[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 546 Reported in House (RH)]

<DOC>





                                                 Union Calendar No. 632
114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                 S. 546

                          [Report No. 114-808]


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 10, 2016

     Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

                           November 14, 2016

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]
[For the text of the Senate passed bill, see copy of bill as printed in 
             the House of Representatives on May 10, 2016]


_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
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).''.
                                                 Union Calendar No. 632

114th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                 S. 546

                          [Report No. 114-808]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

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.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           November 14, 2016

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed