[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 117 (Tuesday, September 17, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H6278-H6280]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 NATIONAL CONSTRUCTION SAFETY TEAM ACT

  Mr. BOEHLERT. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur 
in the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 4687) to provide for the 
establishment of investigative teams to assess building performance and 
the emergency response and evacuation procedures in the wake of any 
building failure that has resulted in substantial loss of life or that 
posed significant potential of substantial loss of life.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Senate amendment: Strike out all after the enacting clause 
     and insert:

[[Page H6279]]

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``National Construction Safety 
     Team Act''.

     SEC. 2. NATIONAL CONSTRUCTION SAFETY TEAMS.

       (a) Establishment.--The Director of the National Institute 
     of Standards and Technology (in this Act referred to as the 
     ``Director'') is authorized to establish National 
     Construction Safety Teams (in this Act referred to as a 
     ``Team'') for deployment after events causing the failure of 
     a building or buildings that has resulted in substantial loss 
     of life or that posed significant potential for substantial 
     loss of life. To the maximum extent practicable, the Director 
     shall establish and deploy a Team within 48 hours after such 
     an event. The Director shall promptly publish in the Federal 
     Register notice of the establishment of each Team.
       (b) Purpose of Investigation; Duties.--
       (1) Purpose.--The purpose of investigations by Teams is to 
     improve the safety and structural integrity of buildings in 
     the United States.
       (2) Duties.--A Team shall--
       (A) establish the likely technical cause or causes of the 
     building failure;
       (B) evaluate the technical aspects of evacuation and 
     emergency response procedures;
       (C) recommend, as necessary, specific improvements to 
     building standards, codes, and practices based on the 
     findings made pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B); and
       (D) recommend any research and other appropriate actions 
     needed to improve the structural safety of buildings, and 
     improve evacuation and emergency response procedures, based 
     on the findings of the investigation.
       (c) Procedures.--
       (1) Development.--Not later than 3 months after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Director, in consultation with 
     the United States Fire Administration and other appropriate 
     Federal agencies, shall develop procedures for the 
     establishment and deployment of Teams. The Director shall 
     update such procedures as appropriate. Such procedures shall 
     include provisions--
       (A) regarding conflicts of interest related to service on 
     the Team;
       (B) defining the circumstances under which the Director 
     will establish and deploy a Team;
       (C) prescribing the appropriate size of Teams;
       (D) guiding the disclosure of information under section 8;
       (E) guiding the conduct of investigations under this Act, 
     including procedures for providing written notice of 
     inspection authority under section 4(a) and for ensuring 
     compliance with any other applicable law;
       (F) identifying and prescribing appropriate conditions for 
     the provision by the Director of additional resources and 
     services Teams may need;
       (G) to ensure that investigations under this Act do not 
     impede and are coordinated with any search and rescue efforts 
     being undertaken at the site of the building failure;
       (H) for regular briefings of the public on the status of 
     the investigative proceedings and findings;
       (I) guiding the Teams in moving and preserving evidence as 
     described in section 4 (a)(4), (b)(2), and (d)(4);
       (J) providing for coordination with Federal, State, and 
     local entities that may sponsor research or investigations of 
     building failures, including research conducted under the 
     Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977; and
       (K) regarding such other issues as the Director considers 
     appropriate.
       (2) Publication.--The Director shall publish promptly in 
     the Federal Register final procedures, and subsequent updates 
     thereof, developed under paragraph (1).

     SEC. 3. COMPOSITION OF TEAMS.

       Each Team shall be composed of individuals selected by the 
     Director and led by an individual designated by the Director. 
     Team members shall include at least 1 employee of the 
     National Institute of Standards and Technology and shall 
     include other experts who are not employees of the National 
     Institute of Standards and Technology, who may include 
     private sector experts, university experts, representatives 
     of professional organizations with appropriate expertise, and 
     appropriate Federal, State, or local officials. Team members 
     who are not Federal employees shall be considered Federal 
     Government contractors.

     SEC. 4. AUTHORITIES.

       (a) Entry and Inspection.--In investigating a building 
     failure under this Act, members of a Team, and any other 
     person authorized by the Director to support a Team, on 
     display of appropriate credentials provided by the Director 
     and written notice of inspection authority, may--
       (1) enter property where a building failure being 
     investigated has occurred, or where building components, 
     materials, and artifacts with respect to the building failure 
     are located, and take action necessary, appropriate, and 
     reasonable in light of the nature of the property to be 
     inspected to carry out the duties of the Team under section 
     2(b)(2) (A) and (B);
       (2) during reasonable hours, inspect any record (including 
     any design, construction, or maintenance record), process, or 
     facility related to the investigation;
       (3) inspect and test any building components, materials, 
     and artifacts related to the building failure; and
       (4) move such records, components, materials, and artifacts 
     as provided by the procedures developed under section 
     2(c)(1).
       (b) Avoiding Unnecessary Interference and Preserving 
     Evidence.--An inspection, test, or other action taken by a 
     Team under this section shall be conducted in a way that--
       (1) does not interfere unnecessarily with services provided 
     by the owner or operator of the building components, 
     materials, or artifacts, property, records, process, or 
     facility; and
       (2) to the maximum extent feasible, preserves evidence 
     related to the building failure, consistent with the ongoing 
     needs of the investigation.
       (c) Coordination.--
       (1) With search and rescue efforts.--A Team shall not 
     impede, and shall coordinate its investigation with, any 
     search and rescue efforts being undertaken at the site of the 
     building failure.
       (2) With other research.--A Team shall coordinate its 
     investigation, to the extent practicable, with qualified 
     researchers who are conducting engineering or scientific 
     (including social science) research relating to the building 
     failure.
       (3) Memoranda of understanding.--The National Institute of 
     Standards and Technology shall enter into a memorandum of 
     understanding with each Federal agency that may conduct or 
     sponsor a related investigation, providing for coordination 
     of investigations.
       (4) With state and local authorities.--A Team shall 
     cooperate with State and local authorities carrying out any 
     activities related to a Team's investigation.
       (d) Interagency Priorities.--
       (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2) or 
     (3), a Team investigation shall have priority over any other 
     investigation of any other Federal agency.
       (2) National transportation safety board.--If the National 
     Transportation Safety Board is conducting an investigation 
     related to an investigation of a Team, the National 
     Transportation Safety Board investigation shall have priority 
     over the Team investigation. Such priority shall not 
     otherwise affect the authority of the Team to continue its 
     investigation under this Act.
       (3) Criminal acts.--If the Attorney General, in 
     consultation with the Director, determines, and notifies the 
     Director, that circumstances reasonably indicate that the 
     building failure being investigated by a Team may have been 
     caused by a criminal act, the Team shall relinquish 
     investigative priority to the appropriate law enforcement 
     agency. The relinquishment of investigative priority by the 
     Team shall not otherwise affect the authority of the Team to 
     continue its investigation under this Act.
       (4) Preservation of evidence.--If a Federal law enforcement 
     agency suspects and notifies the Director that a building 
     failure being investigated by a Team under this Act may have 
     been caused by a criminal act, the Team, in consultation with 
     the Federal law enforcement agency, shall take necessary 
     actions to ensure that evidence of the criminal act is 
     preserved.

     SEC. 5. BRIEFINGS, HEARINGS, WITNESSES, AND SUBPOENAS.

       (a) General Authority.--The Director or his designee, on 
     behalf of a Team, may conduct hearings, administer oaths, and 
     require, by subpoena (pursuant to subsection (e)) and 
     otherwise, necessary witnesses and evidence as necessary to 
     carry out this Act.
       (b) Briefings.--The Director or his designee (who may be 
     the leader or a member of a Team), on behalf of a Team, shall 
     hold regular public briefings on the status of investigative 
     proceedings and findings, including a final briefing after 
     the report required by section 8 is issued.
       (c) Public Hearings.--During the course of an investigation 
     by a Team, the National Institute of Standards and Technology 
     may, if the Director considers it to be in the public 
     interest, hold a public hearing for the purposes of--
       (1) gathering testimony from witnesses; and
       (2) informing the public on the progress of the 
     investigation.
       (d) Production of Witnesses.--A witness or evidence in an 
     investigation under this Act may be summoned or required to 
     be produced from any place in the United States. A witness 
     summoned under this subsection is entitled to the same fee 
     and mileage the witness would have been paid in a court of 
     the United States.
       (e) Issuance of Subpoenas.--A subpoena shall be issued only 
     under the signature of the Director but may be served by any 
     person designated by the Director.
       (f) Failure To Obey Subpoena.--If a person disobeys a 
     subpoena issued by the Director under this Act, the Attorney 
     General, acting on behalf of the Director, may bring a civil 
     action in a district court of the United States to enforce 
     the subpoena. An action under this subsection may be brought 
     in the judicial district in which the person against whom the 
     action is brought resides, is found, or does business. The 
     court may punish a failure to obey an order of the court to 
     comply with the subpoena as a contempt of court.

     SEC. 6. ADDITIONAL POWERS.

       In order to support Teams in carrying out this Act, the 
     Director may--
       (1) procure the temporary or intermittent services of 
     experts or consultants under section 3109 of title 5, United 
     States Code;
       (2) request the use, when appropriate, of available 
     services, equipment, personnel, and facilities of a 
     department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States 
     Government on a reimbursable or other basis;
       (3) confer with employees and request the use of services, 
     records, and facilities of State and local governmental 
     authorities;
       (4) accept voluntary and uncompensated services;
       (5) accept and use gifts of money and other property, to 
     the extent provided in advance in appropriations Acts;
       (6) make contracts with nonprofit entities to carry out 
     studies related to purpose, functions, and authorities of the 
     Teams; and
       (7) provide nongovernmental members of the Team reasonable 
     compensation for time spent carrying out activities under 
     this Act.

[[Page H6280]]

     SEC. 7. DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.

       (a) General Rule.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
     section, a copy of a record, information, or investigation 
     submitted or received by a Team shall be made available to 
     the public on request and at reasonable cost.
       (b) Exceptions.--Subsection (a) does not require the 
     release of--
       (1) information described by section 552(b) of title 5, 
     United States Code, or protected from disclosure by any other 
     law of the United States; or
       (2) information described in subsection (a) by the National 
     Institute of Standards and Technology or by a Team until the 
     report required by section 8 is issued.
       (c) Protection of Voluntary Submission of Information.--
     Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a Team, the 
     National Institute of Standards and Technology, and any 
     agency receiving information from a Team or the National 
     Institute of Standards and Technology, shall not disclose 
     voluntarily provided safety-related information if that 
     information is not directly related to the building failure 
     being investigated and the Director finds that the disclosure 
     of the information would inhibit the voluntary provision of 
     that type of information.
       (d) Public Safety Information.--A Team and the National 
     Institute of Standards and Technology shall not publicly 
     release any information it receives in the course of an 
     investigation under this Act if the Director finds that the 
     disclosure of that information might jeopardize public 
     safety.

     SEC. 8. NATIONAL CONSTRUCTION SAFETY TEAM REPORT.

       Not later than 90 days after completing an investigation, a 
     Team shall issue a public report which includes--
       (1) an analysis of the likely technical cause or causes of 
     the building failure investigated;
       (2) any technical recommendations for changes to or the 
     establishment of evacuation and emergency response 
     procedures;
       (3) any recommended specific improvements to building 
     standards, codes, and practices; and
       (4) recommendations for research and other appropriate 
     actions needed to help prevent future building failures.

     SEC. 9. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY 
                   ACTIONS.

       After the issuance of a public report under section 8, the 
     National Institute of Standards and Technology shall 
     comprehensively review the report and, working with the 
     United States Fire Administration and other appropriate 
     Federal and non-Federal agencies and organizations--
       (1) conduct, or enable or encourage the conducting of, 
     appropriate research recommended by the Team; and
       (2) promote (consistent with existing procedures for the 
     establishment of building standards, codes, and practices) 
     the appropriate adoption by the Federal Government, and 
     encourage the appropriate adoption by other agencies and 
     organizations, of the recommendations of the Team with 
     respect to--
       (A) technical aspects of evacuation and emergency response 
     procedures;
       (B) specific improvements to building standards, codes, and 
     practices; and
       (C) other actions needed to help prevent future building 
     failures.

     SEC. 10. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY 
                   ANNUAL REPORT.

       Not later than February 15 of each year, the Director shall 
     transmit to the Committee on Science of the House of 
     Representatives and to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
     and Transportation of the Senate a report that includes--
       (1) a summary of the investigations conducted by Teams 
     during the prior fiscal year;
       (2) a summary of recommendations made by the Teams in 
     reports issued under section 8 during the prior fiscal year 
     and a description of the extent to which those 
     recommendations have been implemented; and
       (3) a description of the actions taken to improve building 
     safety and structural integrity by the National Institute of 
     Standards and Technology during the prior fiscal year in 
     response to reports issued under section 8.

     SEC. 11. ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

       (a) Establishment and Functions.--The Director, in 
     consultation with the United States Fire Administration and 
     other appropriate Federal agencies, shall establish an 
     advisory committee to advise the Director on carrying out 
     this Act and to review the procedures developed under section 
     2(c)(1) and the reports issued under section 8.
       (b) Annual Report.--On January 1 of each year, the advisory 
     committee shall transmit to the Committee on Science of the 
     House of Representatives and to the Committee on Commerce, 
     Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report that 
     includes--
       (1) an evaluation of Team activities, along with 
     recommendations to improve the operation and effectiveness of 
     Teams; and
       (2) an assessment of the implementation of the 
     recommendations of Teams and of the advisory committee.
       (c) Duration of Advisory Committee.--Section 14 of the 
     Federal Advisory Committee Act shall not apply to the 
     advisory committee established under this section.

     SEC. 12. ADDITIONAL APPLICABILITY.

       The authorities and restrictions applicable under this Act 
     to the Director and to Teams shall apply to the activities of 
     the National Institute of Standards and Technology in 
     response to the attacks of September 11, 2001.

     SEC. 13. AMENDMENT.

       Section 7 of the National Bureau of Standards Authorization 
     Act for Fiscal Year 1986 (15 U.S.C. 281a) is amended by 
     inserting ``, or from an investigation under the National 
     Construction Safety Team Act,'' after ``from such 
     investigation''.

     SEC. 14. CONSTRUCTION.

       Nothing in this Act shall be construed to confer any 
     authority on the National Institute of Standards and 
     Technology to require the adoption of building standards, 
     codes, or practices.

     SEC. 15. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       The National Institute of Standards and Technology is 
     authorized to use funds otherwise authorized by law to carry 
     out this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Boehlert) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Weiner) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert).

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