July 16, 2025
Mr. Carter of Georgia (for himself and Mr. Stanton) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide for eligibility radius requirements for transit-oriented development projects in proximity of intercity passenger rail or fixed guideway rail transit under the railroad rehabilitation and improvement program, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Catalyzing Housing and American Ready Growth and Expansion Investments Act
or the CHARGE Investments Act
.
Sec. 2. Direct loans and loan guarantees
Section 22402(b) of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (1)—
(A)
in subparagraph (E) by striking or
at the end;
(B)
in subparagraph (F) by striking the period at the end and inserting ; or
; and
(C)
by adding at the end the following:
(G)
to finance economic development, including commercial and residential development, and related infrastructure and activities, that—
(i)
is physically connected to, or is within 1/4 mile of, a fixed guideway transit station that uses rail or a fixed catenary system;
(ii)
is not less than 2 miles from a downtown core that is not serviced by intercity passenger rail; and
(iii)
incorporates private investment of greater than 20 percent of total project costs.; and
(2)
by adding at the end the following:
(3) Extended eligibility radius
(A) Intercity passenger rail transportation
Notwithstanding clause (ii) of paragraph (1)(F), for a project described in such paragraph for a station serving intercity rail passenger transportation that is not located within the boundaries of a downtown core, the eligibility radius for such project shall include the nearest downtown core within a maximum 2-mile radius of such station so long as—
(i)
the project is located within the nearest downtown core; and
(ii)
there is public transportation (as defined in section 5302) between the station serving intercity rail passenger transportation and the designated location described in clause (i).
(4) Definitions
In this subsection:
(A) Downtown core
The term
downtown coremeans an area within a municipality or region that—(i)
contains the highest concentration of office square footage or employment density, as determined by the most recent comprehensive plan, zoning map, economic development plan; and
(ii)
is officially designated by a municipal or regional planning authority using terms such as central business district, downtown core, city center, urban core, business core, or similar terminology.
(B) Intercity rail passenger transportation
The term
intercity rail passenger transportationhas the meaning given the term in section 24102.