WASHINGTON — Two Illinois congressmen, backed by 39 cosponsors, have reintroduced legislation to provide a tax credit for replacement and modernization of the U.S. freight railcar fleet.
U.S. Reps. Darren Hood, a Republican, and Brad Schneider, a Democrat, on Tuesday, Feb. 11, reintroduced HR 1200, the “Freight Rail Assistance and Investment to Launch Coronavirus-era Activity and Recovery Act,” or Freight RAILCAR Act. It would provide a 10% tax credit for replacement or modification of existing railcars over a three-year period. It would be limited to 1,000 cars for each entity claiming the credit, and existing cars must have been in service for 48 months prior to the bill’s enactment. The full text of the bill is not yet available.
“Not only will this legislation improve the efficiency of railcars,” LaHood said in a press release, “but it will address supply chain constraints and support American manufacturing jobs.” Schneider said the bill will “bring our rail fleet into the 21st century and promote quality, well-paying jobs in the rail sector.”
Erik Olson, executive director of the Rail Security Alliance, said in a press release that the bill “is key to ensuring American economic and national security. It not only supports our domestic freight railcar manufacturing and supply industry and the jobs tied to the sector, but guarantees supply chain reliability and the ability to move goods on U.S. made rail assets.”
The bill was originally introduced in February 2023 but failed to advance out of the House Ways and Means Committee. Full text of that version is available here.
Most readers look at this and bash the railroads for the railcar fleet’s condition. However, the last I saw published a few years ago, the actual railroad company owned percentage of the fleet was only about 29%. I am sure it is less now. Most freight cars are owned by either shippers or leasing companies. One thing it might do would bring some stability to freight car manufacturers. They tend to go in a boom or bust cycle.
The railroads them shelf have said the box car business is dead. Now the government wants to get involved. recently the railroads have been trying to increase box car loads because other business is drying up. Let them use their own investments to pay for new or rebuilt cars. Most of us law abiding citizens are busy paying for all the other “programs” we can’t afford to buy railcars too!
Why the heck are taxpayers being asked to help multi-billion dollar corporations maintain their equipment?
C’mon Charles. Where is your outrage, your response to government welfare for those who don’t need or haven’t asked for it?
You talkin’ about me? I haven’t read the article yet.
This needs to be done our railcars are old, outdated, and in disrepair. Bloods, Crips, gangbangers, indecline, and every vandal in this nation think they are a canvas and several have been robbed and the goods dumped on the ground and stolen. To make matters worse several fall apart and cause derailments. We need to replace these cars and put stronger seals on them or the derailments and vandalism will just get worse.
Those republican congressmen better run this bill by President Musk before they put their names on it.
This bill has nothing, repeat, nothing to do with Covid. Just including “coronavirus” in a rail tax break bill is pandering.
If the hedge funds won’t let railroads innovate in freight, whey must the federal dole pay for it instead?
“Coronavirus” is there specifically (and exclusively) to create the backronym RAILCAR. Plus, is sounds “sexy” because everyone is up to do something against coronavirus (except, of course, tRump, and his mindless band of fact deniers).