As ordered reported by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on February 12, 2015
CBO estimates that H.R. 749 would authorize appropriations totaling $7.2 billion over the 2016-2020 period for rail programs. That amount includes $5.3 billion for grants to Amtrak, $1.2 billion for grants to states for intercity rail projects, and $625 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 $7.0 billion over the 2016-2020 period.
Pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply to this legislation because it would not affect direct spending or revenues.
H.R. 749 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 ($77 million and $154 million in 2015, respectively, adjusted annually for inflation).
