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[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 546 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]

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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.
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