S. 174 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the Senate, Jan 21, 2025
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryRequires Amtrak to be more transparent about meetings
This bill makes Amtrak follow the same open meeting rules as other federal agencies, which means board meetings have to be announced publicly at least 30 days in advance along with the agenda. Amtrak would also have to publicly disclose bonuses paid to executives and certain other employees, and share details about large vendor contracts when states ask for them. Additionally, the bill requires Amtrak to hold annual meetings that invite state transportation departments to participate.
How it affects you
If you ride Amtrak or care about how the railroad is run, this means you'd have better access to information about how decisions are made and how money is spent. States that fund or operate Amtrak routes would get more details about contracts and decisions that affect their services.
Read the official summary (Introduced in Senate, Jan 21, 2025)
Amtrak Transparency Act
This bill increases Amtrak's open meeting and public disclosure requirements.
Specifically, the Amtrak Board of Directors must comply with federal open meeting requirements under the Government in the Sunshine Act.
In addition, at least 30 days prior to the board convening, the board must publicly post an announcement of the meeting and the anticipated meeting agenda.
The board must also annually convene a meeting to which state departments of transportation with long-distance routes or state-supported routes are invited to participate.
Further, Amtrak must publicly disclose the discretionary bonus compensation paid to an Amtrak officer or non-bargaining unit employee.
Upon request, Amtrak must also disclose to a state or the State-Amtrak Intercity Passenger Rail Committee vendor agreements of $250,000 or more for certain services on state-supported routes.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionS. 174
A BILL
Amtrak Transparency Act
Sponsor: Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) · Introduced Jan 21, 2025 · Transportation and Public Works · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Jan 21, 2025: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.”