[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 13639-13640]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               DRIVE ACT

  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President last week the Senate passed a multiyear 
surface transportation bill, the Developing a Reliable and Innovative 
Vision for the Economy Act, H.R. 22, referred to as the DRIVE Act. I 
was pleased to vote for this bipartisan bill. For the first time in 3 
years, the Senate has passed a long-term surface transportation bill. 
Unfortunately, the House adjourned before taking up our bipartisan 
legislation--forcing the Senate to pass a short-term funding patch, the 
34th since 2009.
  I am disappointed that we were not able to get the long-term bill to 
the President's desk. However, I believe the Senate has laid the 
groundwork to make the most recent short-term extension the last for 
the next few years. I look forward to working with my colleagues in 
both houses of Congress to complete a long-term bill before the October 
29 deadline, and I expect the DRIVE Act to be the baseline for those 
efforts.
  While the DRIVE Act's most important feature is that it provides 
certainty to construction firms and state governments to invest in 
rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, it also includes several 
provisions to improve the way we move goods and people across our 
nation. In the last few years, I have become very concerned with the 
way one particular good--Bakken oil--moves through the country. The 
fiery explosions that accompany Bakken oil train derailments have many 
in Wisconsin rightfully concerned as we have unwittingly become one of 
the most traveled oil train routes in the country.
  The DRIVE Act includes a rail safety bill that was added thanks to 
the leadership of Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Thune, Ranking 
Member Nelson, and Senators Booker and Wicker. I was pleased that the 
bipartisan bill that passed out of committee included provisions to 
require a railroad liability study and comprehensive oil spill response 
plans. These provisions were similar to what is included in the Crude-
by-Rail Safety Act, on which I worked closely with Senator Cantwell to 
introduce.
  While the liability study and oilspill response plans are steps in 
the right direction, as the bill moved to the Senate floor, I believed 
we needed to do more to improve rail infrastructure, transparency, and 
first responder preparedness. That is why I was pleased to work with 
Environment and Public Works Ranking Member Barbara Boxer, Commerce, 
Science, & Transportation Committee Chairman John Thune and Ranking 
Member Bill Nelson as well as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to 
include two sections in the bill that passed the Senate on July 30. I 
was able to add these sections to the substitute amendment, No. 2266, 
that was adopted on July 29, 2015, and the provisions were included in 
the final version of the bill that passed the Senate.
  The first section, section 35416, would require that the Federal 
Railroad Administration keep on file the most recent bridge inspection 
report prepared by a private railroad bridge owner and provide that 
report to appropriate state and local officials upon request. This 
allows State and local officials who are responsible for public 
infrastructure integrity and public safety to have access to 
information they need to keep the public safe. The substance of this 
section is also contained in amendment 2538.

[[Page 13640]]

  The second section, section 35431, addresses concerns raised by the 
first responder community who have had to fight for access to real-time 
information about hazmat trains entering their jurisdictions. 
Firefighters want to know in advance when hazmat trains will arrive in 
order to better prepare and keep their communities safe. The substance 
of this section is also contained in amendment 2539.
  The section modified the bill's original language that only required 
real-time hazmat train information to go to Department of Homeland 
Security Fusion Centers. The centers would then provide the information 
to local first responders only in the event of an accident, when it is 
less useful. My provision requires fusion centers to provide the real-
time information to State and local first responders at least 12 hours 
prior to a hazmat train arriving in their jurisdiction. The 
transmission must also include the best estimate of the train's 
arrival.
  I believe these two sections significantly improve transparency and 
safety in communities along oil train routes. This is also a 
significant achievement for state and local organizations, who are 
often powerless to take action against federally regulated railroads--
despite being responsible for any problems they cause. In closing, I 
again would like to thank Senators McConnell, Thune, Nelson, Boxer, and 
Inhofe for their leadership on this legislation. And I pledge to work 
with my colleagues in the House and Senate to pass a long-term surface 
transportation bill in the next three months.

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