general powers and duties of the association

general powers and duties of the association Sec. 202. (a) General.— To carry out the purposes of this Act, the Association is authorized to— (1) engage in the preparation and implementation of the final system plan; (2) issue obligations under section 210 of this title and make loans under section 211 of this title; (3) provide assistance to States and local or regional transportation authorities in accordance with section 403 of this Act; (4) sue and be sued, complain and defend, in the name of the Association and through its own attorneys; adopt, amend, and repeal bylaws governing the operation of the Association and such rules and regulations as are necessary to carry out the authority granted under this Act; conduct its affairs, carry on operations, and maintain offices; (5) appoint, fix the compensation, and assign the duties of such attorneys, agents, consultants, and other full- and part-time employees as it deems necessary or appropriate; except that (1) no officer of the Association, including the Chairman, may receive compensation at a rate in excess of that prescribed for level I of the Executive Schedule under section 5312 of title 5, United States Code; and (2) no individual may hold a position in violation of regulations which the Secretary shall establish to avoid conflicts of interest and to protect the interests of the public; (6) acquire and hold such real and personal property as it deems necessary or appropriate in the exercise of its responsibilities under this Act, and to dispose of any such property held by it; (7) consult with the Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Engineers and request the assistance of the Corps of Engineers, and the Secretary of the Army may direct the Corps of Engineers to cooperate fully with the Association, the Corporation, or any entity designated in accordance with section 206(c)(1)(C) in order to carry out the purposes of this Act; (8) consult on an ongoing basis with the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission and the Attorney General to assess the possible anticompetitive effects of various proposals and to negotiate provisions which would, to the greatest extent practicable in accordance with the purposes of this Act and the goal set forth in section 206(a)(5) of this title, alleviate any such anticompetitive effects; (9) consult with representatives of science, industry, agriculture, labor, environmental protection and consumer organizations, and other groups, as it deems advisable; and (10) enter into, without regard to section 3700 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (41 U.S.C, 5), such contracts, leases, cooperative agreements, or other transactions as may be necessary in the conduct of its functions and duties with any person (including a government entity). (b) Duties.— In addition to its duties and responsibilities under other provisions of this Act, the Association shall— (1) prepare a survey of existing rail services in the region, including patterns of traffic movement; traffic density over identified lines; pertinent costs and revenues of lines; and plant, equipment. and facilities (inducing yards and terminals); (2) prepare an economic and operational study and analysis of present and future rail service needs in the. region; the nature and volume of the traffic in the region now being moved by rail or87 Stat. 991 likely to be moved by rail in the future; the extent to which available alternative modes of transportation could move such traffic as is now carried by railroads in reorganization; the relative economic, social, and environmental costs that would be involved in the use of such available alternative modes, including energy resource costs; and the competitive or other effects on profitable railroads; (3) prepare a study of rail passenger services in the region, in terms of scope and quality; (4) consider the views of the Office and of all government officials and persons who submit views, reports, or testimony under section 205(d)(1) of this title or in the course of proceedings conducted by the Office; (5) consider methods of achieving economies in the cost of rail system operations in the region including consolidation, pooling, and joint use or operation of lines, facilities, and operating equipment; relocation; rehabilitation and modernization of equipment, track, and other facilities; and abandonment of lines consistent with meeting needs and service requirements; together with the anticipated economic, social, and environmental costs and benefits of each such method; (6) consider the effect on railroad employees of any restructuring of rail services in the region; (7) make available to the Secretary, the Director of the Office and appropriate committees of the Congress all studies, data, and other information acquired or developed by the Association. (c) Investment of Funds.— Uncommitted funds of the Association shall be kept in cash on hand or on deposit, or invested in obligations of the United States or guaranteed thereby, or in obligations, participations, or other investments which are lawful investments for fiduciary, trust, or public funds. (d) Exemption From Taxation.— The Association, including its franchise, capital reserves, surplus, security holdings, and income shall be exempt from all taxation now or hereafter imposed by the United States, any commonwealth, territory, dependency, or possession thereof, or by any State or political subdivision thereof, except that any real property of the Association shall be subject to taxation to the same extent according to its value as other real property is taxed. (e) Annual Report.— The Association shall transmit to the Congress and the President, not later than 90 days after the end of each fiscal year, a comprehensive and detailed report on all activities of the Association during the preceding fiscal year. Each such report shall include (1) the Association’s statement of specific and detailed objectives for the activities and programs conducted and assisted under this Act; (2) statements of the Association’s conclusions as to the effectiveness of such activities and programs in meeting the stated objectives and the purposes of this Act, measured through the end of the preceding fiscal year; (3) recommendations with respect, to any legislation or administrative action which the Association deems necessary or desirable; (4) a statistical compilation of the obligations issued and loans made under this Act; (5) a summary of outstanding problems confronting the Association, in order of priority; (6) all other information required to be submitted to the Congress pursuant to any other provision of this Act; and (7) the Association’s projections and plans for its activities and programs during the next fiscal year. (f) Budget.— The receipts and disbursements of the Association (other than administrative expenses referred to in subsection (g) of87 Stat. 992 this section) in the discharge of its functions shall not be included in the totals of the budget of the United States Government, and shall be exempt from any annual expenditure and net lending (budget outlays) limitations imposed on a budget of the United States Government. The Chairman of the Association shall transmit annually to the Congress a budget for program activities and for administrative expenses of the Association. The Chairman shall report annually to the Congress the amount of net lending of the Association, which would be included in the totals of the budgets of the United States Government, if the Association’s activities were not excluded from those totals as a result of this section. (g) Accountability.— (1) Section 201 of the Government Corporation Control Act (31 U.S.C. 856) is amended by striking out “and” at the end of clause (6) and by inserting immediately before the period at the end thereof the following: “, (8) the United States Railway Association”. (2) The Chairman of the Association shall transmit annually to the Office of Management and Budget a budget for administrative expenses of the Association. Whenever the Association submits any budget estimate or request to the Office of Management and Budget, it shall concurrently transmit a copy of the estimate or request to the Congress. Within budgetary constraints of the Congress, the maximum feasible and prudent budgetary flexibility shall be provided to the Association to permit effective operations.