High Speed Rail Act (AMENDED, immediate final vote)

[OBD]

AN ACT
To improve transport and connectivity across our nation.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Republic of Atlasia in Congress assembled,

Section I. Title

i. The long title of this bill shall be the "Expansion of High Speed Rail and Mass Transit Act." It may be cited as the "High Speed Rail Act."

Section II. Definitions
i. High speed rail is defined as a railroad capable of supporting trains in excess of 120 mph.

Section III. Construction of High Speed Rail Arteries
i. A high speed railway shall be constructed along the western coast.
     a. The Department of Transportation should negotiate possible connections through Canada and Mexico.
ii. A high speed railway shall be constructed along the eastern coast.


Section IV. Creation of National Rail Authority
i. The National Rail Authority is hereby established under the Department of Transportation and tasked with the responsibility of overseeing construction, rail route development, and consumer-end transit program implementation.
ii. The National Rail Authority shall consist of members appointed by the President of Atlasia.
iii. The layout of the seaboard routes and placement of cross-country rail routes shall be the responsibility of the National Rail Authority.
iv. Congress shall retain the ability to legislate new routes or override the decisions of the National Rail Authority if necessary.

Section V. Appropriations
i. $80 billion shall be appropriated for the construction of new rail and adaptation of old rail for the creation of the seaboard routes.
$10 billion of this shall be appropriated for upgrading of the Northeast Corridor High-Speed Rail Line.
ii. $250 million shall be appropriated for surveying and planning of cross-country rail routes.
iii. $3 billion shall be appropriated for the construction of connecting routes to off-route cities.
iv. $150 billion shall be released for construction of new rail and adaptation of old rail for the creation of cross country routes pending a finalized route plan from the National Rail Authority.
v. $8 billion shall be released for the construction of connecting routes to off-route cities pending a finalized route plan from the National Rail Authority.

With a final tally of 5-2-0-2, this bill passes.
X SevenEleven
People's Regional Senate
Passed 3-0-0-3 in the Atlasian Senate Assembled

Final vote opened. 72 hours.

[OBD]

With the vote tied 3-3-0-3, I will serve as tiebreaker.

Aye. These are extremely important, densely populated corridors where the adoption of a high-speed rail option makes strong economic sense and has the potential to become profitable.

[OBD]

With the vote tied 3-3-0-3, I will serve as tiebreaker.

Aye. These are extremely important, densely populated corridors where the adoption of a high-speed rail option makes strong economic sense and has the potential to become profitable.

Pork barrel rail OBD!

Call me back when they suggest high speed rail across Zion National Park. I'll pull out faster than you will after you realize your girl has the clap.