[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 546 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]
<DOC>
114th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 546
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
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.
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 ``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 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).''.
Passed the Senate May 9, 2016.
Attest:
Secretary.
114th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 546
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
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.