No Frankenrail Act of 2024

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9308 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9308

    To prohibit the use of Federal funds in certain high-speed rail 
 projects until such date as the Secretary of Transportation certifies 
 to the appropriate committees of Congress the completion of at least 
one mile of rail or electromagnetic guideway of such projects, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 6, 2024

    Mr. Mike Garcia of California (for himself, Mr. Ellzey, and Mr. 
  Obernolte) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To prohibit the use of Federal funds in certain high-speed rail 
 projects until such date as the Secretary of Transportation certifies 
 to the appropriate committees of Congress the completion of at least 
one mile of rail or electromagnetic guideway of such projects, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``No Frankenrail Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The high-speed rail corridor development project that 
        is the subject of Cooperative Agreement No. FR-HSR-0118-12-01-
        01 entered into between the California High-Speed Rail 
        Authority and the Federal Railroad Administration (in this 
        section referred to as the ``California High Speed Rail 
        project'') first received Federal funds in 2009 in the form of 
        a $2,500,000,000 grant from funds made available under title 
        XII of division A of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 
        of 2009 (Public Law 111-5; 123 Stat. 208).
            (2) The California High Speed Rail project was originally 
        intended to cost $33,000,000,000 and be completed by 2020.
            (3) As of the date of introduction of this Act, the 
        California High Speed Rail project is expected to cost at least 
        $128,000,000,000 and has no expected completion date.
            (4) As of the date of introduction of this Act, the 
        California High Speed Rail project has yet to construct a 
        single mile of rail line.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON FEDERAL FUNDS FOR COVERED PROJECTS.

    (a) Prohibition.--Except as provided in subsection (b), no Federal 
funds may be provided for use in any covered project.
    (b) Termination of Prohibition.--Subsection (a) shall cease to 
apply with respect to a covered project on the date on which the 
Secretary of Transportation certifies to the appropriate committees of 
Congress that at least 1 mile of rail or electromagnetic guideway has 
been completed under the covered project.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term 
        ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Transportation and 
                Infrastructure of the House of Representatives; and
                    (B) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation of the Senate.
            (2) Covered project.--The term ``covered project'' means 
        any project--
                    (A) to construct a high-speed rail or develop a 
                high-speed rail corridor; and
                    (B) for which Federal funds were first disbursed 
                before the date that is 10 years before the date of 
                enactment of this section.
            (3) High-speed rail.--The term ``high-speed rail'' has the 
        meaning given such term in section 26105 of title 49, United 
        States Code.
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