Volume 86 · 463
Public Law 92–348
To amend the Act of September 30, 1965, relating to high-speed ground transportation, to enlarge the authority of the Secretary to undertake research and development, to remove the termination date thereof, and. for other purposes.
Approved July 13, 1972
Statutory text
AN ACT
To amend the Act of September 30, 1965, relating to high-speed ground transportation, to enlarge the authority of the Secretary to undertake research and development, to remove the termination date thereof, and. for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That
the first section of the Act entitled “An Act to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to undertake research and development in high-speed ground transportation, and for other purposes”, approved September 30, 1965 (49 U.S.C. 1631), is amended by inserting “and door-to-door ground transportation” immediately after “high-speed ground transportation”.
The first sentence of section 2 of such Act (49 U.S.C. 1632) is amended to read as follows: “The Secretary is authorized to contract for demonstrations to determine the contributions that high-speed ground transportation and door-to-door ground transportation could make to more efficient, safe, and economical intercity transportation systems.”.
Sec. 2.
Section 8(a) of such Act (49 U.S.C. 1638(a)) is amended by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs (3) and (4) respectively, and by inserting immediately after paragraph (1) the following new paragraph:
“(2) In awarding contracts in connection with research and development and demonstration projects under this Act, the Secretary shall give priority to proposals which will increase employment in labor areas (as those areas are described by the Secretary or Labor in title 41 of the Code of Federal Regulations)—
“(A) which are experiencing a rate of unemployment of 9 per centum or more of the area’s work force, or a rate of unemployment of 150 per centum or more of the federally determined unemployment rate for the entire United States; or
“(B) which have experienced a 1 per centum increase in unemployment, as determined by the Secretary of Labor, of the available work force as a result of the termination or reduction of a federally financed or supported program and such increase in unemployment continues to exist.
Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to require that any contract awarded under this Act must be wholly performed in any one labor area.”.
Paragraph (3), as so redesignated by subsection (a) of this section, is amended to read as follows:
“(3) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the private agencies, institutions, organizations, corporations, and individuals with which the Secretary enters into agreements or contracts to carry out research and development under this Act shall, to the maximum extent practicable, be geographically distributed throughout the United States.”.
Sec. 3.
The first sentence of section 11 of such Act (49 U.S.C. 1641)
Appropriation.
79 Stat. 895; 82 Stat. 424; 84 Stat. 915.
is amended by striking out “and” and by striking out the period at the end thereof and inserting in lieu thereof a semicolon and the following: “$97,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1973; $126,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1974; and $92,900,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1975”.
Sec. 4.
Section 12 of such Act (49 U.S.C. 1642) is repealed.
Repeal.
Sec. 5.
Section 504(a)(3) of the Interstate Commerce Act (49 U.S.C. 1234(a)(3)) is amended by striking out “fifteen years after
the date thereof” and inserting in lieu thereof “twenty-five years after the date thereof”.
Section 505 of the Interstate Commerce Act (49 U.S.C. 1235) is amended by inserting immediately after “renewal or extension of any such guaranty” the following: “for any period of time not exceeding twenty-five years from the date of the original guaranty”.
Sec. 6,
Part V of the Interstate Commerce Act (49 U.S.C. 1231 et seq.) is amended by renumbering section 510 as section 511 and by inserting immediately after section 509 the following new section:
“Sec. 510. “audit by comptroller general
(a) In any case in which—
“(1) there is outstanding any guaranty by the Commission made under this part; or
“(2) the Secretary of the Treasury is required to make any payment as a consequence of any guaranty by the Commission made under this part;
the financial transactions of the common carrier by railroad subject to t his Act with respect to which such guaranty was made may be audited by the Comptroller General of the United States under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe. The representatives of the Comptroller General shall have access to all books, accounts, records, reports, files, and other papers, things, or property belonging to or in use by such common carrier by railroad pertaining to its financial transactions and necessary to facilitate the audit, and such representatives shall be afforded full facilities for verifying transactions with the balances or securities held by depositories, fiscal agents, and custodians.
“(b) A report of each such audit shall be made by the Comptroller
Report to Congress.
General to the Congress. The report to the Congress shall contain such comments and information as the Comptroller General may deem necessary to inform the Congress of the financial operations and condition of the common carrier by railroad involved in such audit, together with such recommendations with respect thereto as he may deem advisable. The report shall also show specifically any program, expenditure, or other financial transaction or undertaking observed in the course of the audit, which, in the opinion of the Comptroller General, adversely affects the financial operations or condition of the common carrier by railroad involved in such audit or lessens the protection afforded the United States at the time the original guaranty was made. A copy of each report shall be furnished to the Commission at the time it is submitted to the Congress.”.
Approved July 13, 1972.