Rail Freight Transportation Improvement Act
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
Title I: Financial Assistance to Railroads - Rail Freight Transportation Improvement Act - Sets forth the purpose of this Act and defines the terms used in this Act. Establishes a Federal Railroad Loan Guarantee Fund to be used by the Secretary of Transportation as a revolving fund for the purposes of guaranteeing equipment obligations and loans for railroad facilities. Declares that the aggregate unpaid principal amount of obligations guaranteed under this title shall not exceed $2,000,000 at any one time. Authorizes the Secretary to guarantee the payment of the interest on and the unpaid balance of principal of any equipment obligation eligible to be guaranteed under this title. Enumerates limitations and conditions before the Secretary can guarantee any equipment obligation, establishes premium charges. Permits the Secretary, in the case of a common carrier by railroad, including any express company, to authorize loan guarantees for the financing or refinancing of expenditures made in acquiring, constructing, maintaining, or developing enumerated railroad facilities. Lists restrictions and limitations on the Secretary's guarantee of loans for railroad facilities. Authorizes the Secretary to issue to the Secretary of the Treasury notes or other obligations, if at any time the moneys in the fund are not sufficient to pay any amount the Secretary is required to pay under an agreement made under this title. Makes provisions for a default, which has continued for 30 days, in any payment by the obligor of principal or interest due under an obligation guaranteed under this title. Title II: Rolling Stock Scheduling and Control System - Authorizes the Secretary to conduct research and development into the design of a national rolling stock management information system which would be capable of locating and expediting the movement of rolling stock on a national basis. Requires the Secretary, within 2 years from this title's enactment, to report to the Congress respecting the organization, development, funding, and implementation of any national system which he may design as a result of research and development. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study respecting: (1) the costs to individual railroads of installing rolling stock management information systems; and (2) the economic, safety, and service benefits to be derived from compatible systems. Provides that not later than 2 years from the date of this title's enactment the Secretary shall announce his recommendations for the installation of the systems by individual railroads. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study of the potential benefits of railroad electrification for high density rail lines in the United States and to report the findings of this study to the Congress not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act. Authorizes to be appropriated $15,000,000 for the purpose of carrying out this title.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 14, 1974. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on March 14, 1974: Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 93rd Congress (1973-74), 651 of the 23,396 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.8 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
BROCKMAN ADAMS (D-WA) introduced it on March 14, 1974. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 14, 1974, 19173 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 19173 days ago, on March 14, 1974.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 93rd Congress has not finished by January 3, 1975 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers