HR 1405 Introduced – RAILS Act

As I mentioned earlier Rep. Lipinski (D,IL) introduced HR 1405, the Reassuring Adequate Investment in Lifesaving Systems (RAILS) Act. The bill would reauthorize and expand the Railroad Safety Technology Grant program under 49 USC 20158, extending the authorization of the program through 2020.

The bill would extend the authorized use of the grants to include “advanced communications methods for conveying hazard information between all parties in the transportation chain, spectrum acquisition, multifrequency broadband connectivity equipment, implementation and interoperability testing” {added to §20158(a)}. There is no specific definition of ‘hazard information’ in the bill, but Lipinski’s press release on the bill specifically mentions “a system for electronic communication regarding hazardous material rail shipments”.

Unlike most bills that have been recently introduced expanding the potential uses of grant programs, this bill would increase the amount authorized for this program from $50 million to $200 million.

In the overall scope of the Federal budget (or even just the DOT budget) this increase is small enough not to be a serious impediment to passage. The biggest problem that this bill will need to overcome is the lack of bipartisan support in the sponsorship of the bill. Lipinski is a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (the first hurdle in the legislative process for this bill), but he may not be senior or influential enough to convince the Republican leadership to begin consideration of this bill.

Bills Introduced – 03-17-15

Yesterday there were 54 bills introduced in the House and Senate. Four of these bills may be of specific interest to readers of this blog:

· HR 1385 - To provide for a legal framework for the operation of public unmanned aircraft systems, and for other purposes. Rep. Poe, Ted [R-TX-2]

· HR 1405 - To amend title 49, United States Code, to ensure railroad safety. Rep. Lipinski, Daniel [D-IL-3]

· S 754 - An original bill to improve cybersecurity in the United States through enhanced sharing of information about cybersecurity threats, and for other purposes. Sen. Burr, Richard [R-NC]

· S 766 - A bill to limit the retrieval of data from vehicle event data recorders, and for other purposes. Sen. Hoeven, John [R-ND]

HR 1385 will probably address more than small unmanned aerial vehicles, but we will have to wait to see the details.

Lipinski's HR 1405 will almost certainly address crude oil train issues among other items.

S 754 is the much publicized bill from the Senate Intelligence Committee. The formal copy of the bill has not been published by the GPO yet, but earlier draft versions did specifically include industrial control systems in the definition of information systems covered by the bill. The bill was reported without a written report when it was introduced yesterday meaning that it can be brought to the floor at anytime the leadership desires. It will be interesting to see if and when this bill gets to the floor.

S 766 may have implications for cybersecurity of automobiles, but I won't be certain of that until we see the actual language.