PUBLIC LAW 104-88—DEC. 29, 1995 109 STAT. 939 and committee duties, and shall be responsible for issuing and communicating the reports, policy positions and statements of the Council, In the event that the Council Chairman is unable to serve, the Vice Chairman shall act as Council Chairman. "(d) EXPENSES.— (1) The members of the Council shall receive no compensation for their services as such, but upon request by the Council Chairman, based on a showing of significant economic burden, the Secretary of Transportation or the Chairman of the Board, to the extent provided in advance in appropriation Acts, may provide reasonable and necessary travel expenses for such individual Council members from Department or Board funding sources in order to foster balanced representation on the Council. "(2) Upon request by the Council Chairman, the Secretary or Chairman of the Board, to the extent provided in advance in appropriations Acts, may pay the reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by the Council in connection with the coordination of Council activities, announcement and reporting of meetings, and preparation of such Council documents as are required or permitted by this section. "(3) The Council may solicit and use private funding for its activities, subject to this subsection. "(4) Prior to making any Federal funding requests, the Council Chairman shall undertake best efforts to fund such activities privately unless the Council Chairman determines that such private funding would create a conflict of interest, or the appearance thereof, or is otherwise impractical. The Council Chairman shall not request funding from any Federal agency without providing written justification as to why private funding would create any such conflict or appearance, or is otherwise impractical. "(5) To enable the Council to carry out its functions— "(A) the Council Chairman may request directly from any Federal agency such personnel, information, services, or facilities, on a compensated or uncompensated basis, as the Council Chairman determines necessary to carry out the functions of the Council; "(B) each Federal agency may, in its discretion, furnish the Council with such information, services, and facilities as the Council Chairman may request to the extent permitted by law and within the limits of available funds; and "(C) each Federal agency may, in its discretion, detail to temporary duty with the Council, such personnel as the Council Chairman may request for carrying out the functions of the Council, each such detail to be without loss of seniority, pay, or other employee status. "(e) MEETINGS. —The Council shall meet at least semi-annually and shall hold other meetings at the call of the Council Chairman. Appropriate Federal facilities, where available, may be used for such meetings. Whenever the Council, or a committee of the Council, considers matters that aflfect the jurisdictional interests of Federal agencies that are not represented on the Council, the Council Chairman may invite the heads of such agencies, or their designees, to participate in the deliberations of the Council. "(f) FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES; ANNUAL REPORT. —(1) The Council shall advise the Secretary, the Chairman, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives with respect to rail transportation policy issues
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