[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 129 (Wednesday, September 18, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H10546-H10548]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    INTERMODAL SAFE CONTAINER TRANSPORTATION ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1996

  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4040) to amend title 49, United States Code, relating to 
intermodal safe container transportation.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4040

       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 ``Intermodal Safe Container 
     Transportation Act Amendments of 1996''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO TITLE 49.

       Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this 
     Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an 
     amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the 
     reference shall be considered to be made to a section or 
     other provision of title 49, United States Code.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       Section 5901 is amended--
       (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
       ``(1) except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the 
     definitions in sections 10102 and 13102 of this title 
     apply.'';
       (2) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) as paragraphs 
     (7) and (8), respectively; and
       (3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following new 
     paragraph:
       ``(6) `gross cargo weight' means the weight of the cargo, 
     packaging materials (including ice), pallets, and dunnage.''.

     SEC. 4. NOTIFICATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS.

       Section 5902 is amended to read as follows:

     ``Sec. 5902. Notifications and certifications

       ``(a) Prior Notification.--
       ``(1) In general.--If the first carrier to which any loaded 
     container or trailer having a projected gross cargo weight of 
     more than 29,000 pounds is tendered for intermodal 
     transportation is a motor carrier, the person tendering the 
     container or trailer shall give the motor carrier a 
     notification of the projected gross cargo weight and a 
     reasonable description of the contents of the container or 
     trailer before the tendering of the container or trailer. The 
     notification may be transmitted electronically or by 
     telephone.
       ``(2) Applicability.--This subsection applies to any person 
     within the United States who tenders a container or trailer 
     subject to this chapter for intermodal transportation if the 
     first carrier is a motor carrier.
       ``(b) Certification.--
       ``(1) In general.--A person who tenders a loaded container 
     or trailer with an actual gross cargo weight of more than 
     29,000 pounds, to a first carrier for intermodal 
     transportation shall provide a certification of the contents 
     of the container or trailer in writing, or electronically, 
     before or when the container or trailer is so tendered.
       ``(2) Contents of certification.--The certification 
     required by paragraph (1) shall include the following:
       ``(A) The actual gross cargo weight.
       ``(B) A reasonable description of the contents of the 
     container or trailer.
       ``(C) The identity of the certifying party.
       ``(D) The container or trailer number.
       ``(E) The date of certification or transfer of data to 
     another document, as provided for in paragraph (3).
       ``(3) Transfer of certification data.--A carrier who 
     receives a certification may transfer the information 
     contained in the certification to another document or to 
     electronic format for forwarding to a subsequent carrier. The 
     person transferring the information shall state on the 
     forwarded document the date on which the data was transferred 
     and the identity of the party who performed the transfer.
       ``(4) Shipping documents.--For purposes of this chapter, a 
     shipping document, prepared by the person tendering a 
     container or trailer to a first carrier, that contains the 
     information required by paragraph (2) meets the requirements 
     of paragraph (1).
       ``(5) Use of `freight all kinds' term.--The term `Freight 
     All Kinds' or `FAK' may not be used for the purpose of 
     certification under this subsection after December 31, 2000, 
     as a description required under paragraph (2)(B) for a 
     trailer or container if the weight of any commodity in the 
     trailer or container equals or exceeds 20 percent of the 
     total weight of the contents of the trailer or container. 
     This subsection does not prohibit the use of such term 
     after December 31, 2000, for rating purposes.
       ``(6) Separate document marking.--If a separate document is 
     used to meet the requirements of paragraph (1), it shall be 
     conspicuously marked `INTERMODAL CERTIFICATION'.
       ``(7) Applicability.--This subsection applies to any 
     person, domestic or foreign, who first tenders a container or 
     trailer subject to this chapter for intermodal transportation 
     within the United States.
       ``(c) Forwarding Certifications to Subsequent Carriers.--
       ``(1) General rule.--A carrier, agent of a carrier, broker, 
     customs broker, freight forwarder, warehouser, or terminal 
     operator shall forward the certification provided under 
     subsection (b) to a subsequent carrier transporting the 
     container or trailer in intermodal transportation before or 
     when the container or trailer is tendered to the subsequent 
     carrier.
       ``(2) Presumption of no certification required.--If no 
     certification is received by the subsequent carrier before or 
     when the container or trailer is being tendered to it, the 
     subsequent carrier may presume that no certification is 
     required.
       ``(3) Limitation on construction of forwarding.--The act of 
     forwarding the certification may not be construed as a 
     verification or affirmation of the accuracy or completeness 
     of the information in the certification.
       ``(4) Liability.--
       ``(A) In general.--If a person inaccurately transfers the 
     information on the certification or fails to forward the 
     certification to a subsequent carrier, then that person is 
     liable to any person who incurs any bond, fine, penalty, cost 
     (including storage), or interest charge incurred as a result 
     of the inaccurate transfer of information or failure to 
     forward the certification.
       ``(B) Lien.--A subsequent carrier incurring a bond, fine, 
     penalty, or cost (including storage), or interest charge as a 
     result of the inaccurate transfer of the information or the 
     failure to forward the certification shall have a lien 
     against the contents of the container or trailer under 
     section 5905 in the amount of the bond, fine, penalty, or 
     cost (including storage), or interest charge and all court 
     costs and legal fees incurred by the carrier as a result of 
     such inaccurate transfer or failure.
       ``(5) Notice to leased operators.--If a motor carrier knows 
     that the gross cargo weight of an intermodal container or 
     trailer subject to the certification requirements of 
     subsection (b) would result in a violation of applicable 
     State gross vehicle weight laws--
       ``(A) a motor carrier must inform the operator of a vehicle 
     which is leased by the vehicle operator to a motor carrier 
     which transports an intermodal container or trailer of the 
     gross cargo weight of the container or trailer as certified 
     to the motor carrier pursuant to subsection (b);
       ``(B) the notice must be provided to the operator prior to 
     the operator being tendered the container or trailer;
       ``(C) the notice required by this subsection must be in 
     writing, but may be transmitted electronically;
       ``(D) the motor carrier shall bear the burden of proof to 
     establish that it tendered the required notice to the 
     operator; and
       ``(E) if the operator of a leased vehicle transporting a 
     container or trailer subject to this chapter should receive a 
     fine because of a violation of a State's gross vehicle weight 
     laws or regulations and lessee motor carrier cannot establish 
     that it tendered to the operator the notice required by this 
     section, the

[[Page H10547]]

     operator shall be entitled to reimbursement from the motor 
     carrier of the amount of any fine and court costs resulting 
     from the failure of the motor carrier to tender the notice to 
     the operator.
       ``(d) Liability to Owner or Beneficial Owner.--If--
       ``(1) a person inaccurately transfers information on a 
     certification required by subsection (b)(1) or fails to 
     forward a certification to the subsequent carrier;
       ``(2) as a result of the inaccurate transfer of such 
     information or a failure to forward a certification, the 
     subsequent carrier incurs a bond, fine, penalty, or cost 
     (including storage), or interest charge; and
       ``(3) a subsequent carrier exercises its rights to a lien 
     under section 5905,

     then that person is liable to the owner or beneficial owner 
     or to any other person paying the amount of the lien to the 
     subsequent carrier for the amount of the lien and all costs 
     related to the imposition of the lien, including court costs 
     and legal fees incurred in connection with imposition of the 
     lien.
       ``(e) Nonapplicability.--
       ``(1) Consolidated shipments.--The notification and 
     certification requirements of subsections (a) and (b) do not 
     apply to any intermodal container or trailer containing 
     consolidated shipments loaded by a motor carrier if that 
     motor carrier--
       ``(A) performs the highway portion of the intermodal 
     movement; or
       ``(B) assumes the responsibility for any weight-related 
     fine or penalty incurred by any other motor carrier that 
     performs a part of the highway transportation.
       ``(2) Intermodal transportation of loaded containers.--
       ``(A) In general.--Subsections (a) and (b) and section 
     5903(c) do not apply to a carrier when the carrier is 
     transferring a loaded container or trailer to another carrier 
     during intermodal transportation, unless the carrier is also 
     the person tendering the loaded container or trailer to the 
     first carrier.
       ``(B) Special rule.--A carrier, agent of a carrier, broker, 
     customs broker, freight forwarder, warehouser, or terminal 
     operator is deemed not to be a person tendering a loaded 
     container or trailer to a first carrier under this section, 
     unless the carrier, agent, broker, customs broker, freight 
     forwarder, warehouser, or terminal operator assumes legal 
     responsibility for loading property into the container or 
     trailer.''.

     SEC. 5. PROHIBITIONS.

       (a) Providing Erroneous Information.--Section 5903(a) is 
     amended by inserting ``, to whom section 5902(b) applies,'' 
     after ``A person''.
       (b) Transporting Prior To Receiving Certification.--Section 
     5903(b) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(b) Transporting Prior To Receiving Certification.--
       ``(1) Presumption.--If no certification is received by a 
     motor carrier before or when a loaded intermodal container or 
     trailer is tendered to it, the motor carrier may presume that 
     the gross cargo weight of the container or trailer is less 
     than 29,001 pounds.
       ``(2) Copy of certification not required to accompany 
     container or trailer.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     this chapter, if a certification is required by section 
     5902(b), a copy of the certification is not required to 
     accompany the intermodal container or trailer.''.
       (c) Unlawful Coercion.--Section 5903(c)(1) is amended by 
     striking ``10,000 pounds (including packing materials and 
     pallets)'' and inserting ``29,000 pounds''.

     SEC. 6. LIENS.

       (a) General Rule.--Section 5905(a) is amended to read as 
     follows:
       ``(a) General Rule.--If a person involved in the intermodal 
     transportation of a loaded container or trailer for which a 
     certification is required by section 5902(b) of this title is 
     required, because of a violation of a State's gross vehicle 
     weight laws or regulations, to post a bond or pay a fine, 
     penalty, cost (including storage), or interest charge 
     resulting from--
       ``(1) erroneous information provided by the certifying 
     party in the certification to the first carrier in violation 
     of section 5903(a),
       ``(2) the failure of the party required to provide the 
     certification to the first carrier to provide it,
       ``(3) the failure of a person required under section 
     5902(c) to forward the certification to forward it, or
       ``(4) an error occurring in the transfer of information on 
     the certification to another document under section 
     5902(b)(3) or 5902(c),

     then the person posting the bond, or paying any fine, 
     penalty, cost (including storage), or interest charge has a 
     lien against the contents equal to the amount of the bond, 
     fine, penalty, cost (including storage), or interest charge 
     incurred, until the person receives a payment of that amount 
     from the owner or beneficial owner of the contents or from 
     the person responsible for making or forwarding the 
     certification or transferring the information from the 
     certification to another document.''.
       (b) Limitations.--Section 5905(b)(1) is amended--
       (1) by inserting after ``the first carrier'' the following: 
     ``or the owner or beneficial owner of the contents''; and
       (2) by striking ``cost, or interest.'' and inserting ``cost 
     (including storage), or interest charge. The lien shall 
     remain in effect until the lien holder has received payment 
     for all costs and expenses as described in subsection (a).''.

     SEC. 7. PERISHABLE AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES.

       Section 5906 is amended by striking ``Sections 5904(a)(2) 
     and 5905 of this title do'' and insert ``Section 5905 does''.

     SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       Section 5907 is amended to read as follows:

     ``Sec. 5907. Effective date

       ``This chapter, as amended by the Intermodal Safe Container 
     Transportation Act Amendments of 1996, is effective on the 
     date of the enactment of such Act. The provisions of this 
     chapter shall be implemented 180 days after such date of 
     enactment.''.

     SEC. 9. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 59 is amended by adding at the end 
     the following new section:

     ``Sec. 5908. Relationship to other laws

       ``Nothing in this chapter affects--
       ``(1) chapter 51 (relating to transportation of hazardous 
     material) or the regulations issued under that chapter; or
       ``(2) any State highway weight or size law or regulation 
     applicable to tractor-trailer combinations.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--The analysis for such chapter is 
     amended by striking the item relating to section 5907 and 
     inserting the following:

``5907. Effective date.
``5908. Relationship to other laws.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster] and the gentleman from West Virginia [Mr. 
Rahall] each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster].
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill makes several critical changes to the 1992 
Intermodal Safe Container Act to permit the act to be effectively 
implemented by ocean shipping lines, railroads, and trucking companies.
  This legislation will ensure that the intermodal container 
transportation does not cause violations of our highways' weight laws 
and, also, that commerce is not unduly burdened. It is critical that 
this bill pass swiftly, because the regulations implementing the 1992 
bill will go into effect January 1.
  This legislation is completely bipartisan. It is strongly supported 
by a comprehensive intermodal coalition of ocean shipping lines, 
railroads, trucking companies and shippers, as well as the Department 
of Transportation.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. 
Petri], the gentlewoman from New York [Ms. Molinari], and the gentleman 
from North Carolina [Mr. Coble] for their cooperation in swiftly 
drafting this intermodal bill.
  I also want to thank my Democratic colleagues, the gentleman from 
Minnesota [Mr. Oberstar], the gentleman from West Virginia [Mr. 
Rahall], the gentleman from West Virginia [Mr. Wise], and the gentleman 
from Tennessee [Mr. Clement] for their cooperation and support in 
agreeing to quickly move this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge that my colleagues support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster], 
the full committee chairman, and the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. 
Oberstar], the ranking minority member, for the very effective and 
capable manner in which they have worked toegether with me and the 
gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Petri], the chairman of the subcommittee, 
in bringing forward this legislation. There has been a good give-and-
take on both sides of the aisle.
  I also commend the staff that have worked so very long and hard on 
bringing this bill to us today.
  Mr. Speaker, as the full committee chairman has stated, while this 
bill basically consists of technical amendments, its enactment will 
fulfill congressional and DOT intent in addressing the issue of 
liability as it relates to intermodal shipments of potentially 
overweight freight containers.
  Basically, we have a situation where a trucker picks up a container 
of, say, shoes at the Port of Long Beach that was packed in Taiwan and 
is headed for a J.C. Penny Store. On its way along our Nation's 
highways to the store, the trucker is found to be overweight.
  Under current law, the trucker pays the fine even though the trucking 
company had no involvement in the packing of the container and was led 
to believe it would not cause the truck to be overweight.

[[Page H10548]]

  In 1992 we passed legislation to address this situation.
  However, due to shortcomings in this law, DOT has yet to make 
effective a final rule implementing it. Hence, the need for this 
legislation.
  The pending bill would facilitate the implementation of the 1992 act 
by, first allowing the shipper certification of the weight of 
intermodal containers to be incorporated into shipping papers or 
transmitted in electronic form.
  If the certification is not made, or is incorrect, the shipper is 
liable for any violations which may occur of our highway weight laws.
  And second, this bill sets the weight threshold for container 
certification at 29,001 pounds. It is my understanding from both DOT 
and industry that this is a more appropriate threshold than what is in 
current law.
  With that stated, I urge the adoption of the pending measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Minnesota [Mr. Oberstar].
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I also want to commend the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
[Mr. Shuster], our full committee chairman, and the gentleman from 
Wisconsin [Mr. Petri], chairman of the Subcommittee on Surface 
Transportation, for the work that they have done to bring this 
legislation to this point.
  Mr. Speaker, I also commend the gentleman from West Virginia [Mr. 
Rahall], on our side, who has devoted a great deal of time and energy 
to resolving a very puzzling and complex problem; one that on the 
surface would seem to be amenable to ready resolution.
  In 1992, when we passed the Intermodal Safe Container Transportation 
Act, we thought that the legislation had corrected the problems. A 
broad consensus of transportation interests got together to support 
this legislation to encourage compliance with U.S. highway weight 
limits by ensuring that the party that first tendered cargo for 
intermodal shipment would be responsible for verifying the weight of 
that intermodal container and for providing appropriate documentation.
  Unfortunately, DOT could not write regulations to make the law work. 
Try as they might, there was a combination of problems, conflicting 
interests, difficulty in writing appropriate language, to prevent the 
issuance of those regulations. So when I say it took a great deal of 
effort on the part of the leadership of the subcommittee to work this 
out, it certainly did. It was a matter that the Department itself, with 
all of their staffing, could not resolve.
  So the parties went back to the drawing board, they reached agreement 
on a measure that the gentleman from West Virginia [Mr. Rahall] has, I 
think, quite adequately described.
  In 1989, the Federal Highway Administration estimated that some 1 
million containers moving through U.S. ports over a 1-year period would 
likely cause highway weight violations based on most commonly used 
truck configurations. Some 40 percent of the 20-foot containers would 
potentially cause overweight trucks; 17 percent of 40-foot containers 
were more than 10,000 pounds over the cargo weight.
  Truckers should not have to bear that responsibility. Goods should 
not have to be impeded in their movement to marketplace, and bridges 
should not have to be encumbered and highways should not have to accept 
that additional pounding due to our ocean shipping interests.
  So the legislation we have today will provide workable tools to allow 
carriers to comply with highway weight limitations and improve 
enforcement by ensuring that the one responsible, the party that loads 
the container, is the one liable if a subsequent violation occurs.
  Mr. Speaker, that is what we bring to the House today. I want to 
thank the gentleman from West Virginia for the splendid effort that he 
has invested in bringing this issue to resolution, and again to our 
full committee chairmen for resolving the matter.
  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4040, the 
Intermodal Safe Container Act Amendments of 1996.
  I want to thank my colleagues Bud Shuster, Susan Molinari, and Howard 
Coble, and my Democratic colleagues James Oberstar, Nick Rahall, Bob 
Wise, and Bob Clement, for their cooperation in swiftly moving this 
legislation.
  This legislation corrects several problems in the 1992 Intermodal 
Safe Container Act which sets standards for the intermodal transfer of 
freight containers between ocean shipping lines, railroads, and motor 
carriers so that no trucks hauling containers are overweight. The 1992 
act has been delayed by DOT only until January 1, 1997.
  A coalition of ocean carriers, railroads, motor carriers, and freight 
shippers recommended changes to the 1992 act, since these problems 
could not be corrected by DOT. DOT supports these changes. These 
recommendations are the basis of this legislation.
  This bill encourages compliance with highway weight rules. It clearly 
establishes that shippers must provide a certification that identifies 
the weight and contents of the container. If this certification is not 
made or is incorrect, the shippers are automatically liable for any 
resultant highway weight violations.
  The Act speeds shipments by permitting all carriers to use electronic 
certifications and reduces paperwork by permitting a bill of lading to 
be used as the certification.
  The weight threshold for a container certification has been set at 
29,001 pounds. This reduces the burden of complying with the act, but 
still ensures that all containers likely to cause overweight violations 
will be identified.
  Finally, it provides a phase-in for carriers to adapt to the new 
requirements.
  I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster] that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4040.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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