complete each project and program; and (ii) the performance measures used to quantify expected and actual project out- comes and benefits, aggregated by fiscal year, project milestone, and any other ap- propriate grouping; and (C) describe the status of efforts to im- prove Amtrak’s safety culture. (2) GRANT CATEGORIES.— (A) OPERATING EXPENSES.—Each grant re- quest to use Federal funds for operating ex- penses shall— (i) include estimated net operating costs not covered by other Amtrak revenue sources; (ii) specify Federal funding requested for each service line described in section 24320(b)(1); and (iii) be itemized by route. (B) DEBT SERVICE.—A grant request to use Federal funds for expenses related to debt, including payment of principle and interest, as allowed under section 205 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–432; 49 U.S.C. 24101 note). (C) CAPITAL.—A grant request to use Fed- eral funds and program income for capital expenses shall include capital projects and programs primarily associated with— (i) normalized capital replacement pro- grams, including regularly recurring work programs implemented on a systematic basis on classes of physical railroad assets, such as track, structures, electric traction and power systems, rolling stock, and com- munications and signal systems, to main- tain and sustain the condition and per- formance of such assets to support contin- ued railroad operations; (ii) improvement projects to support service and safety enhancements, includ- ing discrete projects implemented in ac- cordance with a fixed scope, schedule, and budget that result in enhanced or new in- frastructure, equipment, or facilities; (iii) backlog capital replacement projects, including discrete projects imple- mented in accordance with a fixed scope, schedule, and budget that primarily re- place or rehabilitate major infrastructure assets, including tunnels, bridges, stations, and similar assets, to reduce the state of good repair backlog on the Amtrak net- work; (iv) strategic initiative projects, includ- ing discrete projects implemented in ac- cordance with a fixed scope, schedule, and budget that primarily improve overall operational performance, lower costs, or otherwise improve Amtrak’s corporate ef- ficiency; and (v) statutory, regulatory, or other le- gally mandated projects, including dis- crete projects implemented in accordance with a fixed scope, schedule, and budget that enable Amtrak to fulfill specific legal or regulatory mandates. (D) CONTINGENCY.—A grant request to use Federal funds for operating and capital ex- pense contingency shall include— (i) contingency levels for specified ac- tivities and operations; and (ii) a process for the utilization of such contingency. (3) MODIFICATION OF CATEGORIES.—The Sec- retary of Transportation and Amtrak may jointly agree to modify the categories set forth in paragraph (2) if such modifications are necessary to improve the transparency, over- sight, or delivery of projects funded through grant requests under this section. (d) REVIEW AND APPROVAL.— (1) THIRTY-DAY APPROVAL PROCESS.— (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the date that Amtrak submits a com- plete grant request under this section, the Secretary of Transportation shall finish a review of the request and provide notice to Amtrak that— (i) the request is approved; or (ii) the request is disapproved, including the reason for the disapproval and an ex- planation of any deficient items. (B) GRANT AGREEMENT.—If a grant request is approved, the Secretary shall enter into a grant agreement with Amtrak. (2) FIFTEEN-DAY MODIFICATION PERIOD.—Not later than 15 days after the date of a notice under paragraph (1)(A)(ii), Amtrak shall sub- mit a modified request for the Secretary’s re- view. (3) MODIFIED REQUESTS.—Not later than 15 days after the date that Amtrak submits a modified request under paragraph (2), the Sec- retary shall either approve the modified re- quest, or, if the Secretary finds that the re- quest is still incomplete or deficient, the Sec- retary shall identify in writing to the Com- mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor- tation and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Transpor- tation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representa- tives the remaining deficiencies and rec- ommend a process for resolving the out- standing portions of the request. Page 699 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 24319 (e) PAYMENTS TO AMTRAK.— (1) IN GENERAL.—A grant agreement entered into under subsection (d) shall specify the op- erations, services, programs, projects, and other activities to be funded by the grant, con- sistent with the categories required for Am- trak in a grant request under subsection (c)(1)(A). The grant agreement shall include provisions, consistent with the requirements of this chapter, to measure Amtrak’s perform- ance and ensure accountability in delivering the operations, services, programs, projects, and other activities to be funded by the grant. (2) SCHEDULE.—Except as provided in para- graph (3), in each fiscal year for which amounts are appropriated to the Secretary for the use of Amtrak, and for which the Sec- retary and Amtrak have entered into a grant agreement under subsection (d), the Secretary shall disburse grant funds to Amtrak on the following schedule: (A) 50 percent on October 1. (B) 25 percent on January 1. (C) 25 percent on April 1. (3) EXCEPTIONS.—The Secretary may make a payment to Amtrak of appropriated funds— (A) using an otherwise allowable approach to the method prescribed for a specific project or category of projects under para- graph (2) if the Secretary and Amtrak agree that a different payment method is nec- essary to more successfully implement and report on an operation, service, program, project, or other activity; (B) more frequently than the schedule under paragraph (2) if Amtrak, for good cause, requests more frequent payment be- fore the end of a payment period; or (C) with a different frequency or in dif- ferent percentage allocations in the event of a continuing resolution or in the absence of an appropriations Act for the duration of a fiscal year. (f) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS AND EARLY AP- PROPRIATIONS.—Amounts appropriated to the Secretary for the use of Amtrak shall remain available until expended. Amounts for capital acquisitions and improvements may be appro- priated for a fiscal year before the fiscal year in which the amounts will be obligated. (g) LIMITATIONS ON USE.—Amounts appro- priated to the Secretary for the use of Amtrak may not be used to cross-subsidize operating losses or capital costs of commuter rail pas- senger or freight rail transportation. (h) APPLICABLE LAWS AND REGULATIONS.— (1) SINGLE AUDIT ACT OF 1984.—Notwith- standing section 24301(a)(3) of this title and section 7501(a)(13) of title 31, Amtrak shall be deemed a ‘‘non-Federal entity’’ for purposes of chapter 75 of title 31. (2) REGULATIONS AND GUIDANCE.—The Sec- retary of Transportation may apply some or all of the requirements set forth in the regula- tions and guidance promulgated by the Sec- retary relating to the management, adminis- tration, cost principles, and audit require- ments for Federal awards. (i) AMTRAK GRANT REPORTING.—The Secretary of Transportation shall determine the varying levels of detail and information that will be in- cluded in reports for operations, services, pro- gram, projects, program income, cash on hand, and other activities within each of the grant categories described in subsection (c)(2). (j) DEFINITION OF NORTHEAST CORRIDOR.—Not- withstanding section 24102, for purposes of this section, the term ‘‘Northeast Corridor’’ means the Northeast Corridor main line between Bos- ton, Massachusetts, and the District of Colum- bia, and facilities and services used to operate and maintain that line. (Added Pub. L. 114–94, div. A, title XI, § 11202(a), Dec. 4, 2015, 129 Stat. 1628; amended Pub. L. 115–420, § 4(b)(1), Jan. 3, 2019, 132 Stat. 5444; Pub. L. 117–58, div. B, title II, § 22206(b), Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 700.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 205 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Im- provement Act of 2008, referred to in subsec. (c)(2)(B), is section 205 of div. B of Pub. L. 110–432, which is set out as a note under section 24101 of this title. Single Audit Act of 1984, referred to in subsec. (h)(1), is Pub. L. 98–502, Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2327, which en- acted chapter 75 (§ 7501 et seq.) of Title 31, Money and Finance, and provisions set out as notes under section 7501 of Title 31. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 1984 Amendment note set out under section 7501 of Title 31 and Tables. AMENDMENTS 2021—Pub. L. 117–58, § 22206(b)(1), inserted ‘‘and report- ing’’ after ‘‘process’’ in section catchline. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 117–58, § 22206(b)(2), amended sub- sec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as fol- lows: ‘‘Not later than 90 days after the date of enact- ment of the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015, the Secretary of Transportation shall establish and transmit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Appropria- tions of the Senate and the Committee on Transpor- tation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Appro- priations of the House of Representatives substantive and procedural requirements, including schedules, for grant requests under this section.’’ Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 117–58, § 22206(b)(3), substituted ‘‘a grant request annually, or as additionally required,’’ for ‘‘grant requests’’. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 117–58, § 22206(b)(4), amended sub- sec. (c) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (c) re- lated to contents of grant request. Subsec. (d)(1)(A). Pub. L. 117–58, § 22206(b)(5)(A), (B), inserted ‘‘complete’’ after ‘‘submits a’’ and substituted ‘‘shall finish’’ for ‘‘shall complete’’ in introductory pro- visions. Subsec. (d)(1)(A)(ii). Pub. L. 117–58, § 22206(b)(5)(C), struck out ‘‘incomplete or’’ before ‘‘deficient items’’. Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 117–58, § 22206(b)(6)(A), sub- stituted ‘‘programs, projects, and other activities to be funded by the grant, consistent with the categories re- quired for Amtrak in a grant request under subsection (c)(1)(A)’’ for ‘‘and other activities to be funded by the grant’’ and ‘‘programs, projects, and other activities’’ for ‘‘or activities’’. Subsec. (e)(3)(A) to (C). Pub. L. 117–58, § 22206(b)(6)(B), added subpar. (A) and redesignated former subpars. (A) and (B) as (B) and (C), respectively. Subsecs. (h) to (j). Pub. L. 117–58, § 22206(b)(7), (8), added subsecs. (h) and (i) and redesignated former sub- sec. (h) as (j). 2019—Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 115–420 added par. (4). Page 700 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 24320 Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Oct. 1, 2015, see section 1003 of Pub. L. 114–94, set out as an Effective Date of 2015 Amend- ment note under section 5313 of Title 5, Government Or- ganization and Employees. CONSTRUCTION OF 2019 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 115–420, § 4(b)(2), Jan. 3, 2019, 132 Stat. 5444, provided that: ‘‘Nothing in this subsection [amending this section] or an amendment made by this subsection shall affect a grant request made under section 24319 of title 49, United States Code, before the date of enact- ment of this Act [Jan. 3, 2019].’’ § 24320. Amtrak 5-year service line and asset line plans (a) IN GENERAL.— (1) FINAL PLANS.—Not later than February 15, 2020, and biennially thereafter, Amtrak shall submit to Congress and the Secretary of Transportation final 5-year service line plans and 5-year asset line plans prepared in accord- ance with this section. These final plans shall form the basis for Amtrak’s general and legis- lative annual report to the President and Con- gress required by section 24315(b). Each plan shall cover a period of 5 fiscal years, beginning with the first fiscal year after the date on which the plan is completed. During each year in which Amtrak is not required to submit a plan under this paragraph, Amtrak shall sub- mit to Congress updated financial sources and uses statements and forecasts with the annual report required under section 24315(b). (2) FISCAL CONSTRAINT.—Each plan prepared under this section shall be based on funding levels authorized or otherwise available to Amtrak in a fiscal year. In the absence of an authorization or appropriation of funds for a fiscal year, the plans shall be based on the amount of funding available in the previous fiscal year, plus inflation. Amtrak may in- clude an appendix to the asset line plan re- quired under subsection (c) that describes any funding needs in excess of amounts authorized or otherwise available to Amtrak in a fiscal year. (b) AMTRAK 5-YEAR SERVICE LINE PLANS.— (1) AMTRAK SERVICE LINES.—Amtrak shall prepare a 5-year service line plan for each of the following service lines and services: (A) Northeast Corridor train services. (B) Amtrak State-supported train services. (C) Long-distance train services operated by Amtrak. (D) Ancillary services operated by Am- trak, including commuter operations and other revenue generating activities as deter- mined by the Secretary in coordination with Amtrak. (E) Infrastructure access services for use of Amtrak-owned or Amtrak-controlled in- frastructure and facilities. (2) CONTENTS OF 5-YEAR SERVICE LINE PLANS.—The 5-year service line plan for each service line shall include, at a minimum— (A) a statement of Amtrak’s objectives, goals, and service plan for the service line, in consultation with any entities that are contributing capital or operating funding to support passenger rail services within those service lines, and aligned with Amtrak’s 5- year asset line plans under subsection (c); (B) a detailed description of any plans to permanently change a route’s or service’s frequency or station stops for the service line; (C) all projected revenues and expenditures for the service line, including identification of revenues and expenditures incurred by— (i) passenger operations; (ii) non-passenger operations that are di- rectly related to the service line; and (iii) governmental funding sources, in- cluding revenues and other funding re- ceived from States; (D) projected ridership levels for all pas- senger operations; (E) estimates of long-term and short-term debt and associated principal and interest payments (both current and forecasts); (F) annual sources and uses statements and forecasts and balance sheets; (G) a statement describing the methodolo- gies and significant assumptions underlying estimates and forecasts; (H) specific performance measures that demonstrate year over year changes in the results of Amtrak’s operations; (I) financial performance for each route, if deemed applicable by the Secretary, within each service line, including descriptions of the cash operating loss or contribution; (J) specific costs and savings estimates re- sulting from reform initiatives; (K) prior fiscal year and projected equip- ment reliability statistics; and (L) an identification and explanation of any major adjustments made from pre- viously-approved plans. (3) 5-YEAR SERVICE LINE PLANS PROCESS.—In meeting the requirements of this section, Am- trak shall— (A) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Passenger Rail Expan- sion and Rail Safety Act of 2021, submit to the Secretary, for approval, a consultation process for the development of each service line plan that requires Amtrak to— (i) consult with the Secretary in the de- velopment of the service line plans; (ii) for the Northeast Corridor service line plan, consult with the Northeast Cor- ridor Commission and transmit to the Commission the final plan under sub- section (a)(1), and consult with other enti- ties, as appropriate; (iii) for the State-supported route serv- ice line plan, consult with the State-Sup- ported Route Committee established under section 24712 and submit the final service line plan required under subsection (a)(1) to the State-Supported Route Committee; (iv) for the long-distance route service line plan, consult with any States or Inter- state Compacts that provide funding for such routes, as appropriate; and (v) for the infrastructure access service line plan, consult with the Northeast Cor-