[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 72 (Monday, May 9, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2631-S2632]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 3889. Mr. ENZI (for Ms. Heitkamp) proposed an amendment to the
bill S. 546, to establish the Railroad Emergency Services Preparedness,
Operational Needs, and Safety Evaluation (RESPONSE) Subcommittee under
the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Advisory Council to
provide recommendations on emergency responder training and resources
relating to hazardous materials incidents involving railroads, and for
other purposes; as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``RESPONSE Act of 2016''.
SEC. 2. RAILROAD EMERGENCY SERVICES PREPAREDNESS, OPERATIONAL
NEEDS, AND SAFETY EVALUATION SUBCOMMITTEE.
Section 508 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C.
318) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
``(d) RESPONSE Subcommittee.--
``(1) Establishment.--Not later than 30 days after the date
of the enactment of the RESPONSE Act of 2016, the
Administrator shall establish, as a subcommittee of the
National Advisory Council, the Railroad Emergency Services
Preparedness, Operational Needs, and Safety Evaluation
Subcommittee (referred to in this subsection as the `RESPONSE
Subcommittee').
``(2) Membership.--Notwithstanding subsection (c), the
RESPONSE Subcommittee shall be composed of the following:
``(A) The Deputy Administrator, Protection and National
Preparedness of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or
designee.
``(B) The Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials
Safety of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration, or designee.
``(C) The Director of the Office of Emergency
Communications of the Department of Homeland Security, or
designee.
``(D) The Director for the Office of Railroad, Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Investigations of the National
Transportation Safety Board, or designee, only in an advisory
capacity.
``(E) The Chief Safety Officer and Associate Administrator
for Railroad Safety of the Federal Railroad Administration,
or designee.
``(F) The Assistant Administrator for Security Policy and
Industry Engagement of the Transportation Security
Administration, or designee.
``(G) The Assistant Commandant for Response Policy of the
Coast Guard, or designee.
``(H) The Assistant Administrator for the Office of Solid
Waste and Emergency Response of the Environmental Protection
Agency, or designee.
``(I) The Chief Safety Officer and Assistant Administrator
of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, or
designee.
``(J) Such other qualified individuals as the co-
chairpersons shall jointly appoint as soon as practicable
after the date of the enactment of the RESPONSE Act of 2016
from among the following:
``(i) Members of the National Advisory Council that have
the requisite technical knowledge and expertise to address
rail emergency response issues, including members from the
following disciplines:
``(I) Emergency management and emergency response
providers, including fire service, law enforcement, hazardous
materials response, and emergency medical services.
``(II) State, local, and tribal government officials,
including Adjutants General.
``(ii) Individuals who have the requisite technical
knowledge and expertise to serve on the RESPONSE
Subcommittee, including at least 1 representative from each
of the following:
``(I) The rail industry.
``(II) The oil industry.
``(III) The communications industry.
``(IV) Emergency response providers, including individuals
nominated by national organizations representing local
governments and personnel.
``(V) Emergency response training providers.
``(VI) Representatives from national Indian organizations.
``(VII) Technical experts.
``(VIII) Vendors, developers, and manufacturers of systems,
facilities, equipment, and capabilities for emergency first
responder services.
``(iii) Representatives of such other stakeholders and
interested and affected parties as the co-chairpersons
consider appropriate.
``(3) Co-chairpersons.--The members described in
subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2) shall serve as the
co-chairpersons of the RESPONSE Subcommittee.
``(4) Meetings.--
``(A) Initial meeting.--The initial meeting of the RESPONSE
Subcommittee shall take place not later than 90 days after
the date of the enactment of the RESPONSE Act of 2016.
``(B) Other meetings.--After the initial meeting, the
RESPONSE Subcommittee shall meet at least twice annually,
with at least 1 meeting conducted in person during the first
year, at the call of the co-chairpersons.
``(5) Consultation with nonmembers.--The RESPONSE
Subcommittee and the program offices for emergency first
responder training and resources shall consult with other
relevant agencies and groups, including entities engaged in
federally funded research and academic institutions engaged
in relevant work and research, which are not represented on
the RESPONSE Subcommittee to consider new and developing
technologies and methods that may be beneficial to
preparedness and response to rail hazardous materials
incidents.
``(6) Recommendations.--The RESPONSE Subcommittee shall
develop recommendations, as appropriate, for improving
emergency first responder training and resource allocation
for hazardous materials incidents involving railroads after
evaluating the following topics:
``(A) The quality and application of training for local
emergency first responders related to rail hazardous
materials incidents, with a particular focus on local
emergency first responders and small communities near
railroads, including the following:
``(i) Ease of access to relevant training for local
emergency first responders, including an analysis of--
``(I) the number of individuals being trained;
``(II) the number of individuals who are applying;
``(III) whether current demand is being met;
``(IV) current challenges; and
``(V) projected needs.
``(ii) Modernization of training course content related to
rail hazardous materials incidents, with a particular focus
on fluctuations in oil shipments by rail.
``(iii) Avoiding overlap of training content across
agencies and the private sector to provide complementary
opportunities for rail hazardous materials incidents courses
and materials, including the following:
``(I) Promoting integrated course content through public-
private partnerships.
``(II) Regular and ongoing evaluation of course
opportunities, adaptation to emerging trends, agency and
private sector outreach, effectiveness and ease of access for
local emergency first responders.
``(iv) Online training platforms, train-the-trainer and
mobile training options.
``(B) The effectiveness of funding levels related to
training local emergency first responders for rail hazardous
materials incidents, with a particular focus on local
emergency first responders and small communities near
railroads, including the following:
``(i) Minimizing overlap in resource allocation among
agencies.
``(ii) Minimizing overlap in resource allocation among
agencies and private sector.
``(iii) Maximizing public-private partnerships where
funding gaps exists for specific training or cost-saving
measures can be implemented to increase training
opportunities.
``(iv) Adaptation of priority settings for agency funding
allocations in response to emerging trends.
``(v) Historic levels of funding across Federal agencies
for rail hazardous materials incident response and training,
including funding provided by the private sector to public
[[Page S2632]]
entities or in conjunction with Federal programs.
``(vi) Current funding resources across agencies.
``(C) The strategy for integrating commodity flow studies,
mapping, rail and hazardous materials databases and other
relevant data for local emergency first responders and
increasing the rate of access to the individual responder in
existing or emerging communications technology.
``(7) Report.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of the RESPONSE Act of 2016, the RESPONSE
Subcommittee shall submit a report to the National Advisory
Council that--
``(i) includes the recommendations developed under
paragraph (6);
``(ii) specifies the timeframes for implementing any such
recommendations that do not require congressional action; and
``(iii) identifies any such recommendations that do require
congressional action.
``(B) Review.--Not later than 30 days after receiving the
report under subparagraph (A), the National Advisory Council
shall begin a review of the report. The National Advisory
Council may ask for additional clarification, changes, or
other information from the RESPONSE Subcommittee to assist in
the approval of the recommendations.
``(C) Recommendation.--Once the National Advisory Council
approves the recommendations of the RESPONSE Subcommittee,
the National Advisory Council shall submit the report to--
``(i) the co-chairpersons of the RESPONSE Subcommittee;
``(ii) the head of each other agency represented on the
RESPONSE Subcommittee;
``(iii) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate;
``(iv) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate;
``(v) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives; and
``(vi) the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
of the House of Representatives.
``(8) Interim activity.--
``(A) Updates and oversight.--After the submission of the
report by the National Advisory Council under paragraph (7),
the Administrator shall--
``(i) provide annual updates to the congressional
committees referred to in paragraph (7)(C) regarding the
status of the implementation of the recommendations developed
under paragraph (6); and
``(ii) coordinate the implementation of the recommendations
described in paragraph (6)(G)(i), as appropriate.
``(B) Additional reports.--After submitting the report
required under paragraph (7), the RESPONSE Subcommittee shall
submit additional reports and recommendations in the same
manner and to the same entities identified in paragraph (7)
if needed or requested from Congress.
``(9) Termination.--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B),
the RESPONSE Subcommittee shall terminate not later than 4
years after the date of the enactment of the RESPONSE Act of
2016.
``(B) Extension.--The Administrator may extend the duration
of the RESPONSE Subcommittee for 1 additional year if the
Administrator determines that an additional report and
recommendations are needed from the RESPONSE Subcommittee
after the termination date set forth in subparagraph (A).''.
____________________