REHABILITATION AND IMPROVEMENT FINANCING.

SEC. 9003. REHABILITATION AND IMPROVEMENT FINANCING.(a) Definition.—Section 102(7) of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 802(7)) is amended to read as follows:“(7) ‘railroad’ has the meaning given that term in section 20102 of title 49, United States Code; and”.(b) General Authority.—Section 502(a) of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 822(a)) is amended to read as follows:“(a) General Authority.—The Secretary shall provide direct loans and loan guarantees to—“(1) State and local governments;“(2) interstate compacts consented to by Congress under section 410(a) of the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997 (49 U.S.C. 24101 note);“(3) government sponsored authorities and corporations;“(4) railroads;“(5) joint ventures that include at least one railroad; and“(6) solely for the purpose of constructing a rail connection between a plant or facility and a second rail carrier, limited 119 STAT. 1922 option rail freight shippers that own or operate a plant or other facility that is served by no more than a single railroad.”.(c) Priority Projects.—Section 502(c) of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 822(c)) is amended—(1) by striking “or” after the semicolon in paragraph (5);(2) by striking “areas.” in paragraph (6) and inserting “areas;”; and(3) by adding at the end the following:“(7) enhance service and capacity in the national rail system; or“(8) would materially alleviate rail capacity problems which degrade the provision of service to shippers and would fulfill a need in the national transportation system.”.(d) Extent of Authority.—Section 502(d) of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 822(d)) is amended—(1) by striking “$3,500,000,000” and inserting “$35,000,000,000”;(2) by striking “$1,000,000,000” and inserting “$7,000,000,000”; and(3) by adding at the end the following “The Secretary shall not establish any limit on the proportion of the unused amount authorized under this subsection that may be used for 1 loan or loan guarantee.”.(e) Cohorts of Loans.—Section 502(f) of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 822(f)) is amended—(1) by striking “and” after the semicolon in subparagraph (D) of paragraph (2);(2) by redesignating subparagraph (E) of paragraph (2) as subparagraph (F);(3) by adding after subparagraph (D) of paragraph (2) the following:“(E) the size and characteristics of the cohort of which the loan or loan guarantee is a member; and”; and(4) by adding at the end of paragraph (4) the following: “A cohort may include loans and loan guarantees. The Secretary shall not establish any limit on the proportion of a cohort that may be used for 1 loan or loan guarantee.”.(f) Conditions of Assistance.—(1) Assurances.—Section 502(h) of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 822(h)) is amended—(A) by inserting “(1)” before “The Secretary”;(B) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C); and(C) by adding at the end the following:“(2) The Secretary shall not require an applicant for a direct loan or loan guarantee under this section to provide collateral. Any collateral provided or thereafter enhanced shall be valued as a going concern after giving effect to the present value of improvements contemplated by the completion and operation of the project. The Secretary shall not require that an applicant for a direct loan or loan guarantee under this section have previously sought the financial assistance requested from another source.119 STAT. 1923“(3) The Secretary shall require recipients of direct loans or loan guarantees under this section to comply with—“(A) the standards of section 24312 of title 49, United States Code, as in effect on September 1, 2002, with respect to the project in the same manner that the National Railroad Passenger Corporation is required to comply with such standards for construction work financed under an agreement made under section 24308(a) of that title; and“(B) the protective arrangements established under section 504 of this Act, with respect to employees affected by actions taken in connection with the project to be financed by the loan or loan guarantee.”.(2) Technical correction.—Section 502 of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 822) is amended by striking “offered;” in subsection (f)(2)(A) and inserting “offered, if any;”.(g) Time Limit and Repayment Schedules.—Section 502 of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 822) is amended by adding at the end the following:“(i) Time Limit for Approval or Disapproval.—Not later than 90 days after receiving a complete application for a direct loan or loan guarantee under this section, the Secretary shall approve or disapprove the application.“(j) Repayment Schedules.—“(1) In general.—The Secretary shall establish a repayment schedule requiring payments to commence not later than the sixth anniversary date of the original loan disbursement.“(2) Accrual.—Interest shall accrue as of the date of disbursement, and shall be amortized over the remaining term of the loan beginning at the time the payments begin.”.(h) Evaluation Charge.—Section 503(k) of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 823(k)) is amended—(1) in the subsection heading, by striking “Investigation” and inserting “Evaluation”;(2) by inserting “the cost of evaluating the application, including” after “reasonable charge for”; and(3) by adding at the end the following: “Amounts collected under this subsection shall be credited directly to the Safety and Operations account of the Federal Railroad Administration, and shall remain available until expended to pay for the evaluation costs described in this subsection.”. (i) Fees and Charges.—Section 503 of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 823) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:“(l) Fees and Charges.—Except as provided in this title, the Secretary may not assess any fees, including user fees, or charges in connection with a direct loan or loan guarantee provided under section 502.”.(j) Substantive Criteria and Standards.—Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall publish in the Federal Register and post on the Department of Transportation Web site the substantive criteria and standards used by the Secretary to determine whether to approve or disapprove applications submitted under section 502 of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 119 STAT. 1924 (45 U.S.C. 822). The Secretary of Transportation shall ensure adequate procedures and guidelines are in place to permit the filing of complete applications within 30 days of such publication.