[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 135 (Thursday, September 26, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H11330-H11334]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1645
        NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD AMENDMENTS OF 1996

  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in 
the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 3159) to amend title 49, United 
States Code, to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 1997, 1998, 
and 1999 for the National Transportation Safety Board, and for other 
purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:
                        TITLE I--NTSB AMENDMENTS

     SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``National Transportation 
     Safety Board Amendments of 1996''.

     SEC. 102. FOREIGN INVESTIGATIONS.

       Section 1114 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) by striking ``(b) and (c)'' in subsection (a) and 
     inserting ``(b), (c), and (e)''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(e) Foreign Investigations.--
       ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, neither the Board, nor any agency receiving information 
     from the Board, shall disclose records or information 
     relating to its participation in foreign aircraft accident 
     investigations; except that--
       ``(A) the Board shall release records pertaining to such an 
     investigation when the country conducting the investigation 
     issues its final report or 2 years following the date of the 
     accident, whichever occurs first; and
       ``(B) the Board may disclose records and information when 
     authorized to do so by the country conducting the 
     investigation.
       ``(2) Safety recommendations.--Nothing in this subsection 
     shall restrict the Board at any time from referring to 
     foreign accident investigation information in making safety 
     recommendations.''.

     SEC. 103. PROTECTION OF VOLUNTARY SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION.

       Section 1114(b) of title 49, United States Code, is amended 
     by adding at the end the following:
       ``(3) Protection of Voluntary Submission of Information.--
     Notwithstanding any other provision of law, neither the 
     Board, nor any agency receiving information from the Board, 
     shall disclose voluntarily provided safety-related 
     information if that information is not related to the 
     exercise of the Board's accident or incident investigation 
     authority under this chapter and if the Board finds that the 
     disclosure of the information would inhibit the voluntary 
     provision of that type of information.''.

     SEC. 104. TRAINING.

       Section 1115 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:
       ``(d) Training of Board Employees and Others.--The Board 
     may conduct training of its employees in those subjects 
     necessary for the proper performance of accident 
     investigation. The Board may also authorize attendance at 
     courses given under this subsection by other government 
     personnel, personnel of foreign governments, and personnel 
     from industry or otherwise who have a requirement for 
     accident investigation training. The Board may require non-
     Board personnel to reimburse some or all of the training 
     costs, and amounts so reimbursed shall be credited to the 
     appropriation of the `National Transportation Safety Board, 
     Salaries and Expenses' as offsetting collections.''.

     SEC. 105. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       Section 1118(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``and''; and
       (2) by inserting before the period at the end of the first 
     sentence the following: ``, $42,400,00 for fiscal year 1997, 
     $44,400,000 for fiscal year 1998, and $46,600,000 for fiscal 
     year 1999.''.
                  TITLE II--INTERMODAL TRANSPORTATION

     SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``Intermodal Safe Container 
     Transportation Amendments Act of 1996''.

     SEC. 202. AMENDMENT OF TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE.

       Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this 
     title 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 of the United States Code.

     SEC. 203. DEFINITIONS.

       Section 5901 (relating to definitions) 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:
       ``(6) `gross cargo weight' means the weight of the cargo, 
     packaging materials (including ice), pallets, and dunnage.''.

     SEC. 204. NOTIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION.

       (a) Prior Notification.--Subsection (a) of section 5902 
     (relating to prior notification) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``Before a person tenders to a first 
     carrier for intermodal transportation a'' and inserting ``If 
     the first carrier to which any'';
       (2) by striking ``10,000 pounds (including packing material 
     and pallets), the person shall give the carrier a written'' 
     and inserting ``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'';
       (3) by striking ``trailer.'' and inserting ``trailer before 
     the tendering of the container or trailer.'';
       (4) by striking ``electronically.'' and inserting 
     ``electronically or by telephone.''; and
       (5) by adding at the end thereof the following: ``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.--Subsection (b) of section 5902 
     (relating to certification) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(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--
       ``(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; and
       ``(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 
     electric 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 who tenders 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 section 5902(b) after December 31, 2000, 
     as a commodity description 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 the term after that date for rating purposes.

[[Page H11331]]

       ``(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.--Subsection (c) of section 
     5902 (relating to forwarding certifications to subsequent 
     carriers) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``transportation.'' and inserting 
     ``transportation before or when the loaded intermodal 
     container or trailer is tendered to the subsequent carrier. 
     If no certification is received by the subsequent carrier 
     before or when the container or trailer is tendered to it, 
     the subsequent carrier may presume that no certification is 
     required.''; and
       (2) by adding at the end thereof the following: ``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 for any such fine, penalty, cost (including 
     storage), or interest incurred as a result of the inaccurate 
     transfer of information or failure to forward the 
     certification. A subsequent carrier who incurs a bond, fine, 
     penalty, or cost (including storage), or interest 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 and all court costs and legal fees 
     incurred by the carrier as a result of such inaccurate 
     transfer or failure.''.
       (d) Liability.--Section 5902 is amended by redesignating 
     subsection (d) as subsection (e), and by inserting after 
     subsection (c) the following:
       ``(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; and
       ``(3) that 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 it.''.
       (e) Nonapplication.--Subsection (e) of section 5902, as 
     redesignated, is amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as paragraphs 
     (2) and (3), respectively; and
       (2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as redesignated, the 
     following:
       ``(1) The notification and certification requirements of 
     subsections (a) and (b) of this section 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.''.

     SEC. 205. PROHIBITIONS.

       Section 5903 (relating to prohibitions) is amended--
       (1) by inserting after ``person'' a comma and the 
     following: ``To whom section 5902(b) applies,'';
       (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
       ``(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 to the contrary, a copy of the certification 
     required by section 5902(b) is not required to accompany the 
     intermodal container or trailer.'';
       (3) by striking ``10,000 pounds (including packing 
     materials and pallets)'' in subsection (c)(1) and inserting 
     ``29,000 pounds''; and
       (4) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(d) Notice to Leased Operators.--
       ``(1) In general.--If a motor carrier knows that the gross 
     cargo weight of an intermodal container or trailer subject to 
     the certification requirements of section 5902(b) would 
     result in a violation of applicable State gross vehicle 
     weight laws, then--
       ``(A) the motor carrier shall give notice to the operator 
     of a vehicle which is leased by the vehicle operator to a 
     motor carrier that transports an intermodal container or 
     trailer of the gross cargo weight of the container or trailer 
     as certified to the motor carrier under section 5902(b);
       ``(B) the notice shall be provided to the operator prior to 
     the operator being tendered the container or trailer;
       ``(C) the notice required by this subsection shall be in 
     writing, but may be transmitted electronically; and
       ``(D) the motor carrier shall bear the burden of proof to 
     establish that it tendered the required notice to the 
     operator.
       ``(2) Reimbursement.--If the operator of a leased vehicle 
     transporting a container or trailer subject to this chapter 
     is fined because of a violation of a State's gross vehicle 
     weight laws or regulations and the lessee motor carrier 
     cannot establish that it tendered to the operator the notice 
     required by paragraph (1) of this subsection, then the 
     operator shall be entitled to reimbursement from the motor 
     carrier in the amount of any fine and court costs resulting 
     from the failure of the motor carrier to tender the notice to 
     the operator.''.

     SEC. 206. LIENS.

       Section 5905 (relating to liens) is amended--
       (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
       ``(a) General.--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 resulting 
     from--
       ``(1) erroneous information provided by the certifying 
     party in the certification to the first carrier in violation 
     of section 5903(a) of this title;
       ``(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 (c), then the person posting the bond, or 
     paying the fine, penalty, costs (including storage), or 
     interest has a lien against the contents equal to the amount 
     of the bond, fine, penalty, cost (including storage), or 
     interest 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.'';
       (2) by inserting a comma and ``or the owner or beneficial 
     owner of the contents,'' after ``first carrier'' in 
     subsection 9(b)(1); and
       (3) by striking ``cost, or interest.'' in subsection (b)(1) 
     and inserting ``cost (including storage), or interest. The 
     lien shall remain in effect until the lien holder has 
     received payment for all costs and expenses described in 
     subsection (a) of this section.''.

     SEC. 207. PERISHABLE AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES.

       Section 5906 (relating to perishable agricultural 
     commodities) is amended by striking ``Sections 5904(a)(2) an 
     5905 of this title do'' and inserting ``Section 5905 of this 
     title does''.

     SEC. 208. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       (a) In General.--Section 5907 (relating to regulations and 
     effective date) is amended to read as follows:

     ``Sec. 5907. Effective date

       ``This chapter shall take effect 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of the Intermodal Safe Container Transportation 
     Amendments Act of 1996.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 
     59 is amended by striking the item relating to section 5907 
     and inserting the following:

``5907. Effective date''.

     SEC. 209. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.

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

     ``Sec. 5908. Relationship to other laws

       ``Nothing in this chapter affects--
       ``(1) chapter 51 (relating to transportation of hazardous 
     material) or the regulations promulgated under that chapter; 
     or
       ``(2) any State highway weight or size law or regulation 
     applicable to tractor-trailer combinations.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for such 
     chapter is amended by adding at the end thereof the 
     following:

``5908. Relationship to other laws''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster] and the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. 
Lipinski] 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, the House passed legisaltion (H.R. 3159) to reauthorize 
the National Transprotation Safety Board last July 22, by a vote of 
400-0.
  The Senate passed similar legislation last week. The only difference 
in the Senate bill, as it relates to NTSB, is that the Senate deleted a 
House provision extending the term of the NTSB chairman. This change is 
acceptable to us.
  In addition, the Senate added the text of H.R. 4040, the intermodel 
containers bill, which passed the House by voice vote.
  This bill has no controversy and I urge its adoption.


                       additional points on ntsb

  The NTSB is a relatively small agency but the work it does, the 
accident reports it issues, and the recommendations it makes have 
contributed to the improvements in safety that we have seen.
  However, the recent tragedies involving Valuejet and TWA demonstrate

[[Page H11332]]

once again what an important role the NTSB plays.
  The bill would allow NTSB to offer its training classes to non-NTSB 
employees and collect a reasonable reimbursement fee.
  In addition, the bill authorizes NTSB to keep confidential some 
safety-related information that it would like the airlines to 
voluntarily provide.
  It is important to note that the information that would be kept 
confidential is information that is not revealed by the airlines now so 
withholding it is not denying the public anything they now hear about. 
If the Board did not ensure its confidentiality, the airlines would not 
give it to the NTSB so the public would lose the benefit of the safety 
knowledge this information would provide to the Board.


               additional points on intermodal containers

  The bill makes several critical changes to the 1992 Intermodal Safe 
Container Act to permit that act to be effectively implemented by ocean 
shipping lines, railroads, and trucking companies.
  This legislation will ensure that 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 and is strongly supported 
by a comprehensive intermodal coalition of ocean shipping lines, 
railroads, trucking companies, and shippers, as well as DOT.
  I want to thank Tom Petri, Susan Molinari, and Howard Coble for their 
cooperation in swiftly drafting this intermodal bill.
  I also want to thank my Democratic colleagues Jim Oberstar and Nick 
Rahall as well as Bob Wise and Bob Clement for their cooperation and 
support in putting together and agreeing to quickly move this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I join the chairman in expressing my strong support for 
H.R. 3159, the National Transportation Safety Board Amendments of 1996. 
This legislation reauthorizes the NTSB for 3 years, and makes a number 
of changes requested by the NTSB to allow the Board to continue its 
excellent work.
  The NTSB is probably the most respected Government entity in the 
United States. In recent months, we have witnessed two devastating 
aircraft crashes that have focused the Nation's attention on the NTSB's 
work. In the most difficult of circumstances, the NTSB works with 
local, State and Federal entities as well as with the families of 
accident victims. And the Board is not just involved in aviation--the 
NTSB leads investigations of accidents in every mode of transportation. 
As we discuss this reauthorization on the floor today, it is important 
for us to recognize the public service performed by the Board. They are 
a critical element of our national transportation system.
  Mr. Speaker, as requested by the NTSB, H.R. 3159 enables the Board to 
fully participate in foreign investigations by providing protection 
from Freedom of Information Act requests for a 2-year period. Our 
intention is not to keep information from the public. Rather, the 
measure simply enhances the NTSB's access to information that will lead 
to improvements in aviation safety.
  The bill also encourages data sharing programs among the FAA, NTSB, 
and the aviation community by prohibiting the Board from disclosing 
voluntarily provided safety information. By sharing information before 
an accident occurs, we can save lives. The legislation establishes a 
framework which will enable this to occur.
  Mr. Speaker, the legislation we are considering today contains higher 
funding levels than those contained in the introduced bill. This 
slightly higher authorization in the outyears, along the lines of an 
amendment offered by Mr. Oberstar during committee markup, will enable 
the NTSB to increase its work force by some 20 employees. In recent 
months, with the ValuJet crash in the Florida Everglades and the TWA 
crash last week off Long Island, it has become even clearer to me that 
the NTSB needs every resource it can get. I want to thank the ranking 
member of the committee, Mr. Oberstar, for his leadership on this 
issue, and both Chairman Shuster and Chairman Duncan for their 
willingness to work with us. The higher funding level makes this a 
better bill for the American people.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the legislation, and reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Duncan], the distinguished chairman of 
the subcommittee.
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, let me first thank the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster], the chairman of the full Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, for yielding, and for his strong 
leadership in the area of transportation safety, and on this specific 
legislation as well.
  Likewise, I want to also thank the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. 
Oberstar], the ranking member of the full committee, and the ranking 
member of the subcommittee, the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Lipinski], 
all of whom we have worked with so closely and so well together this 
year on this legislation and on so many, many other things.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3159, as amended by the 
Senate. This legislation would authorize appropriations for fiscal 
years 1997, 1998, and 1999 for the National Transportation Safety 
Board, $42.4 million for the first year, $44.4 million for the second 
year, and $46.6 million for the third year.
  The work of this agency is so very important, and the importance of 
that work has been emphasized most recently in the very tragic 
accidents that we have had, unfortunately, in this country. This 
legislation is virtually identical to the House bill reported favorably 
by the full Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and passed 
unanimously by this House.
  The Aviation Subcommittee, which I have the privilege of chairing, 
held a joint hearing earlier this year regarding the requests and needs 
of the NTSB. I think we produced a very conservative bill, a good bill, 
that also allows some expansion of the NTSB activities in regard to 
working with the families of victims of some of these aviation 
accidents.
  Mr. Speaker, I also would like to say that I want to commend Chairman 
Jim Hall of the NTSB for the outstanding work that he has done. I 
believe the work of the NTSB, its accident reports, its 
recommendations, have been one of the main reasons why the 
transportation safety trend in this Nation is improving so favorably.
  H.R. 3159 includes many of the statutory changes requested by the 
NTSB which will help them in their efforts to conduct transportation-
related investigations and promoting transportation safety. I think it 
is a good bill and one that deserves the support of all Members.
  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Oberstar], the ranking member of the full 
committee.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me 
time.
  I want to express my great appreciation for the leadership Mr. 
Lipinski has demonstrated on our side on the Aviation Subcommittee on 
this and other aviation issues, and express again my appreciation for 
the cooperation that we have had in the bipartisan fashion from 
Chairman Shuster and Chairman Duncan on particularly this issue.
  For the National Transportation Safety Board, safety is not a 
partisan issue. It never has been within our committee, it never has 
been treated that way, and this legislation moves forward in that 
spirit.
  There is probably no entity in the Federal Government that has 
contributed so importantly to safety in all modes of transportation as 
the NTSB. Year after year, their recommendations, following upon 
investigation of accidents, of tragedies, and on many other occasions 
their studies, based upon reviewing the history of transportation 
incidents, have resulted in improvements in highway truck travel, 
marine safety, rail safety, and aviation safety, pipeline safety. We 
owe this very small Federal Government agency

[[Page H11333]]

a huge debt of gratitude. Its work is best appreciated every day when 
millions of takeoffs and landings occur across this country without 
incident.
  The bill before us is almost identical to the House-passed bill 
reauthorizing the National Transportation Safety Board. It also 
includes the Intermodel Safe Container Transportation Amendments Act of 
1996, which we passed last week.
  The bill includes a number of provisions requested by the NTSB and 
included in the House-passed bill to help NTSB in its accident 
investigation work or to encourage transportation entities to share 
important safety information with the NTSB without suffering a 
competitive disadvantage. These are important initiatives. They will 
help the safety board address potential safety problems before lives 
are lost.
  I have consistently maintained that the accident investigations 
conducted and the safety recommendations offered by the NTSB have made 
the lives of all Americans safer in every mode of travel.
  In addition, it is not well understood that the NTSB is often asked 
to participate, and often times to take the lead, in investigation of 
accidents overseas, particularly in aviation. The NTSB, for example, 
right now is participating in the investigation of the aircraft 
accident that occurred off the coast of the Dominican Republic.

  The NTSB does all of this work with an extraordinarily small staff, 
for the workload they undertake, of only 350 people. This particular 
year, the demands have been very heavy upon the NTSB as their 
investigators were literally required to be in two places at once.
  I recently talked to one of the NTSB investigators who had not been 
home to his family in over 2 months, going from the ValueJet crash to 
the TWA crash and literally spending his entire time on travel.
  The investments that we make in the NTSB are an investment in the 
future safety of every mode of travel. We cannot quantify the value of 
this agency's work with any degree of accuracy. Many people would say, 
well, if they had done this work, maybe the accidents would have been 
avoided anyway. I don't think so. I know better. I believe that, 
because I have seen the recommendations, and I know our committee has 
acted on the recommendations of the NTSB, and the FAA has accepted over 
85 percent of the recommendations made by the NTSB in aviation safety, 
and that the result has been to improve safety for the air-traveling 
public.
  We have worked together in the committee to improve the funding level 
for NTSB, not to increase the size of bureaucracy, but to modestly 
increase the size of the work force from 350 to 370 employees and to 
maintain that level of employment throughout the duration of this 
authorization. This increase will allow the board to add specialists in 
rail, highway, avionics, and human factors.
  The people employed by the NTSB, I must emphasize, are highly 
trained, skilled specialists in metallurgy, for example, in avionics, 
in electronics, in all these technical fields that require very 
meticulous investigative skills to detect the smallest deviation from 
normal, to get to the cause of a complex accident such as the ValuJet 
that went down in the Florida Everglades or the TWA 747 that went down 
in the waters off Long Island.
  We have come to expect also that the NTSB will treat the families of 
victims of crashes in a very sympathetic and sensitive and informative 
manner. This is another dimension of the work of the NTSB, not 
envisioned when it was created in 1967 when the Congress separated the 
NTSB out of the Department of Transportation and created it as an 
independent safety board, but this has come to be an important role of 
the NTSB.

  We know, and families have come to expect, that they will be treated 
with the dignity and the understanding and the sympathy and sensitivity 
that they deserve in those very tragic and heartfelt moments after the 
loss of a loved one.
  The bill also deals with legislation that we passed last week to 
correct the widely recognized shortcomings of the 1992 Intermodal Safe 
Container Transportation Act. With broad support from a consensus of 
transportation interests, the 1992 law was intended to encourage 
compliance with U.S. highway weight limits by ensuring that the party 
who first tenders cargo for intermodal shipment would be responsible 
for verifying the weight of that container and providing appropriate 
documentation.

                              {time}  1700

  However, as so often happens, the 1992 law did not go into effect. 
DOT could not write regulations to make it work. So the parties went 
back to the drawing board and, through negotiations and give and take 
on all sides, reached an agreement on how to achieve the goals of the 
1992 act without disrupting the flow of cargo.
  The bill raises the weight threshold from 10,000 to 29,000 pounds, 
and that dramatically reduces the number of affected containers but 
still ensure that shippers will identify containers likely to cause 
highway weight violations.
  These amendments also clarify that description of a container's 
contents must be more specific than ``freight all kinds'', a term of 
art in the trade, when 20 percent or more of the weight is from one 
commodity.
  This is a very important initiative. It is legislation that we have 
passed that now deserves to be enacted and signed into law by the 
President, and I urge passage of this legislation.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Minnesota [Mr. Oberstar].
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, as my chairman noted the retirement of a 
very dear friend and colleague of our committee staff, we have a 
retirement on our side of Dara Gideos, who is retiring from the 
committee but not retiring from work. She is going on to a new 
assignment with a very important association where she will have a new 
responsibility as an executive assistant.
  She has been a role model on our committee staff for dedication to 
duty, unrelenting hard work, long hours, weekends during crunch time. 
She has demonstrated exceptional organizational skills, actually 
organizing the materials in the Subcommittee on Aviation staff room so 
that we can find what we need when we need it.
  She is a willing volunteer who has gone beyond her assigned duties to 
see the jobs that need to be done and plunged in to do them no matter 
what the issue or the hour. She has brought zest and sparkle to her 
job, to our committee staff, and she has a special talent of giving a 
lift to everyone who works with her.
  We will miss Dara very, very much but we wish her well in her new 
career.
  Mr. Speaker, I submit for the Record a congratulatory letter from 
myself to Dara.

         Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of 
           Representatives,
                               Washington, DC, September 26, 1996.
     Ms. Dara Gideos,
     Falls Church, VA.
       Dear Dara: Congratulations on a truly exciting, as well as 
     earned and richly deserved, opportunity to serve as Executive 
     Assistant to the President of the General Aviation 
     Manufacturers Association. They are fortunate to have you and 
     you will reflect great credit on GAMA, as you have done on 
     our Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and 
     specifically the Aviation Subcommittee. You have been superb: 
     a role model for dedication to duty, unrelenting hard work, 
     particularly those long hours, evenings and weekends during 
     ``crunch'' time and for your exceptional organizational 
     skills.
       What has especially impressed me and your colleagues is the 
     initiative you have taken to reach beyond your assigned 
     responsibilities, to learn Surface, as well as Aviation, 
     issues in depth so that you could handle a wide range of 
     inquiries directed to the Committee each day. On your own 
     inspiration, you became the Committee's self-taught graphics 
     specialist and produced exceptional materials for the various 
     needs of the professional staff.
       You have always been so willing to volunteer beyond your 
     assigned duties, and to see what jobs needed to be done and 
     plunge in to help to do them no matter what the issue or hour 
     of the day.
       Aboave all, we will miss your sparkle, the zest you brought 
     to the Committee and that special talent of giving a lift to 
     everyone who came to know you.
       On many occasions I have quoted: ``Success is getting what 
     you want, happiness is wanting what you get''--you have 
     earned both. I join all your many friends on the Committee in 
     wishing you every success and happiness in your future 
     endeavors.

[[Page H11334]]

       Warmest personal regards.
           Sincerely,
                                          James L. Oberstar, M.C.,
                                        Ranking Democratic Member.

  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, 
and I certainly want to join in wishing Dara well. She not only has 
performed in a superb way, but I also understand that she was one of 
the best players on our committee's softball team, so we are certainly 
going to miss that as well.
  Mr. Speaker, with that, I urge our colleagues to support this 
bipartisan legislation.
  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, the Senate amendments to H.R. 3159, 
legislation which would reauthorize the National Transportation Safety 
Board, contain provisions that are similar to a bill, H.R. 4040, passed 
by this body last week aimed at promoting greater compliance with our 
highway truck weight laws.
  As we prepare to send this legislation to the President, I want to 
take this opportunity to note that the amendments to the Intermodal 
Safe Container Act of 1992 is the product of a consensus reached 
between the shipping, motor carrier and railroad industries. In this 
regard, I want to commend these entities for their good faith 
negotiations and willingness to compromise on what is today a product 
that is truly in the public interest.
  Mr. Speaker, in 1992 we passed legislation to encourage compliance 
with U.S. highway weight limits by requiring that an entity which ships 
containerized cargo verify the weight of the containers. These 
containers often are transported in an intermodal fashion, from ship to 
truck, or ship to railroad to truck, with final delivery made by trucks 
subject to our highway weight laws. The truckers must depend on the 
accuracy of the weight certification in determining their compliance 
with highway weight limits. Yet, if those certifications are 
inaccurate, and the trucker is found to be overweight, it is the 
trucker who must pay the fine even though he or she had no involvement 
in the packing of the container.
  Since 1992, DOT has attempted to issue regulations implementing the 
1992 act. While a final rule has been devised, DOT has delayed its 
implementation due to shortcomings it cannot administratively address 
due to the language of the 1992 law.
  The pending bill seeks to address these deficiencies by first, while 
continuing to require the shipper to certify the weight of the 
containers, the certification could be incorporated into shipping 
papers and may be 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, the weight threshold for container certification under 
this bill is set at 29,001 pounds. This limit, it is my understanding 
from both DOT and industry, is a more appropriate threshold than what 
is in current law.
  These are the major aspects of the legislation. I believe they will 
enhance compliance with our highway weight laws, and urge the adoption 
of this measure.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support 
of H.R. 3159, the National Transportation Safety Board [NTSB] 
Authorization Act, and in support of the Senate amendments.
  This bill provides a total of $133.5 million over 3 years for the 
activities of the NTSB. This funding level will allow the NTSB to hire 
an additional 20 employees to investigate transportation accidents.
  Given the recent crashes of a ValueJet flight in Florida and a TWA 
flight off the coast of Long Island, reauthorization of the National 
Transportation Safety Board and specifically, the hiring of 20 
additional inspectors, are both timely and necessary.
  This measure also prohibits the NTSB from releasing certain 
information on transportation accidents that occur overseas; exempts 
the NTSB from Freedom of Information Act requests for certain 
voluntarily provided safety information; allows the NTSB to charge fees 
for employees of other agencies to attend NTSB accident investigation 
classes; and clarifies implementation of the Intermodal Safe Container 
Transportation Act.
  I urge my colleagues to adopt the Senate amendments and pass the NTSB 
authorization and make our highway and skyways safer and more secure.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gutknecht). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster] that 
the House suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to the 
bill, H.R. 3159.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate amendment was 
concurrent in.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________