Train FOOD Act

House Bill

H.R. 265

119th Congress

Train FOOD Act

In Committee

Introduced:Jan 9, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Stephen F. Lynch

Representative

Democratic

MA-8

Cosponsors

6

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Transportation and Public Works

Summary

This bill directs Amtrak to establish an advisory committee to review implementation of the Amtrak Food and Beverage Working Group recommendations for improving onboard dining service. The committee must submit annual reports to Congress on progress implementing each recommendation, with reports made publicly available on Amtrak website. Additionally, the Government Accountability Office must report on Amtraks progress. The legislation aims to improve food and beverage quality on passenger trains while ensuring accountability for promised improvements.

Latest Action

Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill directs Amtrak to establish an advisory committee to review implementation of the Amtrak Food and Beverage Working Group recommendations for improving onboard dining service. The committee must submit annual reports to Congress on progress implementing each recommendation, with reports made publicly available on Amtrak website. Additionally, the Government Accountability Office must report on Amtraks progress. The legislation aims to improve food and beverage quality on passenger trains while ensuring accountability for promised improvements.

Last updated: 1/4/2026

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Train Furtherance of Outstanding Onboard Dining Act or the Train FOOD ActThis bill directs Amtrak to establish an advisory committee to provide internal review for Amtrak's implementation of the Amtrak Food and Beverage Working Group (FBWG) recommendations to improve onboard food and beverage service.The Amtrak advisory committee must submit an annual report to Congress on the status of Amtrak's implementation of each of the FBWG recommendations. The advisory committee's annual reports must be publicly available on an Amtrak website.In addition, the Government Accountability Office must submit a report to Congress describing Amtrak's progress in implementing each FBWG report recommendation.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Requires Amtrak to establish food and beverage advisory committee
Mandates annual reports to Congress on dining improvements
Ensures public availability of progress reports on Amtrak website
Requires GAO to independently assess Amtrak implementation progress
Aims to improve quality of onboard food and beverage service

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

For Amtrak passengers: Potential improvements to onboard dining quality. For Amtrak management: Accountability requirements for food service improvements. For Congress: Ongoing visibility into Amtrak dining operations. For food service workers: Changes based on working group recommendations. For taxpayers: Transparency on federally-subsidized rail service quality.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Transportation and Public Works

Related Subjects

Advisory bodies

Congressional oversight

Food industry and services

Government information and archives

Government studies and investigations

National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak)

Railroads

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

265, 119th Congress (2025). "Train FOOD Act". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-hr-265