Description:
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on September 17, 2014, with an amendment provided to CBO on October 31, 2014
CBO estimates that H.R. 5449 would authorize the appropriation of $5.8 billion over the 2015-2019 period for rail programs administered by Amtrak, states, and the Department of Transportation (DOT). That amount includes $4.0 billion for grants to Amtrak, $1.2 billion for grants to states for intercity rail projects, and $500 million to renegotiate and prepay a portion of Amtrak’s nonfederal debt. Assuming appropriation of the amounts specified and estimated to be necessary, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would cost $5.5 billion over the 2015-2019 period.
Pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply to this legislation because it would not affect direct spending or revenues.
H.R. 5449 would impose intergovernmental and private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) by requiring some state and local governments and Amtrak to create plans and submit reports about the capital assets of intercity passenger rail systems. The bill also would place new administrative and operational requirements on Amtrak. CBO estimates that the cost to both public and private entities of complying with those mandates would be small and would fall below the annual thresholds established in UMRA for intergovernmental and private-sector mandates ($76 million and $152 million in 2014, respectively, adjusted annually for inflation).
