85th Congress, S. 3778 AN ACT To amend the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended, so as to strengthen and improve the national transportation system, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may Transportation be cited as the "Transportation Act of 1958”. AMENDMENT TO INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT, RELATING TO LOAN GUARANTIES SEC. 2. The Interstate Commerce Act, as amended, is amended by inserting immediately after part IV thereof the following new part: "PART V "SEC. 501. It is the purpose of this part to provide for assistance to common carriers by railroad subject to this Act to aid them in acquiring, constructing, or maintaining facilities and equipment for such purposes, and in such a manner, as to encourage the employment of labor and to foster the preservation and development of a national transportation system adequate to meet the needs of the commerce of the United States, of the postal service, and of the national defense. "DEFINITIONS "SEO. 502. For the purposes of this part "(a) The term 'Commission' means the Interstate Commerce Commission. "(b) The term 'additions and betterments or other capital expenditures' means expenditures for the acquisition or construction of property used in transportation service, chargeable to the road, property, or equipment investment accounts, in the Uniform System of Accounts prescribed by the Interstate Commerce Commission. Act of 1958. 56 Stat. 284. 49 USC 1001. "(c) The term 'expenditures for maintenance of property' means expenditures for labor, materials, and other costs incurred in maintaining, repairing, or renewing equipment, road, or property used in transnation service chargeable to operating expenses in accordance with the Uniform System of Accounts prescribed by the Commission. 72 Stat. 568. "LOAN GUARANTIES "SEC. 503. In order to carry out the purpose declared in section 501, the Commission, upon terms and conditions prescribed by it and consistent with the provisions of this part, may guarantee in whole or in part any public or private financing institution, or trustee under a trust indenture or agreement for the benefit of the holders of any securities issued thereunder, by commitment to purchase, agreement to share losses, or otherwise, against loss of principal or interest on any loan, discount, or advance, or on any commitment in connection therewith, which may be made, or which may have been made, for the purpos of aiding any common carrier by railroad subject to this Act in the nnancing or refinancing (1) of additions and betterments or other capital expenditures, made after January 1, 1957, or to reimburse the carrier for expenditures made from its own funds for such additions and betterments or other capital expenditures, or (2) of expenditures for the maintenance of property: Provided, That in no event shall the 72 Stat. 569. 72 Stat. 569. 72 Stat. 570. aggregate principal amount of all loans guaranteed by the Commission exceed $500,000,000. "LIMITATIONS "SEC. 504. (a) No guaranty shall be made under section 503— "(2) if in the judgment of the Commission the loan involved is at a rate of interest which is unreasonably high; "(3) if the terms of such loan permit full repayment more than fifteen years after the date thereof; or "(4) unless the Commission finds that the prospective earning power of the applicant carrier, together with the character and value of the security pledged, if any, furnish reasonable assurance of the applicant's ability to repay the loan within the time fixed therefor and reasonable protection to the United States. A statement of the findings of the Commission required under the provisions of this subsection shall be made a matter of public record by the Commission with respect to each loan guaranteed under the provisions of this part. "(b) It shall be unlawful for any common carrier by railroad subject to this Act to declare any dividend on its preferred or common stock while there is any principal or interest remaining unpaid on any loan to such carrier made for the purpose of financing or refinancing expenditures for maintenance of property of such carrier, and guaranteed under this part. "MODIFICATIONS "SEC. 505. The Commission may consent to the modification of the provisions as to rate of interest, time of payment of interest or principal, security, if any, or other terms and conditions of any guaranty which it shall have entered into pursuant to this part, or the renewal or extension of any such guaranty, whenever the Commission shall determine it to be equitable to do so. “PAYMENT OF GUARANTIES; ACTION TO RECOVER PAYMENTS MADE "SEC. 506. (a) Payments required to be made as a consequence of any guaranty by the Commission made under this part shall be made by the Secretary of the Treasury from funds hereby authorized to be appropriated in such amounts as may be necessary for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this part. "(b) In the event of any default on any such guaranteed loan, and payment in accordance with the guaranty by the United States, the Attorney General shall take such action as may be appropriate to recover the amount of such payments, with interest, from the defaulting carrier, carriers, or other persons liable therefor. "GUARANTY FEES "SEC. 507. The Commission shall prescribe and collect a guaranty fee in connection with each loan guaranteed under this part. Such fees shall not exceed such amounts as the Commission estimates to be necessary to cover the administrative costs of carrying out the provisions of this part. Sums realized from such fees shall be deposited in the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts. "ASSISTANCE OF DEPARTMENTS OR OTHER AGENCIES "SEC. 508. (a) To permit it to make use of such expert advice and services as it may require in carrying out the provisions of this part, the Commission may use available services and facilities of departments and other agencies and instrumentalities of the Government, with their consent and on a reimbursable basis. "(b) Departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Government shall exercise their powers, duties, and functions in such manner as will assist in carrying out the objectives of this part. "ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES "SEC. 509. Administrative expenses under this part shall be paid from appropriations made to the Commission for administrative expenses. "TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY "SEC. 510. Except with respect to such applications as may then be pending, the authority granted by this part shall terminate at the close of March 31, 1961: Provided, That its provisions shall remain in effect thereafter for the purposes of guaranties made by the Commission." AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 1 OF INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT SEC. 3. Section 1 of the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended, is amended (1) by inserting in subparagraph (a) of paragraph (2) 49 USC 1. thereof, after the word "aforesaid" and before the semicolon following that word, a comma and the words "except as otherwise provided in this part" and (2) by striking out the period at the end of the proviso in subparagraph (a) of paragraph (17) thereof and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "and except as otherwise provided in this part.". INTRASTATE RATES, FARES, CHARGES, CLASSIFICATIONS, REGULATIONS, OR PRACTICES SEC. 4. The first sentence of paragraph (4) of section 13 of the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended, is amended to read as follows: "(4) Whenever in any such investigation the Commission, after full hearing, finds that any such rate, fare, charge, classification, regulation, or practice causes any undue or unreasonable advantage, prefer- 72 Stat. 570. ence, or prejudice as between persons or localities in intrastate com- 72 Stat. 571. merce on the one hand and interstate or foreign commerce on the other hand, or any undue, unreasonable, or unjust discrimination against, or undue burden on, interstate or foreign commerce (which the ComInission may find without a separation of interstate and intrastate property, revenues, and expenses, and without considering in totality the operations or results thereof of any carrier, or group or groups of carriers wholly within any State), which is hereby forbidden and declared to be unlawful, it shall prescribe the rate, fare, or charge, or the maximum or minimum, or maximum and minimum, thereafter to be charged, and the classification, regulation, or practice thereafter to be observed, in such manner as, in its judgment, will remove such advantage, preference, prejudice, discrimination, or burden: Provided, That upon the filing of any petition authorized by the provisions of paragraph (3) hereof to be filed by the carrier concerned, the Commission shall forthwith institute an investigation as aforesaid into the lawfulness of such rate, fare, charge, classification, regulation, or practice 49 USC 13. 72 Stat. 571. 72 Stat. 572. (whether or not theretofore considered by any State agency or authority and without regard to the pendency before any State agency or authority of any proceeding relating thereto) and shall give special expedition to the hearing and decision therein." NEW SECTION 13A OF INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT SEC. 5. The Interstate Commerce Act, as amended, is amended by inserting after section 13 thereof a new section 13a as follows: "DISCONTINUANCE OR CHANGE OF CERTAIN OPERATIONS OR SERVICES "SEC. 13a. (1) A carrier or carriers subject to this part, if their rights with respect to the discontinuance or change, in whole or in part, of the operation or service of any train or ferry operating from a point in one State to a point in any other State or in the District of Columbia, or from a point in the District of Columbia to a point in any State, are subject to any provision of the constitution or statutes of any State or any regulation or order of (or are the subject of any proceeding pending before) any court or an administrative or regulatory agency of any State, may, but shall not be required to, file with the Commission, and upon such filing shall mail to the Governor of each State in which such train or ferry is operated, and post in every station, depot or other facility served thereby, notice at least thirty days in advance of any such proposed discontinuance or change. The carrier or carriers filing such notice may discontinue or change any such operation or service pursuant to such notice except as otherwise ordered by the Commission pursuant to this paragraph, the laws or constitution of any State, or the decision or order of, or the pendency of any proceeding before, any court or State authority to the contrary notwithstanding. Upon the filing of such notice the Commission shall have authority during said thirty days' notice period, either upon complaint or upon its own initiative without complaint, to enter upon an investigation of the proposed discontinuance or change. Upon the institution of such investigation, the Commission, by order served upon the carrier or carriers affected thereby at least ten days prior to the day on which such discontinuance or change would otherwise become effective, may require such train or ferry to be continued in operation or service, in whole or in part, pending hearing and decision in such investigation, but not for a longer period than four months beyond the date when such discontinuance or change would otherwise have become effective. If, after hearing in such investigation, whether concluded before or after such discontinuance or change has become effective, the Commission finds that the operation or service of such train or ferry is required by public convenience and necessity and will not unduly burden interstate or foreign commerce, the Commission may by order require the continuance or restoration of operation or service of such train or ferry, in whole or in part, for a period not to exceed one year from the date of such order. The provisions of this paragraph shall not supersede the laws of any State or the orders or regulations of any administrative or regulatory body of any State applicable to such discontinuance or change unless notice as in this paragraph provided is filed with the Commission. On the expiration of an order by the Commission after such investigation requiring the continuance or restoration of operation or service, the jurisdiction of any State as to such discontinuance or change shall no longer be superseded unless the procedure provided by this paragraph shall again be invoked by the carrier or carriers. "(2) Where the discontinuance or change, in whole or in part, by a carrier or carriers subject to this part, of the operation or service of any train or ferry operated wholly within the boundaries of a single State is prohibited by the constitution or statutes of any State or where the State authority having jurisdiction thereof shall have denied an application or petition duly filed with it by said carrier or carriers for authority to discontinue or change, in whole or in part, the operation or service of any such train or ferry or shall not have acted finally on such an application or petition within one hundred and twenty days from the presentation thereof, such carrier or carriers may petítion the Commission for authority to effect such discontinuance or change. The Commission may grant such authority only after full hearing and upon findings by it that (a) the present or future public convenience and necessity permit of such discontinuance or change, in whole or in part, of the operation or service of such train or ferry, and (b) the continued operation or service of such train or ferry without discontinuance or change, in whole or in part, will constitute an unjust and undue burden upon the interstate operations of such carrier or carriers or upon interstate commerce. When any petition shall be filed with the Commission under the provisions of this paragraph the Commission shall notify the Governor of the State in which such train or ferry is operated at least thirty days in advance of the hearing provided for in this paragraph, and such hearing shall be held by the Commission in the State in which such train or ferry is operated; and the Commission is authorized to avail itself of the cooperation, services, records and facilities of the authorities in such State in the performance of its functions under this paragraph.” AMENDMENT TO SECTION 15A OF THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT SEC. 6. Section 15a of the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended, is 49 USC 15a. amended by inserting after paragraph (2) thereof a new paragraph (3) as follows: (3) In a proceeding involving competition between carriers of different modes of transportation subject to this Act, the Commission, in determining whether a rate is lower than a reasonable minimum rate, shall consider the facts and circumstances attending the movement of the traffic by the carrier or carriers to which the rate is applicable. Rates of a carrier shall not be held up to a particular level to protect the traffic of any other mode of transportation, giving due consideration to the objectives of the national transportation policy declared in this Act." AMENDMENT TO SECTION 203 (B) OF INTERSTATE COMMERCE ACT 72 Stat. 572. 72 Stat. 573. SEC. 7. (a) Clause (6) of subsection (b) of section 203 of the Inter- 49 USC 303. state Commerce Act, as amended, is amended by striking out the semicolon at the end thereof and inserting in lieu thereof a colon and the following: "Provided, That the words 'property consisting of ordinary livestock, fish (including shell fish), or agricultural (including hortícultural) commodities (not including manufactured products thereof)' as used herein shall include property shown as 'Exempt' in the 'Commodity List' incorporated in ruling numbered 107, March 19, 1958, Bureau of Motor Carriers, Interstate Commerce Commission, but shall not include property shown therein as 'Not exempt': Provided further, |