,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #affg  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,march #aa1 #bjai    
,mr4 ,gottheimer 7for himself and ,mr4  
,king of ,new ,york7 introduced the     
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,transportation and   
,infrastructure  ,a ,,bill  ,to require 
a report on the contingency plan of the 
,department of ,transportation in the   
event of the failure of a rail track in 
the ,north ,river ,tunnel1 and for other
 purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act 
may be cited as the ,preventing         
,doomsday ,act4  #b4 ,findings ,congress
 finds the following3  7#a7 #bjj1jjj    
riders travel through the #aaa year old1
 two-track ,north ,river ,tunnel under  
the ,hudson ,river daily4  7#b7 ,the    
,north ,river ,tunnel serves a region   
that is home to #ag percent of the      
,united ,states population which        
contributes #bj percent to the national 
,gross ,domestic ,product4  7#c7 ,the   
,northeast ,corridor1 which is operated 

by ,amtrak and runs between ,boston1    
,massachusetts and ,washington1 ,,dc1   
has the highest ridership of any        
intercity rail line in the ,united      
,states and runs directly through the   
,north ,river ,tunnel4  7#d7 ,superstorm
 ,sandy caused #fe billion worth of     
damages and #adg direct deaths in #bjab1
 exacerbating the need to perform       
extensive repairs to both tracks4 ,a new
 tunnel must be built to keep regular   
train service running while the damage  
is fixed4  7#e7 ,according to the       
,regional ,plan ,association1 if one of 
the tracks loses functionality and needs
 to be shut down1 the national economy  
could lose #af billion over a #d-year   
span1 equivalent to the loss of #cc1jjj 
jobs4  7#f7 ,a tunnel shutdown would    
significantly decrease transportation   
options in the region1 increasing       
commute times in many cases by more than
 an hour a day4  7#g7 ,a tunnel shutdown
 could also cause #bb billion in        
decreased property values1 #g billion in

 lost tax revenue for ,federal1 ,state1 
and local governments1 and #ch1jjj      
additional car crashes4  7#h7           
,currently1 only #bd trains can use the 
tunnel every hour4 ,that number would   
drop to #f in the event of a shutdown4  
7#i7 ,the ,gateway ,program1 which      
incorporates the ,hudson ,tunnel        
,project1 would double the number of    
trains per hour by building a new1      
flood-proof tunnel4  7#aj7 ,the ,federal
 ,transit ,administration rated the     
,hudson ,tunnel ,project ,medium-,low in
 response to the project's s#ecji       
,capital ,investment ,grant submission4 
#c4 ,report ,not later than #fj days    
after the date of enactment of this     
,act1 the ,secretary of ,transportation 
shall publish a report that explains--  
7#a7 the contingency plan of the        
,department of ,transportation1 in      
coordination with other relevant        
,federal agencies1 detailing a specific 
plan of action in the case of a shutdown
 of a track described in section #b7a7  

and that addresses issues including     
ensuring commuters1 tourists1 and others
 will maintain the ability to travel    
between ,new ,jersey and ,new ,york and 
throughout the region2 and  7#b7 the    
contingency plan of the ,department of  
,transportation1 in coordination with   
other relevant ,federal agencies1       
detailing a specific plan of action to  
ensure minimal disruption to1 and       
negative impact on national security1   
the economy1 public health1 the         
environment1 and property values4