3.0.0 6223 2022-08-10T23:36:00Z 2022-08-10T23:36:00Z House HR 2020-03-12 116 [Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 48 (Thursday, March 12, 2020)][House]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. LIPINSKI:H.R. 6223.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:Article 1, Section 8, Clause Three of the Constitution.[Page H1670]]]> hspw00 Transportation and Infrastructure Committee House Standing hspw14 Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee Referred to 2020-03-13T15:21:37Z Referred to 2020-03-12T13:03:45Z 2020-03-13 hspw14 Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee 1 House committee actions Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials. Committee 2020-03-12 Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. IntroReferral H11100 2 House floor actions hspw00 Transportation and Infrastructure Committee 2020-03-12 Introduced in House IntroReferral Intro-H 9 Library of Congress 2020-03-12 Introduced in House IntroReferral 1000 9 Library of Congress L000563 Rep. Lipinski, Daniel [D-IL-3] Daniel Lipinski D IL William 3 N C000754 Rep. Cooper, Jim [D-TN-5] JAMES COOPER D TN H. 5 2020-03-12 True C001072 Rep. Carson, Andre [D-IN-7] Andre Carson D IN 7 2020-03-12 True Transportation and Public Works Accounting and auditing Administrative law and regulatory procedures Administrative remedies Civil actions and liability Congressional officers and employees Government information and archives Public-private cooperation Railroads Roads and highways Transportation safety and security Transportation and Public Works 00 2020-03-12 Introduced in House 2020-06-25T14:17:11Z Don't BLock Our Communities Act or the D-BLOC Act

This bill addresses concerns related to blocked crossings. (A blocked crossing is a circumstance in which a train, railroad car, or locomotive engine is stopped or is standing in a manner that obstructs public travel at a crossing).

Specifically, the bill

  • requires each railroad carrier to collect data on blocked crossings and directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to incorporate such data into the national highway-rail crossing inventory;
  • establishes a 10-minute limit on trains, locomotive, railroad cars, or other railroad equipment blocking crossings, with specified exceptions;
  • authorizes DOT to issue civil penalties for each incident where a crossing is blocked by a standing train, locomotive, or rail equipment;
  • requires DOT to issue regulations defining what is considered persistently or egregiously blocking a crossing, including taking into consideration the extent to which the blocked crossing poses a public safety hazard;
  • does not apply to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) or commuter authorities;
  • directs DOT to issue and publish a national strategy on how it plans to address blocked crossings; and
  • requires each railroad carrier to establish and maintain a toll-free telephone service for rights-of-way over which it dispatches trains to directly receive calls reporting blocked crossings.
]]> D-BLOC Act Display Title D-BLOC Act Official Title as Introduced To amend title 49, United States Code, to address blocked crossings, and for other purposes. Introduced in House IH Short Title(s) as Introduced D-BLOC Act Introduced in House IH Short Title(s) as Introduced Don’t BLock Our Communities Act Introduced in House IH Introduced in House 2020-03-12T04:00:00Z https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-116hr6223ih/xml/BILLS-116hr6223ih.xml 2020-03-13 Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials. text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries and statuses for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.