[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 546 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.546
One Hundred Fourteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
the fourth day of January, two thousand and sixteen
An Act
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
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).''.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.