SEC. 302. EMERGENCY WAIVERS. 
Section 20103 as amended by this Act is further 
amended by— 
(1) revising subsection (e) to read as follows: 
‘‘(e) HEARINGS.—Except as provided in subsection 
(g) of this section, the Secretary shall conduct a hearing 
as provided by section 553 of title 5 when prescribing a 
regulation or issuing an order under this chapter, includ-
ing a regulation or order establishing, amending, or 
waiving compliance with a railroad safety regulation pre-
scribed or order issued under this chapter. An opportunity 
for an oral presentation shall be provided.’’; and 
(2) adding at the end a new subsection (g) to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(g) EMERGENCY
WAIVERS.—(1) The Secretary 
shall prescribe procedures concerning the handling of re-
quests for waivers of regulations prescribed or orders 
issued under this chapter in emergency situations and may 
prescribe temporary emergency waiver procedures without 
first providing an opportunity for public comment. The 
Secretary may grant a waiver request if the waiver is di-
rectly related to the emergency event or necessary to aid 
in any recovery efforts and is in the public interest and 
consistent with railroad safety. The relief shall not extend 
for a period of more than nine months, including the pe-
riod of the relief granted under any renewal of the waiver 
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pursuant to the emergency waiver procedures. For matters 
that may impact the missions of the Department of Home-
land Security, the Secretary of Transportation shall con-
sult and coordinate with the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity as soon as practicable. 
‘‘(2) If, under the emergency waiver procedures es-
tablished under paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Sec-
retary determines the public interest would be better 
served by addressing a request for waiver prior to pro-
viding an opportunity for a hearing under section 553 of 
title 5 and an oral presentation, the Secretary may act 
on the waiver request and, if the request is granted, the 
Secretary shall subsequently provide notice and an oppor-
tunity for a hearing and oral presentation pursuant to pro-
cedures prescribed under paragraph (1) of this subsection. 
Should the Secretary receive comment or a request for 
oral presentation on a waiver request after granting the 
waiver, the Secretary may take any necessary action with 
regard to that waiver (including rescission or modification) 
based on the newly acquired information. 
‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, the terms 
‘emergency situation’ and ‘emergency event’ refer to a nat-
ural or manmade disaster, such as a hurricane, flood, 
earthquake, mudslide, forest fire, snowstorm, terrorist act, 
biological outbreak, release of a dangerous radiological, 
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chemical, explosive, or biological material, or a war-related 
activity, that poses a risk of death, serious illness, severe 
injury, or substantial property damage. The disaster may 
be local, regional, or national in scope.’’. 
SEC. 303. RAILROAD RADIO MONITORING AUTHORITY AND 
GENERAL INSPECTION AUTHORITY. 
(a) AMENDMENT.—Section 20107 is amended by in-
serting at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(c) RAILROAD RADIO COMMUNICATIONS.—(1) To 
carry out the Secretary’s responsibilities under this part 
and under chapter 51, the Secretary may authorize offi-
cers, employees, or agents of the Secretary to conduct the 
following activities in circumstances determined by the 
Secretary in the Secretary’s discretion to be reasonable: 
‘‘(A) Intercepting a radio communication that 
is broadcast or transmitted over a frequency author-
ized for the use of one or more railroad carriers by 
the Federal Communications Commission, with or 
without making their presence known to the sender 
or other receivers of the communication and with or 
without obtaining the consent of the sender or other 
receivers of the communication. 
‘‘(B) Communicating the existence, contents, 
substance, purport, effect, or meaning of the com-
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munication, subject to the restrictions in paragraph 
(3). 
‘‘(C) Receiving or assisting in receiving the 
communication (or any information therein con-
tained). 
‘‘(D) Disclosing the contents, substance, pur-
port, effect, or meaning of the communication (or 
any part thereof of such communication) or using 
the communication (or any information contained 
therein), subject to the restrictions in paragraph (3), 
after having received the communication or acquired 
knowledge of the contents, substance, purport, ef-
fect, or meaning of the communication (or any part 
thereof). 
‘‘(E) Recording the communication by any 
means, including writing and tape recording. 
‘‘(2) The Secretary and officers, employees, and 
agents of the Department of Transportation authorized by 
the Secretary may engage in the activities authorized by 
paragraph (1) for the purpose of accident prevention, in-
cluding, but not limited to, accident investigation. 
‘‘(3)(A) Information obtained through activities au-
thorized by paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not be admitted 
into evidence in any administrative or judicial proceeding 
except— 
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‘‘(i) in a prosecution for a felony under Federal 
or State criminal law; or 
‘‘(ii) to impeach evidence offered by a party 
other than the Federal Government regarding the 
existence, electronic characteristics, content, sub-
stance, purport, effect, meaning, or timing of, or 
identity of parties to, a communication intercepted 
pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) in proceedings 
pursuant to section 5122, 5123, 20702(b), 20111, 
20112, 20113, or 20114 of this title. 
‘‘(B) If information obtained through activities set 
forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) is admitted into evidence 
for impeachment purposes in accordance with paragraph 
(3)(A), the court, administrative law judge, or other offi-
cer before whom the proceeding is conducted may make 
such protective orders regarding the confidentiality or use 
of the information as may be appropriate in the cir-
cumstances to protect privacy and administer justice. 
‘‘(C) Information obtained through activities set forth 
in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not be subject to publica-
tion or disclosure under section 552 of title 5. 
‘‘(D) No evidence shall be excluded in an administra-
tive or judicial proceeding solely because the government 
would not have learned of the existence of or obtained such 
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evidence but for the interception of information that is not 
admissible in such proceeding under paragraph (3)(A). 
‘‘(E) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed 
to impair or otherwise affect the authority of the United 
States to intercept a communication, and collect, retain, 
analyze, use, and disseminate the information obtained 
thereby, under a provision of law other than this sub-
section. 
‘‘(4) Section 705 of the Communications Act of 1934 
(47 U.S.C. 605) and chapter 119 of title 18, United States 
Code, shall not apply to conduct authorized by and pursu-
ant to this subsection.’’. 
(b) AMENDMENT.—Section 2511(2) of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended by adding after para-
graph (i), the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(j) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
chapter or section 605 of title 47, the Secretary of Trans-
portation and officers, employees, or agents of the Depart-
ment of Transportation authorized by the Secretary of 
Transportation, in furtherance of the Federal railroad 
safety laws at subtitle V, part A, of title 49 and at chapter 
51 of title 49, for the purpose of accident prevention, in-
cluding, but not limited to, accident investigation, may 
intercept radio communications broadcast or transmitted 
over a frequency authorized for the use of one or more 
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