((a))

((1)) ** .—** Not later than 180 days after enactment of the Passenger Rail Expansion and Rail Safety Act of 2021, Amtrak shall establish a working group to provide recommendations to improve Amtrak’s onboard food and beverage service.

((2)) ** .—** The working group shall consist of individuals representing—

((A)) Amtrak;

((B)) the labor organizations representing Amtrak employees who prepare or provide on-board food and beverage service;

((C)) nonprofit organizations representing Amtrak passengers; and

((D)) States that are providing funding for State-supported routes.

((b)) ** .—** Not later than 1 year after the establishment of the working group pursuant to subsection (a), the working group shall submit a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives containing recommendations for improving Amtrak’s food and beverage service, including—

((1)) ways to improve the financial performance of Amtrak;

((2)) ways to increase and retain ridership;

((3)) the differing needs of passengers traveling on long-distance routes, State supported routes, and the Northeast Corridor;

((4)) Amtrak passenger survey data about the food and beverages offered on Amtrak trains;

((5)) ways to incorporate local food and beverage items on State-supported routes; and

((6)) any other issue that the working group determines to be appropriate.

((c)) ** .—** Not later than 180 days after the submission of the report pursuant to subsection (b), Amtrak shall submit a plan for implementing the recommendations of the working group, and an explanation for any of the working group’s recommendations it does not agree with and does not plan on implementing to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives.

((d)) ** .—** Amtrak shall ensure that no Amtrak employee who held a position on a long-distance or Northeast Corridor route as of the date of enactment of the Passenger Rail Expansion and Rail Safety Act of 2021, is involuntarily separated because of the development and implementation of the plan required under this section.