Rolling Stock Protection Act

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I rise in support of my bill H.R. 3317, the Rolling Stock Protection Act. I ask that my colleagues join me in supporting this simple and direct bill.

In May of last year, this bipartisan legislation was favorably reported out of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

My bill will close a loophole in Federal law that currently allows some of the country's largest transit agencies that receive Federal Transit Administration dollars to purchase rolling

stock, such as railcars, from State-owned enterprises and State- connected businesses, including those linked to the Chinese Communist Party.

Mr. Speaker, I will be honest with you. I thought Congress had fixed this problem back in 2019 with the passage of the Transportation Infrastructure Vehicle Security Act, or TIVSA. That measure, which was included in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, prohibited the purchase of rolling stock from State-owned enterprises by transit agencies receiving Federal funds.

Why are we back today? We are here today to make it crystal clear to the FTA that CCP-connected companies are never allowed to receive taxpayer dollars.

While TIVSA should have eliminated any future payments of American taxpayer dollars to CCP-connected companies, like the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation, the FTA's execution of the law provided lifetime exemptions to four transit agencies from the prohibitions on contracting with CCP-connected companies.

I mentioned that the FTA granted lifetime exemptions to four transit agencies from the law's prohibitions, and I think it is important that we know who we are talking about. The four agencies receiving this exemption from the FTA were the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, or SEPTA; the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, MBTA; the Chicago Transit Authority; and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority.

I am pleased to report that one of those transit agencies, SEPTA, just announced in April that after significant production delays and cost overruns, it was exercising the right to terminate its contract with CRRC for cause. That is a positive step.

Alternatively, another agency that received the lifetime exemption, the MBTA, recently announced that it is re-upping the contract with CRRC and adding another $148 million in rolling stock purchases.

The enactment of TIVSA should have eliminated any possibility that transit agencies that receive Federal funding could continue using those dollars to pay for contracts with companies connected to the CCP, but 5 years after TIVSA was made law, a major public transit agency is expanding just such a contract.

That is all the more reason we are taking action to pass H.R. 3317 today. This bill will end, once and for all, the practice of sending Federal dollars to CCP-controlled rolling stock companies by eliminating these lifetime exemptions.

Chinese companies that are controlled by the CCP have nearly limitless financial resources they can use to undercut domestic rolling stock manufacturers. It is an unfair, uncompetitive playing field, and I am proud to put an end to it today.

Let's be clear. The CCP isn't just investing in these State-owned enterprises to help them better compete in the market. The CCP is trying to take control of the market. The CCP wants to dominate this industry and drive American manufacturers out completely. We can't let that happen.

H.R. 3317 is supported by a broad range of organizations, including the Transport Workers Union, the Alliance for American Manufacturing, the Teamsters, the Railway Supply Institute, and the Rail Security Alliance. I thank them for their support of my legislation, and I hope that my colleagues will join me in approving the passage of this bill today.

My bill will prevent the CCP from using the rolling stock manufacturing market as another tool to undermine our national security and our economic interests.

This is simple legislation that will solve an important concern. H.R. 3317 is good for American workers and will ensure responsible stewardship of American taxpayer dollars.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting my legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3317) to amend title 49, United States Code, to remove the lifetime exemption from the prohibition on procurement of rolling stock from certain vehicle manufacturers for parties to executed contracts.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record on H.R. 3317.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3317, the Rolling Stock Protection Act.

This bipartisan bill, introduced by the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit Chairman Rick Crawford, was reported favorably out of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in May 2023.

I ask that my colleagues join me in supporting this legislation. The bill will prevent Federal tax dollars from being sent to foreign State- owned enterprises and State-connected businesses for the purchase of rolling stock such as railcars and buses.

Moreover, this bill will block Federal dollars flowing from the Federal Transit Administration to rolling stock manufacturers connected to the Chinese Communist Party.

In 2019, Congress enacted the Transportation Infrastructure Vehicle Security Act as a provision of the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. TIVSA prohibited public transportation agencies that receive Federal assistance from using funds to procure vehicles from State-owned enterprises.

Passage of TIVSA was a direct response to alarming national and economic security concerns related to China's state-owned enterprise rolling stock manufacturers, primarily the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation and Build Your Dreams, whose presence in the bus and railcar market had grown significantly.

That legislation included a loophole that allowed the FTA to grant lifetime exemptions to four of the Nation's largest transit agencies, allowing them to continue buying rolling stock manufactured by companies connected to and dependent on the CCP. This bill we are considering today will close that loophole.

In doing so, H.R. 3317 will enhance American manufacturing opportunity in the rolling stock industry. It will help American workers and strengthen our domestic supply chain. H.R. 3317 will take us another step forward in safeguarding America's national security and economic interests.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Crawford), the sponsor of H.R. 3317.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3317, the Rolling Stock Protection Act, is a bipartisan bill that protects American workers, our domestic economic interests, and our national security. H.R. 3317 will stop Federal dollars from going to rolling stock manufacturers backed and controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.

The bill is a responsive and responsible step that will prohibit further erosion of our domestic manufacturing sector by the CCP.

H.R. 3317 will enhance domestic manufacturing opportunities and ensure that United States tax dollars can no longer be paid to companies linked to foreign adversarial nations for procurement of rolling stock.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge support of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I, too, rise in support of this legislation which would prohibit all U.S. transit agencies from using Federal dollars on rail rolling stock from State-owned enterprises, or SOEs.

As of today, the U.S. doesn't have any domestic transit railcar manufacturers. Federal transit policies have been designed over the years to reflect that reality while still encouraging domestic manufacturing wherever possible.

While the U.S. remains, at least for now, dependent on global transit car manufacturers, we need to ensure fair competition among all manufacturers, including SOEs.

When one entity receives government support for artificially low bids, if that is left unchecked over time, other manufacturers will be driven out of business. This would make transit cars more expensive in the long run and leave systems across the country reliant upon just one manufacturer.

Congress recognized this concern after four U.S. transit agencies awarded rolling stock contracts to an SOE that submitted artificially low bids.

The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act first prohibited most U.S. transit agencies from using Federal transit funds to purchase rolling stock from SOEs. Transit car manufacturers that do not receive government subsidies, including manufacturers in South Korea, Japan, Spain, and other places, were not affected by this ban. Congress exempted the four transit agencies with the initial SOE contracts from the ban so as not to disrupt ongoing procurement.

The legislation that we are considering here today doesn't affect those initial contracts or any current options on those contracts, but it does prevent future contracts from being executed using Federal funds. The bill ensures that all U.S. transit agencies will operate under the same rules.

I would also note that nothing in this legislation impacts what transit agencies do with their local funding. It only affects funding from the Federal Government for transit railcars.

As transit agencies continue to receive the record funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, it is critical we ensure the market for rolling stock is fair and competitive.

Ultimately, that will yield the best outcome for transit agencies and will help them provide more reliable and effective service for their riders.

Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I just want to say I support this legislation and encourage my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.