Senators introduce 45G tax credit measure

Eight U.S. Senators this week introduced the Short Line Railroad Rehabilitation and Investment Act of 2015, designed to extend Section 45G (26 USC 45G) short line track maintenance tax credits that expired in 2014, the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) said Wednesday, March 4, 2015.

Senate bill S. 637, a bipartisan effort, was introduced by Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) as the lead sponsor. He is joined by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), lead Democratic cosponsor of the bill. Sen. Crapo is the third most senior Republican member of the Senate Finance Committee and chairman of the Taxation and IRS Oversight Subcommittee. Sen. Wyden is the immediate past chairman and ranking Democratic member. The Senate Finance Committee has jurisdiction over all tax legislation, ASLRRA noted.

Co-sponsoring the bill are: Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Finance Committee member; Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Finance Committee member; Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), ranking Democrat on the Taxation and IRS Oversight Subcommittee; Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), original author of Section 45G in 2004 current serving on the Commerce Committee; Sen. John Boozman (R-Ariz.), Environment & Public Works Committee member; and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Commerce Committee Member and immediate past Chairman of the Surface Transportation Subcommittee.

The Short Line Railroad Rehabilitation and Investment Act would extend Section 45G through 2016.

“Section 45G drives private sector infrastructure expenditures on American-made cross ties and track materials,” said ASLRRA President Linda Bauer Darr. “Because these investments cannot be moved off shore this bill improves the competitiveness of thousands of railroad customers across America. America’s 550 small freight railroads thank Senators Crapo, Wyden, Moran, Casey, Isakson, Schumer, Boozman, and Blumenthal for their leadership in support of railroad customers and small railroads.”

“The economic potential and business opportunities in our service areas are tremendous,” said Jerry Vest, senior vice president of Government & Industry Affairs for Genesee & Wyoming Railroad Services, Inc. and chairman of the ASLRRA Legislative Policy Committee. “That potential is best developed by continuing to invest in our railroads and that is how we help attract new industries to rail and build upon our already safe operations. The Short Line Tax Credit is a very important part of how we undertake these improvements, and these eight Senators are to be complimented for their leadership to help short line railroads reinvest more of their own funds back into transportation infrastructure.”

“Our team members come to work every day to focus on the needs of all of our rail customers, big and small,” said Ed McKechnie, chief commercial officer of Watco Companies, LLC and chairman of ASLRRA. “Over the last two years Senators Crapo and Wyden have worked to secure large coalitions in the Senate in support of rural transportation. We appreciate their leadership and the leadership of their colleagues. We will continue to put our customers first and invest in rural rail infrastructure with the support of this important bill.”

The credit last expired on Dec. 31, 2014, and ASLRRA is urging Congress to act quickly in 2015 “to maximize the capital and maintenance investments that small railroads and their customers can make this year.”

Identical House companion legislation, also bipartisan, was introduced last month by Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), and Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), and is already cosponsored by 67 U.S. Representatives from 31 states.