Rural Rail Preservation and Improvement Act
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
Rural Rail Preservation and Improvement Act - Requires the Secretary of Transportation to prepare a comprehensive report containing his conclusions with respect to essential rail services within a specifically defined region, essentially comprising the Northeastern United States, pertaining to the geographic zones at and between which rail service should be provided. Requires the Secretary to formulate and submit to Congress a national transportation policy within one hundred and eighty days after enactment of this Act. Requires the Rail Services Planning Offices to prepare a detailed information survey and detailed comprehensive reports with respect to States outside the region. Requires the Interstate Commerce Commission to report within ninety days of enactment of this Act the environmental effects of abandonments and imposes a 730-day moratorium on such abandonments. Provides subsidies for rail properties remaining in condition for rail service which have been issued a certificate of abandonment within 5 years prior to enactment of the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973. Authorizes to be appropriated up to $200,000,000 for rail service continuation subsidies for each of the first two fiscal years including and following the enactment of this Act.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on June 19, 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 June 19, 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?
CHARLES THONE (R-NE) introduced it on June 19, 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 June 19, 1974, 19076 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 19076 days ago, on June 19, 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