[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 67 (Wednesday, May 7, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H3705-H3708]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         RAIL PASSENGER DISASTER FAMILY ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2003

  Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 874) to establish a program, coordinated by the National 
Transportation Safety Board, of assistance to families of passengers 
involved in rail passenger accidents.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 874

       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 2003''.

     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

[[Page H3706]]

     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,

     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.
       ``(j) Relinquishment of Investigative Priority.--
       ``(1) General rule.--This section (other than subsection 
     (g)) shall not apply to a railroad accident if the Board has 
     relinquished investigative priority under section 
     1131(a)(2)(B) and the Federal agency to which the Board 
     relinquished investigative priority is willing and able to 
     provide assistance to the victims and families of the 
     passengers involved in the accident.
       ``(2) Board assistance.--If this section does not apply to 
     a railroad accident because the Board has relinquished 
     investigative priority with respect to the accident, the 
     Board shall assist, to the maximum extent possible, the 
     agency to which the Board has relinquished investigative 
     priority in assisting families with respect to the 
     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.''.

     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

[[Page H3707]]

     States Code, is amended by adding after the item relating to 
     chapter 249 the following new item:

``251. FAMILY ASSISTANCE.......................................25101''.

     SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE.

       (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Transportation, in 
     cooperation with the National Transportation Safety Board, 
     organizations potentially designated under section 1138(a)(2) 
     of title 49, United States Code, rail passenger carriers, and 
     families which have been involved in rail accidents, shall 
     establish a task force consisting of representatives of such 
     entities and families, representatives of passenger rail 
     carrier employees, and representatives of such other entities 
     as the Secretary considers appropriate.
       (b) Model Plan and Recommendations.--The task force 
     established pursuant to subsection (a) shall develop--
       (1) a model plan to assist passenger rail carriers in 
     responding to passenger rail accidents;
       (2) recommendations on methods to improve the timeliness of 
     the notification provided by passenger rail carriers to the 
     families of passengers involved in a passenger rail accident;
       (3) recommendations on methods to ensure that the families 
     of passengers involved in a passenger rail accident who are 
     not citizens of the United States receive appropriate 
     assistance; and
       (4) recommendations on methods to ensure that emergency 
     services personnel have as immediate and accurate a count of 
     the number of passengers onboard the train as possible.
       (c) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to 
     Congress a report containing the model plan and 
     recommendations developed by the task force under subsection 
     (b).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Quinn) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Costello) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. Quinn).
  Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the Rail Passenger Disaster Family Assistance Act is a 
compassionate piece of legislation that deserves to be enacted into 
law. It has been crafted with the families of rail accident victims in 
mind.
  Members may recall that several years ago after some egregious 
airplane crashes, the families of the victims of those crashes were 
poorly treated by the carriers, in some cases the media, and sometimes 
lawyers. Congress responded in 1996 asking the National Transportation 
Safety Board to take on an additional role.
  At that time we enacted an aviation law that placed the NTSB and a 
suitable private charitable organization in charge of coordinating the 
efforts to protect the privacy of crash victims' families and to ensure 
that they receive the most current information possible from the 
carrier.
  The NTSB has a well-deserved reputation for thoroughness and 
impartiality in its investigations and in its accident reports. The 
board's careful work and thoughtful recommendations have contributed 
significantly to the safety of the traveling public on our highways, 
our railroads and airways. By all accounts the NTSB has been equally 
successful in this new task of helping families cope with the 
devastating loss of a loved one. Based on this success, the gentleman 
from Alaska (Mr. Young), the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), 
the ranking member, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine Brown), 
Subcommittee on Railroads ranking member, and myself have introduced 
H.R. 874, a bill to ensure the same compassionate treatment for 
families of railroad accident victims.
  This bill essentially mirrors the aviation law, mandating that the 
NTSB serve a similar role and including the recommended updates.
  The bill also includes one feature suggested by the NTSB itself. That 
new feature is a one-year task force composed of the DOT, the NTSB, 
charitable organizations and family members of passenger rail accident 
victims. This task force, when put in place, will examine and report 
back to the Congress on how to improve the information flow after an 
accident has happened and how to make family assistance work better in 
the future.
  Our point here, Mr. Speaker, is that after the incident happens we 
want to continue communication to make certain we do an even better job 
should a tragic accident occur in the future.
  Although versions of this bill passed overwhelmingly in the House 
during the last Congress, the Senate has yet to act. Thankfully the 
Rail Passenger Disaster Family Assistance Act is back on the suspension 
calendar today in our session. I strongly support H.R. 874 and urge its 
approval by the whole House this afternoon.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation.
  I ask unanimous consent that the balance of time on our side be 
controlled by gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine Brown).
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine 
Brown) will control the balance of the time.
  Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, let me begin by thanking the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. Quinn), the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), and the ranking 
member, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) for all of their 
efforts to bring this bill to the House floor.
  This will be our fourth effort to enact this legislation. Each time 
it has passed the House, only to die from inaction by the other body. I 
hope that the fourth time is the charm.
  Mr. Speaker, it is difficult to believe that this bill has not been 
passed by both Houses and signed into law by the President years ago. 
The bill simply provides intercity rail passengers and their families 
the same basic assistance and protection that we provide airline 
passengers and their families.
  In the event of a serious accident involving major loss of life, the 
bill provides that the National Transportation Safety Board provide 
assistance to the families of the victims. By designating an NTSB 
employee to be responsible for facilitating and recovering and 
identification of those killed in the accident, and by designating an 
independent agency like the Red Cross as primarily responsible for 
communication with the family members of the victims, we ensure that 
these delicate tasks are performed by professionals trained to respond 
to transportation tragedies.
  The bill spells out the specific details of what is expected from the 
NTSB, the independent relief agency, and the railroads, all with the 
purpose of getting information to the family members as quickly as 
possible and providing compassionate care for those who have lost loved 
ones.
  Mr. Speaker, these services and protections have been available for 
airline accident victims and their families since 1996. It is time we 
treated railroad passengers and their families with the same respect 
and compassion. I urge all of my colleagues to support this 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I would only like to mention and thank the ranking member, my partner 
on the Subcommittee on Railroads, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. 
Corrine Brown), for her great work. As usual, the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure and our subcommittee comes up with 
great bipartisan legislation and this morning is another example of 
that.
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this well 
crafted bipartisan bill. The Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure produced the current aviation law, and subsequent 
updates, that protects survivors and families of accident victims 
against ill-treatment after major airline accidents. Today, we are 
considering a closely parallel measure that would offer the same 
protections in the wake of any major railroad passenger train accident.
  The successful record of the Aviation Family Assistance Law since its 
enactment in 1996, and the strong track record of the National 
Transportation Safety Board in administering that law, make me highly 
confident that this bill, once enacted, will be just as successful.
  Fortunately, there have been only a handful of rail passenger 
accidents involving fatalities in the last several years. Just as with 
aviation, we hope there are none. But it is only prudent to have in 
place common sense procedures that can be put into play by the NTSB and 
the other organizations with which it works, if a major accident 
happens.

[[Page H3708]]

  This measure is a completely bipartisan product. With the exception 
of some technical updates, it is essentially the same legislation that 
the House has overwhelmingly approved in two previous Congress'. This 
time, we hope the other body will act, which it has failed to do in the 
past. But we need to get the process moving now, to get these much 
needed procedures in place.
  I strongly urge approval of this well crafted bipartisan legislation.
  Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Quinn) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 874.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. QUINN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

                          ____________________