109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4394
To alter the composition and terms of the Board of Directors of
Amtrak, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 18, 2005
Mr. CASTLE (for himself, Mr. SCHWARZ of Michigan, Mr. BLUMENAUER, and Mr.
COSTA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Transportation and Infrastructure
A BILL
To alter the composition and terms of the Board of Directors of
Amtrak, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Amtrak Board Leadership Enhancement Act'.
SEC. 2. AMTRAK BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
(a) In General- Section 24302 of title 49, United States Code, is amended
to read as follows:
`SEC. 24302. BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
`(a) Composition and Terms- (1) The Board of Directors of Amtrak is composed
of the following 9 directors:
`(A) The Secretary of Transportation.
`(B) The President of Amtrak.
`(C) 7 individuals appointed by the President of the United States, by
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, each of whom shall be a
citizen of the United States, who--
`(i) have general business and financial experience;
`(ii) have experience or qualifications in transportation, freight and
passenger rail transportation, travel, hospitality, cruise line, or
passenger air transportation businesses; or
`(iii) are representatives of users of passenger rail transportation
or State government.
`(2) In selecting individuals under paragraph (1)(C) for nominations for
appointments to the Board, the President shall consult with the Speaker
of the House of Representatives, the minority leader of the House of Representatives,
the majority leader of the Senate, and the minority leader of the Senate
and try to provide adequate and balanced representation of the major geographic
regions of the United States served by Amtrak.
`(3) The term of an individual appointed under paragraph (1)(C) shall be
5 years, or until the individual's successor is appointed and qualified.
Not more than 4 individuals appointed under paragraph (1)(C) may be members
of the same political party.
`(4) The Board shall elect a chairman and a vice chairman from among its
membership. The vice chairman shall serve as chairman in the absence of
the chairman.
`(5) The Secretary of Transportation may be represented at board meetings
by the Secretary's designee.
`(b) Vacancies- A vacancy on the Board shall be filled in the same way as
the original selection, except that an individual appointed by the President
of the United States under subsection (a)(1)(C) to fill a vacancy occurring
before the end of the term for which the predecessor of that individual
was appointed is appointed for the remainder of that term. A vacancy required
to be filled by appointment under subsection (a)(1)(C) shall be filled not
later than 120 days after the vacancy occurs.
`(c) Quorum- A majority of the members serving shall constitute a quorum
for doing business.
`(d) Bylaws- The Board may adopt and amend bylaws governing the operation
of Amtrak. The bylaws shall be consistent with this part and the articles
of incorporation.'.
(b) Effective Date- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect
on January 1, 2006. The members of the Amtrak Reform Board serving on the
date of enactment of this Act may continue to serve for the remainder of
the term to which they were appointed.
END
