[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 14 (Thursday, February 6, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1104-S1106]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LUGAR (for himself, and Mr. Coats):
  S. 284. A bill to amend title 23, United States Code, to improve 
safety at public railway-highway crossings, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Environment and Public Works.


     the highway rail grade crossing safety formula enhancement act

 Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce 
legislation to provide a more effective method of targeting available 
Federal funds to enhance safety at our Nation's most hazardous highway-
rail grade crossings.
  I first introduced this measure during the 104th Congress following 2 
years of work to address a pressing public safety problem occurring in 
Indiana and other rail-intensive States. It is my hope this important 
legislation will be given thoughtful and thorough consideration this 
year as Congress moves to reauthorize the Intermodal Surface 
Transportation Efficiency Act [ISTEA]. It is unclear what the final 
program structure will look like, or what the specific Federal role 
will be in the transportation decisionmaking process. I will work this 
year to assure that the goals of this rail safety legislation are 
incorporated as part of an ISTEA reauthorization bill that creates a 
more streamlined, flexible Federal highway program to help States 
maintain safe, effective, and efficient transportation networks.
  In America today, several hundred people are killed and thousands 
more injured every year as a result of vehicle-train collisions at 
highway-rail grade crossings. A significant number of these accidents 
occur in rail-intensive States such as Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, 
California, and Texas. One quarter of the Nation's 168,000 public 
highway-rail grade crossings are located in these 5 States. They 
accounted for 38 percent of deaths and 32 percent of injuries caused by 
vehicle-train collisions nationwide during 1991-1993.
  My home State of Indiana ranks sixth in the Nation for number of 
total public grade crossings with about 6,700, and is annually among 
the top five States for numbers of accidents and fatalities caused by 
vehicle-train crashes.
  In 1994, I travelled across northern Indiana aboard a QSX-500 
locomotive and witnessed what engineers see every day--motorists 
darting across the railroad tracks before an oncoming train. From this 
experience, and from my work to improve safety at highway-rail grade 
crossings, I learned that engineering solutions, along with education 
and awareness about grade crossing safety, are key strategies that can 
effectively prevent grade crossing accidents.

[[Page S1105]]

  Responding to this disturbing national trend, I began working in 1993 
with Transportation Secretary Federico Pena and with the Indiana 
Department of Transportation to address this serious safety problem. We 
worked to find solutions that would help Indiana and other States make 
better use of available funds to target the Nation's most hazardous 
rail crossings.
  The Federal Government has played an important role in helping States 
eliminate accidents and fatalities at public highway-rail intersections 
since passage of the Highway Safety Act by Congress in 1973. This act 
created the Rail-Highway Crossing Program, also known as the Section 
130 Program. Since the program's inception, more than 28,000 
improvement projects have been undertaken--from installation of warning 
gates, lights and bells, to pavement improvements and grade separation 
construction projects.
  During the 103d Congress, I introduced grade crossing safety 
legislation to restore States' discretion over millions of Federal 
highway dollars lost as a result of noncompliance with the Federal 
motorcycle helmet law. Indiana and other States affected by this law 
were prohibited from using a portion of their highway construction 
dollars to improve safety at highway-rail grade crossings. I was 
pleased the Congress repealed the helmet law penalty in 1995 as part of 
the National Highway System designation legislation. States now have 
greater flexibility to use their highway dollars for improvements at 
rail crossings, and for other transportation priorities.
  In March 1994, Senator Coats and I asked the General Accounting 
Office to conduct a survey of rail safety programs in Indiana and other 
rail intensive States experiencing a high number of accidents at 
highway-rail grade crossings. Released in August 1995, the report 
``Railroad Safety: Status of Efforts to Improve Railroad Crossing 
Safety'' evaluated the best uses of limited Federal funds for rail 
crossing safety, reviewed policy changes that help State and local 
governments address rail safety issues, and recommended strategies to 
encourage interagency and intergovernmental cooperation.
  The report found that in addition to States' efforts to reduce 
accidents and fatalities through emphasis on education programs, 
engineering solutions, and enforcement of traffic laws, changes to the 
Federal funding formulas would target highway funds to areas of 
greatest risk.
  Under, ISTEA, the Section 130 Program was continued--with a portion 
of the 10 percent of a State's STP safety funds dedicated to highway-
rail crossing improvement and hazard elimination projects.
  The GAO reported that key indicators or ``risk factors'' used to 
assess rail-grade crossing safety are not taken into account when STP 
funds are distributed among States. The GAO outlined the Federal 
Highway Administration's [FHWA] work to review options for STP formula 
changes that adjust the current flat percentage allocation to include 
these risk factors. Applying these factors to the funding formula 
creates a more targeted and focused process that maximizes the 
effectiveness of Federal funds.
  The risk factors criteria considered by FHWA include a State's share 
of the national total for number of public crossings, number of public 
crossings with passive warning devices, total number of accidents, and 
total number of fatalities occurring as a result of vehicle-train 
collisions at highway-rail grade crossings.
  For example, while Indiana received 3.4 percent of section 130 funds 
in fiscal year 1995, the Hoosier State experienced 6.1 percent of the 
Nation's accidents and 5.9 percent of the fatalities as a result of 
vehicle-train collisions from 1991 to 1993. In addition, Indiana has 
about 4 percent of the Nation's public rail crossings.
  Preliminary estimates of STP apportionments under a risk-based 
apportionment formula indicate Indiana's share of section 130 funds 
could increase by 49 percent, from the fiscal year 1997 level of $4.9 
to $7.3 million. Overall, about 21 States would receive a substantial 
increase in section 130 funds for grade crossing improvements, 
including: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, 
Louisiana, Mississippi, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, 
South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin.
  While the Indiana Department of Transportation [INDOT] spends over 
$10 million a year to improve highway-rail grade crossings, a 49-
percent increase in section 130 funds would allow INDOT and other State 
departments of transportation additional resources to improve hazardous 
highway-rail grade crossings.
  The Formula Enhancement Act addresses the allocation problem by 
adjusting the funding formula for the STP to include an apportionment 
of funds to States for the section 130 Program based on a 3-year 
average of these risk factors. I want to express my appreciation to the 
FHWA and to the Federal Railroad Administration for their valuable 
assistance in preparing this legislation.

  This legislation will help improve the way the Federal Government 
targets existing resources to enhance safety on our Nation's highways 
and along our rail corridors. This legislation does not call for new 
Federal spending, but rather for a more equitable and effective 
distribution of existing highway funds to States to enhance safety at 
dangerous highway-rail grade crossings.
  This legislation addresses one aspect of the grade crossing safety 
problem by refining a key provision of the existing ISTEA law. Using 
this proposal as a foundation, I am hopeful the Congress will craft 
provisions for the highway reauthorization bill that recognize the 
overall efforts of States to implement comprehensive rail safety 
programs. An effective grade crossing safety program integrates 
construction improvement projects with driver education and awareness 
programs, crossing closures, vigorous enforcement of crossing traffic 
laws and assessments of crossing inventories to identify the most 
hazardous crossings in a State.
  I will work with my colleagues this year to help assure Congress 
passes highway reauthorization legislation that makes the best use of 
available Federal resources while encouraging States to continue 
pursuing comprehensive efforts to address their public grade crossing 
safety requirements. My intent with this legislation is not to penalize 
certain States or to create winners or losers in the process of 
distributing Federal highway funds, but to find the best solution that 
will eliminate these preventable tragedies.
  At this time, it is unclear what direction the next highway 
authorization bill will take, what the Federal role will be in 
maintaining the national transportation infrastructure, and what 
current ISTEA programs will be renewed. Last year, I endorsed Senator 
Warner's reauthorization proposal to provide a more streamlined and 
flexible highway program that returns resources and authority back to 
the States. My intent with this legislation during this reauthorization 
process is not to protect a particular highway program or specific 
Federal set-aside requirement of the expiring ISTEA law, but rather to 
continue emphasizing an issue of great importance to my State of 
Indiana and to other States experiencing rail safety problems. I will 
advocate grade crossing safety as a priority within the context of 
other key funding and flexibility issues that are vital to the 
continued safety and mobility of Hoosiers traveling on Indiana 
roadways. I am hopeful this legislation will reinforce the importance 
of highway-rail grade crossing safety as the Congress moves forward 
with the national discussion of U.S. transportation policy for the 21st 
century.
  Continued emphasis on finding new and better ways to target existing 
resources to enhance safety at highway-rail grade crossings will 
contribute to the overall effort in Congress and in the States to 
prevent accidents, save lives, and sustain a balanced and effective 
transportation network for the Nation.
 Mr. COATS. Mr. President, Senator Lugar and I are introducing 
today legislation which will more effectively direct Federal funding to 
those States which have the greatest needs with highway-rail grade 
crossings.
  We first introduced this bill in the 104th Congress after recognizing 
a critical deficiency at rail grade crossings which has contributed 
senseless, tragic deaths over the years.
  This year as the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act 
[ISTEA]

[[Page S1106]]

is reauthorized, it is my hope that the committee will seriously 
consider the needs of rail-intensive States, such as Indiana. While the 
final structure of ISTEA is still unknown, I will work to ensure that 
the objectives of this legislation are incorporated in the final 
highway bill.
  Rail transportation is important in Indiana, playing a key role in 
the State's agriculture and manufacturing economy. Much of the rail 
activity goes through northwest Indiana which accounts for 75 percent 
of the State's rail crossing accidents. In 1994, Indiana ranked third 
in the Nation with 263 rail crossing accidents, resulting in the deaths 
of 27 people. Six percent of all rail crossing accidents in America 
took place in Indiana and 5.9 percent of the fatalities occurred there.
  Several years ago, I became aware that Indiana and a number of other 
States had a critical problem with rail accidents. Senator Lugar and I 
asked the General Accounting Office [GAO] to examine the safety 
conditions in States with a high concentration of rail crossings. The 
GAO report, completed in August 1995, revealed that while Indiana had a 
large number of rail crossings--6,700, the sixth largest number of all 
States--the State received only 3.4 percent of the Federal funding 
available specifically targeted to prevent such tragedies.
  The Section 130 Program was established in 1973 to help States reduce 
accidents, injuries, and fatalities at public railroad crossings. In 
the first 10 years of the program, accidents declined by 61 percent and 
deaths were reduced by 34 percent. Since 1985, little progress was made 
toward further reducing these numbers.
  The problem becomes apparent when you realize that many of the States 
with the highest concentration of crossings, number of accidents, and 
fatalities receive less money than States that do not have as great a 
need. Thus, the GAO included that the Federal Government should examine 
funding formulas and consider using risk factors in determining how to 
distribute section 130 highway dollars to States for rail safety 
purposes.
  The current formula funding--based on 10 percent of a State's surface 
transportation program [STP] funding--does not take into account such 
essential criteria as a State's total number of crossing, amount of 
train traffic, nor the number of accidents and fatalities. I believe it 
is critical that these risk factors be considered in determining how 
much money a State should receive for rail safety under the current 
funding structure.
  The formula enhancement bill would correct this flaw in the current 
formula. Based on the GAO report and work with the Federal Highway 
Administration, we crafted this legislation to ensure that States with 
the greatest risk receive more money. This bill does not increase 
Federal spending. Rather it ensures that money is targeted to those 
States with the most serious safety concerns.
  Using this more equitable way of disbursing funds, Indiana--which 
received $4.9 million in fiscal year 1997--could receive $7.3 million 
in fiscal year 1998. Overall, 21 States would benefit substantially 
from increased funding to help reduce rail crossing accidents.
  Clearly, this bill addresses one aspect of law, providing a fairer 
distribution of resources. But money alone will not solve all the 
problems related to rail crossing accidents. A comprehensive plan to 
educate people about the dangers at rail crossings must be developed. I 
support the efforts of programs like Operation Lifesaver which works 
effectively to get information to citizens. Continued cooperation among 
all levels of government: local, State, and Federal is essential to 
stop these sort of tragedies.
  There are many issues facing the Congress this year as we decide 
funding levels, formulas, and determine the role of the Federal 
Government in the context of the highway authorization. I supported 
Senator Warner's legislation last year to provide for a streamlined, 
flexible, and equitable highway program. I continue to believe this 
approach is best for the States to address their fundamental needs and 
priorities. The STEP-21 proposal would ensure that States receive a 
fairer return on highway funding and the flexibility to spend the 
resources according to State and local priorities. My purpose in 
introducing this rail legislation at this time is to draw attention to 
this serious problem facing Indiana and other States and to show my 
determination to make rail crossing safety a priority as we make the 
key decisions on ISTEA.
  We cannot afford to neglect the safety of our citizens at rail grade 
crossings. We must find ways to address these critical problems. 
Overall, the safety of our highways and rail is essential as we examine 
and make decisions on the future of our transportation system. I look 
forward to working with my colleagues to ensure that our focus is 
indeed comprehensive in addressing our transportation needs.
                                 ______