Review - HR 5871 Introduced – Train Safety

Last month, Rep Stansbury (D,NM) introduced HR 5871, the Rail Worker and Community Safety Act. The bill includes railroad safety, personnel and federal oversight provisions that are targeted at making railroad (mainly freight railroad) operations safer. Almost all of the provisions specifically require new or amended regulations to be written and implemented.

This bill is different from bills introduced shortly after the East Palestine derailment HR (like S 576 and HR 1674 for example, both removed from paywall) in that it lacks the singular focus on hazardous materials found in those other bills. It is more focused on the nuts and bolts of railroad operations and safety.

Moving Forward

Stansbury is not a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to which this bill was assigned for primary consideration. There are, however, at least three of the 34 Democratic cosponsors {Rep Holmes-Norton (D,DC), Rep Titus (D,NV) and Rep Carson (D,IN)} that are members of the Committee, so there could be sufficient influence to see the bill considered in Committee. Unfortunately, there is widespread, long-term Republican opposition to many of the provisions in the bill that ensures that the Committee will not take up the bill.

 

For more details about the provisions of the bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-5871-introduced - subscription required.

Review - HR 1674 Introduced – Hazmat Train Safety

Last month Rep Deluzio (D,PA) introduced HR 1674, the Railway Safety Act of 2023. The bill provides a variety of potential improvements for the shipment of hazardous materials by rail. Various funds are authorized to support some of the program proposed. The bill is very similar to S 576 that was introduced the same day as this bill.

This is not technically a companion bill to S 576; there are too many differences in the wording of this bill for it to be a companion bill. There are no significant policy differences between the bills, just changes in language to increase the clarity of the bill’s intent.

Moving Forward

Neither Deluzio nor his sole cosponsor {Rep LaLota (R,NY)} are members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to which the bill was assigned for primary consideration. This means that there is probably not sufficient influence to see the bill considered in Committee. As with the Senate version, I would expect to see significant Republican opposition to the provisions of the bill because of the increased burdens the bill would put on railroads and hazmat rail shippers. This bill would likely not be recommended favorably out of Committee without significant revisions to the requirements in the bill.

 

For details on the differences between HR 1674 and the Senate bill (S 576), see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-1674-introduced - subscription required.

Review - S 576 Introduced – Hazmat Trains

Earlier this month, as a response to the derailment of freight train in East Palestine, OH, Sen Brown (D,OH) and Sen Vance (R,OH) introduced S 576, the Railway Safety Act of 2023. The bill provides a variety of potential improvements for the shipment of hazardous materials by rail. Various funds are authorized to support some of the program proposed.

Programs and policies mentioned in the bill include:

Safety requirements for trains transporting hazardous materials.
Rail car inspections.
Defect detectors.
Safe Freight Act of 2023(minimum crew size).
Increasing maximum civil penalties for violations of rail safety regulations.
Safer tank cars.
Hazardous materials training for first responders.
Rail safety infrastructure research and development grants.
Appropriations for tank car research and development.

Moving Forward

While Brown is not a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration, Vance is. This means that there could be sufficient influence to see this bill considered by Committee. There is a great deal of political pressure to ‘do something’ to prevent recurrences of the East Palestine derailment, but there is still some major Republican opposition to increased regulation and government spending. There will have to be some behind the scene negotiations on modifications to this bill to get to legislation that would allow the Committee and then the Senate to move forward.

Commentary

The new hazmat train requirements of §3 of the bill looks like it may have the unintended consequence of encouraging railroads to limit the transport hazmat railcars to hazmat trains that would fall under the definition of a highly hazardous flammable train (HHFT) under 49 USC 174.310. Under the proposed rules, it looks like there could be tighter restrictions on non-HHFT hazmat trains, so it would provide railroads with an incentive to concentrate hazmat shipments in HHFT’s. This might reduce the number of trains carrying hazmat railcars, but it could increase the potential consequences of an accident in such a train.

 

For more details about the provisions of this bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/s-576-introduced - subscription required.

Bills Introduced – 3-1-23

Yesterday, with both the House and Senate in session, there were 127 bills introduced. Three of those bills may receive additional coverage in this blog:

HR 1285 To require a report from the Secretary of Homeland Security on the existence of programs and components of the Department of Homeland Security that are not explicitly authorized in statute. Donalds, Byron [Rep.-R-FL-19]

HR 1288 To amend the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 to impose sanctions against governments of foreign states that engage in an act or acts of gross negligence with respect to state owned, operated, or directed chemical or biological programs. Feenstra, Randy [Rep.-R-IA-4]

S 576 A bill to enhance safety requirements for trains transporting hazardous materials, and for other purposes. Brown, Sherrod [Sen.-D-OH]

I will be covering HR 1285 and S 576.

I suspect that HR 1288 will be dealing with responding to the reported release of COVID-19 from Chines labs. I will  be covering this bill if the language or definitions specifically include large scale chemical manufacturing releases in the ‘act or acts of gross negligence’ scope of the bill.

NOTE: The House will not be in session today and will meet in pro forma session on Friday.

NOTE: Corrected date in Title, 06:35 3-3-23