[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 546 Engrossed Amendment House (EAH)]
<DOC>
In the House of Representatives, U. S.,
November 29, 2016.
Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 546) entitled ``An Act
to establish the Railroad Emergency Services Preparedness, Operational
Needs, and Safety Evaluation (RESPONSE) Subcommittee under the Federal
Emergency Management Agency's National Advisory Council to provide
recommendations on emergency responder training and resources relating
to hazardous materials incidents involving railroads, and for other
purposes.'', do pass with the following
AMENDMENT:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``RESPONSE Act of 2016''.
SEC. 2. RAILROAD EMERGENCY SERVICES PREPAREDNESS, OPERATIONAL NEEDS,
AND SAFETY EVALUATION SUBCOMMITTEE.
Section 508 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 318) is
amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
``(d) RESPONSE Subcommittee.--
``(1) Establishment.--Not later than 30 days after the date
of the enactment of the RESPONSE Act of 2016, the Administrator
shall establish, as a subcommittee of the National Advisory
Council, the Railroad Emergency Services Preparedness,
Operational Needs, and Safety Evaluation Subcommittee (referred
to in this subsection as the `RESPONSE Subcommittee').
``(2) Membership.--Notwithstanding subsection (c), the
RESPONSE Subcommittee shall be composed of the following:
``(A) The Deputy Administrator, Protection and
National Preparedness of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, or designee.
``(B) The Chief Safety Officer of the Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, or designee.
``(C) The Associate Administrator for Hazardous
Materials Safety of the Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration, or designee.
``(D) The Director of the Office of Emergency
Communications of the Department of Homeland Security,
or designee.
``(E) The Director for the Office of Railroad,
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Investigations of the
National Transportation Safety Board, or designee.
``(F) The Chief Safety Officer and Associate
Administrator for Railroad Safety of the Federal
Railroad Administration, or designee.
``(G) The Assistant Administrator for Security
Policy and Industry Engagement of the Transportation
Security Administration, or designee.
``(H) The Assistant Commandant for Response Policy
of the Coast Guard, or designee.
``(I) The Assistant Administrator for the Office of
Solid Waste and Emergency Response of the Environmental
Protection Agency, or designee.
``(J) Such other qualified individuals as the co-
chairpersons shall jointly appoint as soon as
practicable after the date of the enactment of the
RESPONSE Act of 2016 from among the following:
``(i) Members of the National Advisory
Council that have the requisite technical
knowledge and expertise to address rail
emergency response issues, including members
from the following disciplines:
``(I) Emergency management and
emergency response providers, including
fire service, law enforcement,
hazardous materials response, and
emergency medical services.
``(II) State, local, and tribal
government officials.
``(ii) Individuals who have the requisite
technical knowledge and expertise to serve on
the RESPONSE Subcommittee, including at least 1
representative from each of the following:
``(I) The rail industry.
``(II) Rail labor.
``(III) Persons who offer oil for
transportation by rail.
``(IV) The communications industry.
``(V) Emergency response providers,
including individuals nominated by
national organizations representing
State and local governments and
emergency responders.
``(VI) Emergency response training
providers.
``(VII) Representatives from tribal
organizations.
``(VIII) Technical experts.
``(IX) Vendors, developers, and
manufacturers of systems, facilities,
equipment, and capabilities for
emergency responder services.
``(iii) Representatives of such other
stakeholders and interested and affected
parties as the co-chairpersons consider
appropriate.
``(3) Co-chairpersons.--The members described in
subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2) shall serve as the
co-chairpersons of the RESPONSE Subcommittee.
``(4) Initial meeting.--The initial meeting of the RESPONSE
Subcommittee shall take place not later than 90 days after the
date of enactment of the RESPONSE Act of 2016.
``(5) Consultation with nonmembers.--The RESPONSE
Subcommittee and the program offices for emergency responder
training and resources shall consult with other relevant
agencies and groups, including entities engaged in federally
funded research and academic institutions engaged in relevant
work and research, which are not represented on the RESPONSE
Subcommittee to consider new and developing technologies and
methods that may be beneficial to preparedness and response to
rail hazardous materials incidents.
``(6) Recommendations.--The RESPONSE Subcommittee shall
develop recommendations, as appropriate, for improving
emergency responder training and resource allocation for
hazardous materials incidents involving railroads after
evaluating the following topics:
``(A) The quality and application of training for
State and local emergency responders related to rail
hazardous materials incidents, including training for
emergency responders serving small communities near
railroads, including the following:
``(i) Ease of access to relevant training
for State and local emergency responders,
including an analysis of--
``(I) the number of individuals
being trained;
``(II) the number of individuals
who are applying;
``(III) whether current demand is
being met;
``(IV) current challenges; and
``(V) projected needs.
``(ii) Modernization of training course
content related to rail hazardous materials
incidents, with a particular focus on
fluctuations in oil shipments by rail,
including regular and ongoing evaluation of
course opportunities, adaptation to emerging
trends, agency and private sector outreach,
effectiveness and ease of access for State and
local emergency responders.
``(iii) Identification of overlap in
training content and identification of
opportunities to develop complementary courses
and materials among governmental and
nongovernmental entities.
``(iv) Online training platforms, train-
the-trainer, and mobile training options.
``(B) The availability and effectiveness of
Federal, State, local, and nongovernmental funding
levels related to training emergency responders for
rail hazardous materials incidents, including emergency
responders serving small communities near railroads,
including--
``(i) identifying overlap in resource
allocations;
``(ii) identifying cost savings measures
that can be implemented to increase training
opportunities;
``(iii) leveraging government funding with
nongovernmental funding to enhance training
opportunities and fill existing training gaps;
``(iv) adaptation of priority settings for
agency funding allocations in response to
emerging trends;
``(v) historic levels of funding across
Federal agencies for rail hazardous materials
incident response and training, including
funding provided by the private sector to
public entities or in conjunction with Federal
programs; and
``(vi) current funding resources across
agencies.
``(C) The strategy for integrating commodity flow
studies, mapping, and rail and hazardous materials
databases for State and local emergency responders and
increasing the rate of access to the individual
responder in existing or emerging communications
technology.
``(7) Report.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of the enactment of the RESPONSE Act of 2016, the
RESPONSE Subcommittee shall submit a report to the
National Advisory Council that--
``(i) includes the recommendations
developed under paragraph (6);
``(ii) specifies the timeframes for
implementing any such recommendations that do
not require congressional action; and
``(iii) identifies any such recommendations
that do require congressional action.
``(B) Review.--Not later than 30 days after
receiving the report under subparagraph (A), the
National Advisory Council shall begin a review of the
report. The National Advisory Council may ask for
additional clarification, changes, or other information
from the RESPONSE Subcommittee to assist in the
approval of the recommendations.
``(C) Recommendation.--Once the National Advisory
Council approves the recommendations of the RESPONSE
Subcommittee, the National Advisory Council shall
submit the report to--
``(i) the co-chairpersons of the RESPONSE
Subcommittee;
``(ii) the head of each other agency
represented on the RESPONSE Subcommittee;
``(iii) the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
``(iv) the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation of the Senate;
``(v) the Committee on Homeland Security of
the House of Representatives; and
``(vi) the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives.
``(8) Interim activity.--
``(A) Updates and oversight.--After the submission
of the report by the National Advisory Council under
paragraph (7), the Administrator shall--
``(i) provide annual updates to the
congressional committees referred to in
paragraph (7)(C) regarding the status of the
implementation of the recommendations developed
under paragraph (6); and
``(ii) coordinate the implementation of the
recommendations described in paragraph
(6)(G)(i), as appropriate.
``(B) Sunset.--The requirements of subparagraph (A)
shall terminate on the date that is 2 years after the
date of the submission of the report required under
paragraph (7)(A).
``(9) Termination.--The RESPONSE Subcommittee shall
terminate not later than 90 days after the submission of the
report required under paragraph (7)(C).''.
Attest:
Clerk.
114th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 546
_______________________________________________________________________
AMENDMENT