HR 1571 Introduced – Oil Train Fire Training Grants

Last week Rep Herrera-Beutler (R,WA) introduced HR 1571, the Fire Department Proper Response and Equipment Prioritization Act. The bill would require FEMA to give high priority to grants for incident response training for crude oil and ethanol train accidents.

The bill is essentially the same as HR 4765 that was introduced in the 114^th Congress. That bill saw no action, mainly because Herrera-Beutler was not in a position to influence the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee to take up the bill. Since she is still not a member of that Committee (to which the bill was assigned for consideration) it is very unlikely that the Committee will take up the bill in this session.

The only way that this bill has a chance of making it into law during this session is for its provisions to be added to either the DHS spending or authorization (if that bill actually happens) bill. Herrera-Beutler is a member of the Appropriations Committee, so that it is possible that this could be included in the DHS spending bill. She is not a member of the House Homeland Security Committee so adding it to an authorization bill would have to come in the form of an amendment if/when the bill is considered in the House.