[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 14, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H329-H334]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RAIL PASSENGER DISASTER FAMILY ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2001
Mr. REYNOLDS. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules,
I call up House Resolution 36 and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 36
Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this
resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule
XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the
Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of
the bill (H.R. 554) to establish a program, coordinated by
the National Transportation Safety Board, of assistance to
families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents.
The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with.
General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not
exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the
chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure. After general debate the
bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute
rule. Each section of the bill shall be considered as read.
During consideration of the bill for amendment, the Chairman
of the Committee of the Whole may accord priority in
recognition on the basis of whether the Member offering an
amendment has caused it to be printed in the portion of the
Congressional Record designated for that purpose in clause 8
of rule XVIII. Amendments so printed shall be considered as
read. At the conclusion of consideration of the bill for
amendment the Committee shall rise and report the bill to the
House with such amendments as may have been adopted. The
previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill
and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening
motion except one motion to recommit with or without
instructions.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Emerson). The gentleman from New York
(Mr. Reynolds) is recognized for 1 hour.
(Mr. REYNOLDS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks, and include extraneous material.)
Mr. REYNOLDS. Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield
the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms.
Slaughter), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume.
During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the
purpose of debate only.
Madam Speaker, House Resolution 36 is an open rule providing for the
consideration of H.R. 554, a bill to establish a program coordinated by
the National Transportation Safety Board, to offer assistance to the
families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents.
The rule provides for 1 hour of general debate, equally divided and
controlled by the chairman and the ranking member of the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure. The rule also provides that the bill
shall be open for amendment by section at any point and authorizes the
chairman of the Committee of the Whole to accord priority in
recognition to Members who have preprinted their amendments in the
Congressional Record. Finally, the rule provides for one motion to
recommit, with or without instruction.
Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the bill before us, H.R.
554, the
[[Page H330]]
Rail Passenger Disaster Family Assistance Act. This bill is
substantially identical to legislation with the same name passed by
voice vote in the 106th Congress on October 4, 1999. Unfortunately,
that legislation was never taken up by the Senate before the
adjournment of the 106th Congress.
Congress addressed a similar issue in 1996 by passing the Aviation
Disaster Family Assistance Act of 1996. In response to the Value Jet
and TWA 800 tragedies, Congress approved this measure to coordinate and
distribute information to family members in an efficient and sensitive
manner.
The next logical step for Congress to take is to extend the same
service to families of victims of railroad disasters. The nature of
tragedies is that they occur suddenly and without warning. The manner
in which these situations are handled in the immediate hours and days
following the incident are critical. Providing information quickly and
accurately not only saves lives, but offers assurances to family
members and loved ones.
In fact, just last week, on Monday, February 5, 2001, an Amtrak train
caring 98 passengers collided with a lumber freight train in my home
State of New York. Fortunately the accident was not fatal, but there
were sent to area hospitals several who were affected by the railroad
incident due to serious injuries.
This is a poignant example of the need to synchronize search and
rescue efforts with the dissemination of information to family members
in the face of catastrophe.
This legislation establishes points of contact both within the
National Transportation Safety Board and from an independent nonprofit
organization in order to coordinate emotional care and support to
family members, directly addressing the need to keep families informed.
Madam Speaker, I would like to commend the chairman of the Committee
on Transportation and Infrastructure, the gentleman from Alaska (Mr.
Young), and the ranking member, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr.
Oberstar), for their hard work on this measure.
I would also like to recognize the efforts of my colleague and
western New York neighbor, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Quinn), the
newly appointed chairman of the Subcommittee on Railroads.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this rule and the
underlying legislation.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. SLAUGHTER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the customary 30
minutes.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this open rule. The underlying
bill is noncontroversial and was passed under suspension of the rules
last Congress by a voice vote.
The measure is intended to deal with the tragedy of rail accidents
involving substantial on-board casualties. The key features of H.R. 554
include procedures to assure timely and sensitive handling of
information needed by accident victims and their families. This
information is coordinated among the National Transportation Safety
Board, the rail passenger carrier, and a designated nonprofit
charitable organization. The designated organization is in charge of
providing necessary counseling services, ensuring a private venue for
families to grieve, and assisting families in a variety of matters,
including a possible memorial service.
The legislation also protects the victims and their families against
unsolicited and intrusive contacts by attorneys in the immediate post-
accident environment, when the families may be in shock and not
emotionally capable of making sound decisions about possible legal
redress. Moreover, the bill also ensures orderly preparedness by rail
carriers for accidents by requiring comprehensive plans to be in place
governing each carrier's procedures for handling post-accident
information and family assistance.
Madam Speaker, again, I know of no controversy surrounding this
measure.
Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, just in closing, today is a special day for my good
friend, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Quinn), as he now chairs the
Subcommittee on Railroads. I know how proud his mother and father are,
as his father Jack, Sr., was a career railroader in the Buffalo area.
So today I look forward to seeing the gentleman from New York (Mr.
Quinn) bring this bill on as his first as a subcommittee chairman.
Mr. REYNOLDS. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, I
yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on
the resolution.
The previous question was ordered.
The resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Reynolds). Pursuant to House Resolution
36 and rule XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the
Whole House on the State of the Union for the consideration of the
bill, H.R. 554.
{time} 1027
In the Committee of the Whole
Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the
Whole House on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill
(H.R. 554) to establish a program, coordinated by the National
Transportation Safety Board, of assistance to families of passengers
involved in rail passenger accidents, with Mrs. Emerson in the chair.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered as having
been read the first time.
Under the rule, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Quinn) and the
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Clement) each will control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. Quinn).
Mr. QUINN. Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Chairman, before I rise in support of our bill this morning, I
would like to welcome the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Clement) as my
partner on the new Subcommittee on Railroads. As I think almost
everyone in the House realizes this year, the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure added a separate Subcommittee on
Railroads.
The gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Clement) and I have been friends
for quite some time on the full committee; and I am delighted to join
with him this next term, the next couple of years, to bring legislation
to the floor.
While we are not able to do commercial breaks here, I would like to
offer to Mr. Clement a copy of Stephen Ambrose's book entitled
``Nothing Like It in the World,'' which talks about the men and the
women who built the Transcontinental Railroad between 1863 and 1869, as
a reference tool.
{time} 1030
Having been an English teacher, I say to the gentleman, there will
not be any quiz, but I have my own copy of this. As we work our way
through those difficult, difficult subcommittee hearings of ours, we
will find some time to remember why we do the work we do when we see
how the people did it for us some century-and-a-half ago.
Mr. CLEMENT. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. QUINN. I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee.
Mr. CLEMENT. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentleman very much for his
gift.
Mr. QUINN. Madam Chairman, I rise in support of the Rail Passenger
Disaster Family Assistance Act, a commonsense bipartisan bill to
address a gap in our current transportation laws.
The bill is substantially identical to H.R. 2681 approved by the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in the full House, I
might add, in our last 106th Congress, but never acted upon by the
other body in the Senate.
I am pleased that this is the first piece of legislation from our
committee under our new chairman, the gentleman from Alaska (Mr.
Young). As chairman of the newly formed Subcommittee on Railroads, I
strongly support the bill, and urge our colleagues to do the same.
Members may recall that several years ago after some terrible,
terrible
[[Page H331]]
incidents, most notably the 1996 ValuJet and TWA crashes, the families
of crash victims were poorly treated by the carriers, the media, and by
some lawyers.
The Congress responded by enacting an aviation law that placed the
National Transportation Safety Board and suitable private charitable
organizations in charge of coordinating efforts to protect the privacy
of crash victims' families, and to assure that they receive the most
current information possible from the carrier.
The law has been quite successful in improving the situation for
crash victims' families. Since its enactment, it has been updated and
expanded in 1997, and again in 1999.
Today, H.R. 554, this bill that the gentleman from Tennessee and I
bring to the floor, is virtually a clone of that aviation law, but it
is applied to rail passenger service, both intercity and high-speed
rail.
Although Amtrak is currently the principal provider of intercity rail
passenger service, a number of States are considering forming compacts
to support their own bid for rail passenger services.
We understand that, Madam Chairman, necessarily this bill cannot
track the aviation statute exactly. We understand that. For example,
some passenger trains with unreserved open boarding situations will not
have a definite passenger manifest sheet comparable to an airline
passenger list. Generally, however, this bill follows the aviation
model.
The National Transportation Safety Board is given the authority to
invoke the procedures of the bill, including designating the NTSB
Director of Family Support Services for the accident as a point of
contact for all the families, and to act as liaison between the
families and the passenger carrier.
The NTSB has also authorized a designated independent charitable
organization, for example, the American Red Cross, for coordinating
emotional care and support activities for the families. NTSB is also
made primarily responsible at the Federal level for facilitating
recovery and identification of victims, and providing relevant
information to the same families.
The rail carrier itself in this bill is required to cooperate with
the designated charitable organization to provide mental health and
counseling services to the families, provide for a private grieving
environment, to maintain contact with the families, and also to arrange
any appropriate memorial service.
The NTSB is also required to give prior briefings to the families
before public disclosure of any information about the accident.
Unsolicited attorney contacts with the families or victims themselves,
other than the railroad employees, are prohibited for 45 days following
the accident.
To ensure that the rail and passenger carriers are prepared to
implement the law in the event of an accident, the bill requires each
carrier to prepare a response plan and to submit that plan to the
Department of Transportation and the NTSB within 6 months of enactment
detailing how the carrier will carry out the specific family assistance
obligations under the law.
Let me also note for the Record, Madam Chairman, that when the
substantially identical bill was reviewed by the Congressional Budget
Office, CBO stated in its estimate in August of 1999 that this
legislation ``would have no significant impact on the Federal budget.''
As to intergovernmental mandates, CBO found that the bill would not
require States to change laws or take action. There would be no
significant State costs, and these or any costs involved would not meet
the threshold minimum of the Unfunded Mandates Act reform.
The details of these evaluations, of course, are printed in the
report of the predecessor bill on House Report 106-313. I urge prompt
approval and careful consideration of a very bipartisan commonsense
approach.
Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CLEMENT. Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Chairman, I want to congratulate my good friend, my colleague,
the gentleman from the great State of New York (Mr. Quinn), on becoming
chairman of the Subcommittee on Railroads.
I want to also thank him for this wonderful book about building the
transcontinental railroad. He knows that I am a big railroad buff, and
I might say that my father-in-law, Noble Carson, was an old railroad
employee from the old L&N Railroad in Nashville, Tennessee, where he
retired. He is now deceased.
I am a former college president and I am a real historian anyway of
the history of this country, and how we have been able to build that
transcontinental railroad in just a few years. In this book, it
describes how one can build a railroad in just a few years, so we ought
to be able to do great things working together on a bipartisan basis on
behalf of the Committee on Railroads and our colleagues in this great
country.
Madam Chairman, I rise to express my support for the Rail Passenger
Disaster Family Assistance Act of 2001. This legislation gives
relatives of those injured or killed in railroad accidents the same
rights as the families of airline disaster victims.
These families deserve the same sensitive treatment we afford to
others following air disasters. What could be worse than having someone
you love involved in a railroad disaster, only to find that there is no
place to call for information, no one to explain whether one's husband,
wife, son, or daughter was on that train, whether they were injured or
deceased, but instead having to wait for hours to get any word, and at
the same time, being hounded by lawyers for a lawsuit.
This legislation addresses all of those issues. It calls for the rail
passenger carrier to have a plan for providing and publicizing a toll-
free number for families to call. The carrier must outline a process
for notifying the families before notifying the public. This
notification should be carried out in person, when possible.
This legislation ensures that families will be consulted about all
remains and personal effects, to the best of the rail passenger
carrier's ability. It says these possessions will be returned to the
family unless needed for the crash investigation, and that unclaimed
possessions will be held for 18 months.
Madam Chairman, this legislation gives the families of all passengers
the right to be consulted about the construction by the rail passenger
carrier of any monument for the disaster victims. It designates a point
of contact person to act as a liaison for families. It provides for
mental health and counseling services for family members, and it
prohibits unsolicited communications concerning lawsuits.
These assurances extend to the families of the employees, as well as
the passengers, as all deserve, compassionate treatment. Every time we
put a loved one on a train in this country, we should feel confident
that he or she is safe. Should a tragic accident occur, however, we
have a right to know we will be informed, treated fairly, and helped
through the process.
This legislation does just that. The Railroad Passenger Disaster
Family Assistance Act offers the same treatment to families affected by
rail disasters as we currently ensure for those affected by airline
disasters. Legislating consistent treatment for both these groups is
the fair thing and the right thing to do.
As an advocate of increased passenger rail alternatives for our
traveling population, I feel very strongly that this legislation is
exactly the type of framework we need in place to deal with unforeseen
tragedies. While we work harder and invest more funds to prevent such
rail incidents, we still must be prepared at all times to react
appropriately and in a timely manner.
I am very pleased that this Congress is moving so quickly to pass
H.R. 554. I urge our Senate colleagues to move quickly on passage so we
can give this bill to President Bush as soon as possible.
Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. QUINN. Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I would like to thank the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Clement). I
also would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff on our side
and his side for preparing the legislation this morning.
[[Page H332]]
While we will receive a lot of advice during the course of his term,
in the next few years I am expecting advice from the gentleman and his
staff, from my staff and others, but I am also expecting some advice
from one Jack Quinn, Senior, back home in Buffalo, New York, who put in
over 30 years at the South buffalo Railroad, who will also offer me
some advice, and offered me a little this morning already. He called to
say that I need a haircut. As we go through this, I look forward to
working with the gentleman from Tennessee.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 554,
the Rail Passenger Disaster Family Assistance Act of 2001.
Although passenger trains are a very safe way for people to travel,
even railroads sometimes have accidents that cause serious injuries and
loss of life. When rail passenger accidents do happen, they can occur
in relatively remote locations and/or in the middle of the night. Moden
communications allow for the transmission of news of the event to
travel around the nation only minutes after it happens. Families with
relatives on board can only hope and pray that their loved ones were
not among those killed or injured. In some cases, the families are not
even certain whether their loved one was on the train that had the
accident. The tragic accident at Bourbonnais, IL, in March 1999 that
took the lives of 11 Amtrak passengers and injured 49 others was the
most recent such tragedy.
At these times, it is imperative that the needs of the families of
the accident victims be treated with as much compassion as possible and
that their need for information about their loved ones be promptly and
accurately addressed.
The purpose of this legislation is to help create a process that, at
a minimum, does not make an already highly emotional situation even
more traumatic for family members. It requires that all passenger
railroads engaged in interstate transportation submit a plan to the
Secretary of Transportation and the Chairman of the National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to address the needs of families of
passengers involved in any railroad accident where there is major loss
of life. The plan must address a number of key areas, including the
publication of a reliable toll-free number to handle calls from family
members, procedures for developing passenger lists, and a process for
notifying family members. In addition, the plan must specify the
ongoing obligations (such as the disposition of the traveler's personal
effects) that the carrier has with respect to the information and
services to be provided to the family members throughout the duration
of the disaster.
In recognition of the need for a professional and reliable focal
point to be responsible for interacting with family members, H.R. 554
provides that the Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board
will identify a Board employee to serve as the Federal Government's
point of contact and serve as a liaison between the railroads and the
family members. The bill further instructs the NTSB Chairman to
designate an independent nonprofit organization that has experience
with disaster relief efforts, such as the Red Cross or the Salvation
Army, to be responsible for coordinating the emotional care and support
of the families of passengers involved in the accident. At such trying
times, it is extremely important that families be handled by
individuals and organizations experienced in providing compassionate
assistance.
I would like to stress, however, that this legislation is not in
response to any inaction or any inappropriate actions by Amtrak.
Indeed, Amtrak has already adopted many of the elements called for in
this bill, and Amtrak supports this bill that largely codifies its
current practices. However, under the Amtrak Reform and Accountability
Act of 1997, Amtrak is no longer the only railroad that can conduct
interstate rail passenger operations. Since that law was enacted, a
number of states have begun efforts to launch new conventional or high-
speed rail passenger services. Therefore, we need to be prepared for a
future of multiple rail passenger service providers.
One element of this bill I find particularly important is the
prohibition against unsolicited communications by attorneys until 45
days following an accident. In times of tragedy, family members are
especially vulnerable to the unscrupulous who would prey upon them.
Only last week, an Amtrak passenger train rear-ended a CSX freight
train just outside of Syracuse, NY. More than 60 people were injured,
many of whom were physically challenged and traveling as a group. Along
with the emergency responders, there were two men at the scene
soliciting for legal work related to the accident. The men were handing
out business cards and other material. This kind of shameless behavior
is unethical; our bill would make it also illegal.
Although I am pleased that in its Statement of Administration Policy
the Bush Administration supports passage of this important bill, I am
concerned that the Administration indicates that it believes there may
be First Amendment problems with this section of the bill (Section
2(g)(2)). To the best of my knowledge, the Administration has not
contacted the Committee to outline the reasons for its concerns with
the prohibition on unsolicited contact by attorneys after a rail
accident. I hope that the Administration is aware of the 1995 Supreme
Court decision in Florida Bar v. Went For It, Inc., in which the Court
ruled that the First Amendment did not prohibit the Florida Bar from
prohibiting lawyers from sending targeted direct mail solicitations to
victims and relatives for 30 days after an accident. I see no
difference between this decision and the prohibition in our bill.
In addition, I hope the Administration is aware that, under current
law, this same type of prohibition applies to unsolicited
communications to families of the victims of airline crashes. In the
Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act of 1996, we recognized the
importance of the need to provide families of aircraft accident victims
with reliable information and compassionate treatment. I have spoken
with aviation accident families and they have told me that the 1996
legislation has worked well in assisting families in the most difficult
of times. During our consideration of that Act, the Association of
Trial Lawyers of America wrote to the Committee regarding that Act's
aviation disaster assistance provisions and stated, in relevant part:
* * * This legislation will lend much-needed support to the
families of victims of airline disasters.
In particular, the Association strongly supports sec. 5.
This provision states the sense of Congress that state bar
associations should adopt rules prohibiting unsolicited
contact concerning a legal action with victims or aggrieved
families within 30 days of an accident. ATLA's longstanding
Code of Contact goes even further, and entirely prohibits
unsolicited contact, regardless of when the accident
occurred. We believe that the 30 day time period you provide
in the bill is a reasonable minimum period during which
victims and their families should not be bothered against
their will with the sometimes painful question of
compensation.
However, we urge the committee to go further, by
strengthening this bill to also prohibiting unsolicited
contact by anyone concerning potential claims they or their
loved ones may have. Until a family decides to consider its
options with regard to compensation, no party should take
advantage of them during this delicate emotional time.--
(Association of Trial Lawyers of America, September 10, 1996)
I applaud the Association of Trial Lawyers and the many State Bar
Associations that have supported our efforts to stop this unethical
conduct. I look forward to working with the Administration to address
any new concerns that it has.
We have provided some solace to the families of victims of aviation
disasters. We should do no less for those who choose to ride our
nation's passenger trains.
Mr. RAHALL. Madam Chairman, I am pleased to support the Rail
Passenger Family Assistance Act. This bill should be enacted into law
because it is the honorable thing to do. In the 106th Congress, I
cosponsored a similar bill, H.R. 2681, which the House passed on
October 4, 1999, by voice vote, but the Senate did not act on the bill.
I look forward to a different outcome this year.
We all hope and pray that our constituents will get to their
destinations safely while traveling. But the harsh reality is that
sometimes tragedies do occur. Sometimes a plane or train crashes,
causing a major loss of life.
In times like these, when families face the shock and pain of losing
a loved one, the least we can do is provide every possible
consideration to them, including grief counseling and general emotional
support, ensuring their privacy, and helping them to arrange a fitting
memorial service.
After the Valujet and TWA 800 airplane tragedies in 1996, this type
of family assistance was established for the families of loved ones
lost in airplane crashes, but such services do not exist for families
of those lost in interstate and intercity rail passenger service.
While Amtrak has established an informal family-assistance program,
there is no federal law requiring these services for families of
victims of railroad disasters. In addition, because the 1997 Amtrak
Reform and Accountability Act mandated competition in intercity rail
passenger service, Amtrak will no longer be the sole rail carrier. New
rail carriers will be established to compete with Amtrak. Such
competition demonstrates the need for the Federal Government to enact a
family assistance program.
Under the Rail Passenger Disaster Family Assistance Act that we are
considering today, a program will be established modeled after the
program that was established for families of victims of airline
disasters.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will designate one of
its employees to
[[Page H333]]
be the contact person within the Federal Government with victims'
families. That person's name and telephone number will be published,
and the person will be the liaison between the victims' families and
the rail carrier.
The NTSB will then designate an independent disaster-assistance
organization, such as the Red Cross, to focus on the emotional needs of
the families: providing grief counseling and a private place in which
to grieve, helping them to arrange memorial services and funeral
arrangements, and preventing contact by lawyers, or their agents, for
45 days after the tragedy, in order to help families to begin the
healing process before taking any possible legal action.
It is my hope that our constituents across the Nation will get to
their destinations safely when traveling by interstate or intercity
rail, whether it be the Amtrak Cardinal Line which passes through West
Virginia between Huntington and White Sulphur Springs, or any other
carrier anywhere in the Nation. However, when a rail tragedy does
happen, we must provide every possible consideration to victim's
families to help them through the tragedy. This bill does that.
Finally, the Rail Passenger Disaster Family Assistance Act will have
no significant impact on the Federal budget, based on the Congressional
Budget Office estimate for H.R. 2681, the bill passed by the House in
1999. Therefore, I encourage the Senate to consider the bill as soon as
possible, and the President sign it into law, for the sake of victims'
families.
Mr. CLEMENT. Madam Chairman, I have no further requests for time, and
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. QUINN. Madam Chairman, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The CHAIRMAN. All time for general debate has expired.
The bill shall be considered by sections as an original bill for the
purpose of amendment, and pursuant to the rule, each section is
considered read.
During consideration of the bill for amendment, the Chair may accord
priority in recognition to a Member offering an amendment that he or
she has printed in the designated place in the Congressional Record.
Those amendments will be considered read.
The Clerk will designate section 1.
The text of section 1 is as follows:
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 ``Rail Passenger Disaster
Family Assistance Act of 2001''.
The CHAIRMAN. Are there any amendments to section 1?
If not, the Clerk will designate section 2.
The text of section 2 is as follows:
SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE BY NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD TO
FAMILIES OF PASSENGERS INVOLVED IN RAIL
PASSENGER ACCIDENTS.
(a) In General.--Subchapter III of chapter 11 of title 49,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``Sec. 1138. Assistance to families of passengers involved in
rail passenger accidents
``(a) In General.--As soon as practicable after being
notified of a rail passenger accident within the United
States involving a rail passenger carrier and resulting in a
major loss of life, the Chairman of the National
Transportation Safety Board shall--
``(1) designate and publicize the name and phone number of
a director of family support services who shall be an
employee of the Board and shall be responsible for acting as
a point of contact within the Federal Government for the
families of passengers involved in the accident and a liaison
between the rail passenger carrier and the families; and
``(2) designate an independent nonprofit organization, with
experience in disasters and posttrauma communication with
families, which shall have primary responsibility for
coordinating the emotional care and support of the families
of passengers involved in the accident.
``(b) Responsibilities of the Board.--The Board shall have
primary Federal responsibility for--
``(1) facilitating the recovery and identification of
fatally injured passengers involved in an accident described
in subsection (a); and
``(2) communicating with the families of passengers
involved in the accident as to the roles of--
``(A) the organization designated for an accident under
subsection (a)(2);
``(B) Government agencies; and
``(C) the rail passenger carrier involved,
with respect to the accident and the post-accident
activities.
``(c) Responsibilities of Designated Organization.--The
organization designated for an accident under subsection
(a)(2) shall have the following responsibilities with respect
to the families of passengers involved in the accident:
``(1) To provide mental health and counseling services, in
coordination with the disaster response team of the rail
passenger carrier involved.
``(2) To take such actions as may be necessary to provide
an environment in which the families may grieve in private.
``(3) To meet with the families who have traveled to the
location of the accident, to contact the families unable to
travel to such location, and to contact all affected families
periodically thereafter until such time as the organization,
in consultation with the director of family support services
designated for the accident under subsection (a)(1),
determines that further assistance is no longer needed.
``(4) To arrange a suitable memorial service, in
consultation with the families.
``(d) Passenger Lists.--
``(1) Requests for passenger lists.--
``(A) Requests by director of family support services.--It
shall be the responsibility of the director of family support
services designated for an accident under subsection (a)(1)
to request, as soon as practicable, from the rail passenger
carrier involved in the accident a list, which is based on
the best available information at the time of the request, of
the names of the passengers that were aboard the rail
passenger carrier's train involved in the accident. A rail
passenger carrier shall use reasonable efforts, with respect
to its unreserved trains, and passengers not holding
reservations on its other trains, to ascertain the names of
passengers aboard a train involved in an accident.
``(B) Requests by designated organization.--The
organization designated for an accident under subsection
(a)(2) may request from the rail passenger carrier involved
in the accident a list described in subparagraph (A).
``(2) Use of information.--The director of family support
services and the organization may not release to any person
information on a list obtained under paragraph (1) but may
provide information on the list about a passenger to the
family of the passenger to the extent that the director of
family support services or the organization considers
appropriate.
``(e) Continuing Responsibilities of the Board.--In the
course of its investigation of an accident described in
subsection (a), the Board shall, to the maximum extent
practicable, ensure that the families of passengers involved
in the accident--
``(1) are briefed, prior to any public briefing, about the
accident and any other findings from the investigation; and
``(2) are individually informed of and allowed to attend
any public hearings and meetings of the Board about the
accident.
``(f) Use of Rail Passenger Carrier Resources.--To the
extent practicable, the organization designated for an
accident under subsection (a)(2) shall coordinate its
activities with the rail passenger carrier involved in the
accident to facilitate the reasonable use of the resources of
the carrier.
``(g) Prohibited Actions.--
``(1) Actions to impede the board.--No person (including a
State or political subdivision) may impede the ability of the
Board (including the director of family support services
designated for an accident under subsection (a)(1)), or an
organization designated for an accident under subsection
(a)(2), to carry out its responsibilities under this section
or the ability of the families of passengers involved in the
accident to have contact with one another.
``(2) Unsolicited communications.--No unsolicited
communication concerning a potential action for personal
injury or wrongful death may be made by an attorney
(including any associate, agent, employee, or other
representative of an attorney) or any potential party to the
litigation to an individual (other than an employee of the
rail passenger carrier) injured in the accident, or to a
relative of an individual involved in the accident, before
the 45th day following the date of the accident.
``(3) Prohibition on actions to prevent mental health and
counseling services.--No State or political subdivision may
prevent the employees, agents, or volunteers of an
organization designated for an accident under subsection
(a)(2) from providing mental health and counseling services
under subsection (c)(1) in the 30-day period beginning on the
date of the accident. The director of family support services
designated for the accident under subsection (a)(1) may
extend such period for not to exceed an additional 30 days if
the director determines that the extension is necessary to
meet the needs of the families and if State and local
authorities are notified of the determination.
``(h) Definitions.--In this section, the following
definitions apply:
``(1) Rail passenger accident.--The term `rail passenger
accident' means any rail passenger disaster occurring in the
provision of--
``(A) interstate intercity rail passenger transportation
(as such term is defined in section 24102); or
``(B) interstate or intrastate high-speed rail (as such
term is defined in section 26105) transportation,
regardless of its cause or suspected cause.
``(2) Rail passenger carrier.--The term `rail passenger
carrier' means a rail carrier providing--
``(A) interstate intercity rail passenger transportation
(as such term is defined in section 24102); or
``(B) interstate or intrastate high-speed rail (as such
term is defined in section 26105) transportation,
[[Page H334]]
except that such term shall not include a tourist, historic,
scenic, or excursion rail carrier.
``(3) Passenger.--The term `passenger' includes--
``(A) an employee of a rail passenger carrier aboard a
train;
``(B) any other person aboard the train without regard to
whether the person paid for the transportation, occupied a
seat, or held a reservation for the rail transportation; and
``(C) any other person injured or killed in the accident.
``(i) Limitation on Statutory Construction.--Nothing in
this section may be construed as limiting the actions that a
rail passenger carrier may take, or the obligations that a
rail passenger carrier may have, in providing assistance to
the families of passengers involved in a rail passenger
accident.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for such
chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to
section 1137 the following:
``1138. Assistance to families of passengers involved in rail passenger
accidents.''.
The CHAIRMAN. Are there any amendments to section 2?
If not, the Clerk will designate section 3.
The text of section 3 is as follows:
SEC. 3. RAIL PASSENGER CARRIER PLANS TO ADDRESS NEEDS OF
FAMILIES OF PASSENGERS INVOLVED IN RAIL
PASSENGER ACCIDENTS.
(a) In General.--Part C of subtitle V of title 49, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following
new chapter:
``CHAPTER 251--FAMILY ASSISTANCE
``Sec.
``25101. Plans to address needs of families of passengers involved in
rail passenger accidents.
``Sec. 25101. Plans to address needs of families of
passengers involved in rail passenger accidents
``(a) Submission of Plans.--Not later than 6 months after
the date of the enactment of this section, each rail
passenger carrier shall submit to the Secretary of
Transportation and the Chairman of the National
Transportation Safety Board a plan for addressing the needs
of the families of passengers involved in any rail passenger
accident involving a train of the rail passenger carrier and
resulting in a major loss of life.
``(b) Contents of Plans.--A plan to be submitted by a rail
passenger carrier under subsection (a) shall include, at a
minimum, the following:
``(1) A plan for publicizing a reliable, toll-free
telephone number, and for providing staff, to handle calls
from the families of the passengers.
``(2) A process for notifying the families of the
passengers, before providing any public notice of the names
of the passengers, either by utilizing the services of the
organization designated for the accident under section
1138(a)(2) of this title or the services of other suitably
trained individuals.
``(3) An assurance that the notice described in paragraph
(2) will be provided to the family of a passenger as soon as
the rail passenger carrier has verified that the passenger
was aboard the train (whether or not the names of all of
the passengers have been verified) and, to the extent
practicable, in person.
``(4) An assurance that the rail passenger carrier will
provide to the director of family support services designated
for the accident under section 1138(a)(1) of this title, and
to the organization designated for the accident under section
1138(a)(2) of this title, immediately upon request, a list
(which is based on the best available information at the time
of the request) of the names of the passengers aboard the
train (whether or not such names have been verified), and
will periodically update the list. The plan shall include a
procedure, with respect to unreserved trains and passengers
not holding reservations on other trains, for the rail
passenger carrier to use reasonable efforts to ascertain the
names of passengers aboard a train involved in an accident.
``(5) An assurance that the family of each passenger will
be consulted about the disposition of all remains and
personal effects of the passenger within the control of the
rail passenger carrier.
``(6) An assurance that if requested by the family of a
passenger, any possession of the passenger within the control
of the rail passenger carrier (regardless of its
condition) will be returned to the family unless the
possession is needed for the accident investigation or any
criminal investigation.
``(7) An assurance that any unclaimed possession of a
passenger within the control of the rail passenger carrier
will be retained by the rail passenger carrier for at least
18 months.
``(8) An assurance that the family of each passenger or
other person killed in the accident will be consulted about
construction by the rail passenger carrier of any monument to
the passengers, including any inscription on the monument.
``(9) An assurance that the treatment of the families of
nonrevenue passengers will be the same as the treatment of
the families of revenue passengers.
``(10) An assurance that the rail passenger carrier will
work with any organization designated under section
1138(a)(2) of this title on an ongoing basis to ensure that
families of passengers receive an appropriate level of
services and assistance following each accident.
``(11) An assurance that the rail passenger carrier will
provide reasonable compensation to any organization
designated under section 1138(a)(2) of this title for
services provided by the organization.
``(12) An assurance that the rail passenger carrier will
assist the family of a passenger in traveling to the location
of the accident and provide for the physical care of the
family while the family is staying at such location.
``(13) An assurance that the rail passenger carrier will
commit sufficient resources to carry out the plan.
``(14) An assurance that the rail passenger carrier will
provide adequate training to the employees and agents of the
carrier to meet the needs of survivors and family members
following an accident.
``(15) An assurance that, upon request of the family of a
passenger, the rail passenger carrier will inform the family
of whether the passenger's name appeared on any preliminary
passenger manifest for the train involved in the accident.
``(c) Limitation on Liability.--A rail passenger carrier
shall not be liable for damages in any action brought in a
Federal or State court arising out of the performance of the
rail passenger carrier in preparing or providing a passenger
list, or in providing information concerning a train
reservation, pursuant to a plan submitted by the rail
passenger carrier under subsection (b), unless such liability
was caused by conduct of the rail passenger carrier which was
grossly negligent or which constituted intentional
misconduct.
``(d) Definitions.--In this section--
``(1) the terms `rail passenger accident' and `rail
passenger carrier' have the meanings such terms have in
section 1138 of this title; and
``(2) the term `passenger' means a person aboard a rail
passenger carrier's train that is involved in a rail
passenger accident.
``(e) Limitation on Statutory Construction.--Nothing in
this section may be construed as limiting the actions that a
rail passenger carrier may take, or the obligations that a
rail passenger carrier may have, in providing assistance to
the families of passengers involved in a rail passenger
accident.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of chapters for
subtitle V of title 49, United States Code, is amended by
adding after the item relating to chapter 249 the following
new item:
``251. FAMILY ASSISTANCE.......................................25101''.
The CHAIRMAN. Are there any amendments to the bill?
If not, under the rule, the Committee rises.
Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr.
LaHood) having assumed the chair, Mrs. Emerson, Chairman of the
Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, reported that
that Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 554) to
establish a program, coordinated by the National Transportation Safety
Board, of assistance to families of passengers involved in rail
passenger accidents, pursuant to House Resolution 36, she reported the
bill back to the House.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the rule, the previous question is
ordered.
The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was
read the third time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
____________________