PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 548.
Congressional Research Service
Version 01 · Reported to Senate with amendment(s) · Aug 1, 2002
Railroad Track Modernization Act of 2002 - (Sec. 2) Amends Federal rail transportation law to direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a program of capital grants to class II and class III railroads (or with the concurrence of such railroads, to a State or local government) to rehabilitate, preserve, or improve railroad track (including roadbed, bridges, and related track structures) used primarily for freight transportation to a standard ensuring that it can be operated safely and efficiently and accommodate 286,000 pound rail cars.Declares that the Federal share of costs for such projects shall be 80 percent.Sets forth certain grant and project requirements.Authorizes the Secretary also to make grants to supplement direct loans or loan guarantees (including for paying credit risk premiums, lowering rates of interest, or providing for a holiday on principal payments) for projects primarily benefitting non-class I freight railroad carriers.Sets forth certain employee protection and prevailing wage requirements with respect to projects financed by such grants.Directs the Secretary to study and report to Congress on such projects to determine the public interest benefits associated with light density railroad networks in the States and their contribution to a multimodal transportation system.Authorizes appropriations for FY 2003 through 2005.Directs the Secretary to carry out a program to provide financial assistance for local rail line relocation projects.Sets forth certain grant requirements.Declares that the Federal share of costs for such projects shall be 90 percent.Authorizes appropriations for FY 2003 through 2007.
People & committees
Sen. Breaux, John B. [D-LA] · D–LA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 548.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Hollings with amendments. With written report No. 107-238.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Hollings with amendments. With written report No. 107-238.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with amendments favorably.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (text of measure as introduced: CR S8067)
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8066-8067)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.1220 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.1220 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.1220 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.1220 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.