49 U.S.C. § 22905 — Grant conditions

applying paragraph (1) would be inconsistent with the public interest;

the steel, iron, and goods produced in the United States are not produced in a sufficient and reasonably available amount or are not of a satisfactory quality;

rolling stock or power train equipment cannot be bought and delivered in the United States within a reasonable time; or

including domestic material will increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25 percent.

publish in the Federal Register a detailed written justification as to why the waiver is needed; and

provide notice of such finding and an opportunity for public comment on such finding for a reasonable period of time not to exceed 15 days.

has an agreement with the United States Government under which the Secretary has waived the requirement of this subsection; and

has violated the agreement by discriminating against goods to which this subsection applies that are produced in the United States and to which the agreement applies.

affixed a “Made in America” label, or a label with an inscription having the same meaning, to goods sold in or shipped to the United States that are used in a project to which this subsection applies but not produced in the United States; or

represented that goods described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph were produced in the United States.

any compensation for such use;

assurances regarding the adequacy of infrastructure capacity to accommodate both existing and future freight and passenger operations;

an assurance by the railroad that collective bargaining agreements with the railroad’s employees (including terms regulating the contracting of work) will remain in full force and effect according to their terms for work performed by the railroad on the railroad transportation corridor; and

an assurance that an applicant complies with liability requirements consistent with section 28103 of this title; and

the standards of section 24312 of this title, as such section was in effect on September 1, 2003, with respect to the project in the same manner that Amtrak is required to comply with those standards for construction work financed under an agreement made under section 24308(a) of this title; and

the protective arrangements that are equivalent to the protective arrangements established under section 22404 with respect to employees affected by actions taken in connection with the project to be financed in whole or in part by grants under this chapter.

gives each such qualified employee of the predecessor provider priority in hiring according to the employee’s seniority on the predecessor provider for each position with the replacing entity that is in the employee’s craft or class and is available within 3 years after the termination of the service being replaced;

establishes a procedure for notifying such an employee of such positions;

establishes a procedure for such an employee to apply for such positions; and

establishes rates of pay, rules, and working conditions.

If the replacement of preexisting intercity rail passenger service occurs concurrent with or within a reasonable time before the commencement of the replacing entity’s rail passenger service, the replacing entity shall give written notice of its plan to replace existing rail passenger service to the authorized collective bargaining agent or agents for the potentially adversely affected employees of the predecessor provider at least 90 days before the date on which it plans to commence service. Within 5 days after the date of receipt of such written notice, negotiations between the replacing entity and the collective bargaining agent or agents for the employees of the predecessor provider shall commence for the purpose of reaching agreement with respect to all matters set forth in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (1). The negotiations shall continue for 30 days or until an agreement is reached, whichever is sooner. If at the end of 30 days the parties have not entered into an agreement with respect to all such matters, the unresolved issues shall be submitted for arbitration in accordance with the procedure set forth in subparagraph (B).

If an agreement has not been entered into with respect to all matters set forth in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (1) as described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the parties shall select an arbitrator. If the parties are unable to agree upon the selection of such arbitrator within 5 days, either or both parties shall notify the National Mediation Board, which shall provide a list of seven arbitrators with experience in arbitrating rail labor protection disputes. Within 5 days after such notification, the parties shall alternately strike names from the list until only 1 name remains, and that person shall serve as the neutral arbitrator. Within 45 days after selection of the arbitrator, the arbitrator shall conduct a hearing on the dispute and shall render a decision with respect to the unresolved issues among the matters set forth in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (1). The arbitrator shall be guided by prevailing national standard rates of pay, benefits, and working conditions for comparable work. This decision shall be final, binding, and conclusive upon the parties. The salary and expenses of the arbitrator shall be borne equally by the parties; all other expenses shall be paid by the party incurring them.