H. R. 2095—45 
‘‘§ 20167. Railroad safety infrastructure improvement grants 
‘‘(a) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Transportation shall 
establish a grant program for safety improvements to railroad infra-
structure, including the acquisition, improvement, or rehabilitation 
of intermodal or rail equipment or facilities, including track, bridges, 
tunnels, yards, buildings, passenger stations, facilities, and mainte-
nance and repair shops. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—Grants shall be made under this section to 
eligible passenger and freight railroad carriers, and State and local 
governments for projects described in subsection (a). Grants shall 
also be made available to assist a State or political subdivision 
thereof in establishing a quiet zone pursuant to part 222 of title 
49, Code of Federal Regulations. 
‘‘(c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding grants, the Secretary shall 
consider, at a minimum— 
‘‘(1) the age and condition of the rail infrastructure of 
the applicant; 
‘‘(2) the railroad carrier’s safety record, including accident 
and incident numbers and rates; 
‘‘(3) the volume of hazardous materials transported by the 
railroad; 
‘‘(4) the operation of passenger trains over the railroad; 
and 
‘‘(5) whether the railroad carrier has submitted a railroad 
safety risk reduction program, as required by section 20156. 
‘‘(d) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.—Federal funds for any eligible 
project under this section shall not exceed 50 percent of the total 
cost of such project. 
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized 
to be appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation $5,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2013 to carry out this section. 
Amounts appropriated pursuant to this subsection shall remain 
available until expended.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis for 
chapter 201, as amended by section 413 of this division, is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 20166 the following: 
‘‘20167. Railroad safety infrastructure improvement grants.’’. 
SEC. 419. PROMPT MEDICAL ATTENTION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 20109 is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsections (c) through (i) as sub-
sections (d) through (j), respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following: 
‘‘(c) PROMPT MEDICAL ATTENTION.— 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—A railroad carrier or person covered 
under this section may not deny, delay, or interfere with the 
medical or first aid treatment of an employee who is injured 
during the course of employment. If transportation to a hospital 
is requested by an employee who is injured during the course 
of employment, the railroad shall promptly arrange to have 
the injured employee transported to the nearest hospital where 
the employee can receive safe and appropriate medical care. 
‘‘(2) DISCIPLINE.—A railroad carrier or person covered 
under this section may not discipline, or threaten discipline 
to, an employee for requesting medical or first aid treatment,
H. R. 2095—46 
or for following orders or a treatment plan of a treating physi-
cian, except that a railroad carrier’s refusal to permit an 
employee to return to work following medical treatment shall 
not be considered a violation of this section if the refusal 
is pursuant to Federal Railroad Administration medical stand-
ards for fitness of duty or, if there are no pertinent Federal 
Railroad Administration standards, a carrier’s medical stand-
ards for fitness for duty. For purposes of this paragraph, the 
term ‘discipline’ means to bring charges against a person in 
a disciplinary proceeding, suspend, terminate, place on proba-
tion, or make note of reprimand on an employee’s record.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 20109 is amended— 
(1) in subsection (d), as redesignated by subsection (a) 
of this section— 
(A) by striking ‘‘(a) or (b)’’ in paragraph (1) and 
inserting ‘‘(a), (b), or (c)’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘(c)(1)’’ in paragraph (2)(A)(i) and 
inserting ‘‘(d)(1)’’; 
(C) by striking ‘‘(a) or (b)’’ in paragraph (2)(A)(ii) and 
inserting ‘‘(a), (b), or (c)’’; and 
(2) in subsection (e), as so redesignated— 
(A) by striking ‘‘(c)’’ in paragraph (1) and inserting 
‘‘(d)’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘(c)’’ in paragraph (2) and inserting 
‘‘(d)’’; 
(C) by striking ‘‘(c)(3)’’ in paragraph (2) and inserting 
‘‘(d)(3)’’; and 
(D) by striking ‘‘(c)’’ in paragraph (3) and inserting 
‘‘(d)’’. 
SEC. 420. EMPLOYEE SLEEPING QUARTERS. 
Section 21106 is amended— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before ‘‘A railroad 
carrier’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘sanitary and give those employees and 
individuals an opportunity for rest free from the interruptions 
caused by noise under the control of the carrier;’’ in paragraph 
(1) and inserting ‘‘sanitary, give those employees and individ-
uals an opportunity for rest free from the interruptions caused 
by noise under the control of the carrier, and provide indoor 
toilet facilities, potable water, and other features to protect 
the health of employees;’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(b) CAMP CARS.—Not later than December 31, 2009, any rail-
road carrier that uses camp cars shall fully retrofit or replace 
such cars in compliance with subsection (a). 
‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than April 1, 2010, the Secretary 
of Transportation, in coordination with the Secretary of Labor, 
shall prescribe regulations to implement subsection (a)(1) to protect 
the safety and health of any employees and individuals employed 
to maintain the right of way of a railroad carrier that uses camp 
cars, which shall require that all camp cars comply with those 
regulations by December 31, 2010. In prescribing the regulations, 
the Secretary shall assess the action taken by any railroad carrier 
to fully retrofit or replace its camp cars pursuant to this section. 
‘‘(d) COMPLIANCE
AND ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary shall 
determine whether a railroad carrier has fully retrofitted or replaced
H. R. 2095—47 
a camp car pursuant to subsection (b) and shall prohibit the use 
of any non-compliant camp car. The Secretary may assess civil 
penalties pursuant to chapter 213 for violations of this section.’’. 
TITLE V—RAIL PASSENGER DISASTER 
FAMILY ASSISTANCE 
SEC. 501. ASSISTANCE BY NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD 
TO FAMILIES OF PASSENGERS INVOLVED IN RAIL PAS-
SENGER ACCIDENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 is amended by adding at the 
end of subchapter III the following: 
‘‘§ 1139. Assistance to families of passengers involved in rail 
passenger accidents 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after being notified 
of a rail passenger accident within the United States involving 
a rail passenger carrier and resulting in a major loss of life, the 
Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board shall— 
‘‘(1) designate and publicize the name and phone number 
of a director of family support services who shall be an employee 
of the Board and shall be responsible for acting as a point 
of contact within the Federal Government for the families of 
passengers involved in the accident and a liaison between the 
rail passenger carrier and the families; and 
‘‘(2) designate an independent nonprofit organization, with 
experience in disasters and post trauma communication with 
families, which shall have primary responsibility for coordi-
nating the emotional care and support of the families of pas-
sengers involved in the accident. 
‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BOARD.—The Board shall have 
primary Federal responsibility for— 
‘‘(1) facilitating the recovery and identification of fatally 
injured passengers involved in an accident described in sub-
section (a); and 
‘‘(2) communicating with the families of passengers involved 
in the accident as to the roles, with respect to the accident 
and the post-accident activities, of— 
‘‘(A) the organization designated for an accident under 
subsection (a)(2); 
‘‘(B) Government agencies; and 
‘‘(C) the rail passenger carrier involved. 
‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES
OF
DESIGNATED
ORGANIZATION.—The 
organization designated for an accident under subsection (a)(2) shall 
have the following responsibilities with respect to the families of 
passengers involved in the accident: 
‘‘(1) To provide mental health and counseling services, in 
coordination with the disaster response team of the rail pas-
senger carrier involved. 
‘‘(2) To take such actions as may be necessary to provide 
an environment in which the families may grieve in private. 
‘‘(3) To meet with the families who have traveled to the 
location of the accident, to contact the families unable to travel 
to such location, and to contact all affected families periodically 
thereafter until such time as the organization, in consultation 
with the director of family support services designated for the
H. R. 2095—48 
accident under subsection (a)(1), determines that further assist-
ance is no longer needed. 
‘‘(4) To arrange a suitable memorial service, in consultation 
with the families. 
‘‘(d) PASSENGER LISTS.— 
‘‘(1) REQUESTS FOR PASSENGER LISTS.— 
‘‘(A) REQUESTS BY DIRECTOR OF FAMILY SUPPORT SERV-
ICES.—It shall be the responsibility of the director of family 
support services designated for an accident under sub-
section (a)(1) to request, as soon as practicable, from the 
rail passenger carrier involved in the accident a list, which 
is based on the best available information at the time 
of the request, of the names of the passengers that were 
aboard the rail passenger carrier’s train involved in the 
accident. A rail passenger carrier shall use reasonable 
efforts, with respect to its unreserved trains, and pas-
sengers not holding reservations on its other trains, to 
ascertain the names of passengers aboard a train involved 
in an accident. 
‘‘(B) REQUESTS
BY
DESIGNATED
ORGANIZATION.—The 
organization designated for an accident under subsection 
(a)(2) may request from the rail passenger carrier involved 
in the accident a list described in subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(2) USE
OF
INFORMATION.—Except as provided in sub-
section (k), the director of family support services and the 
organization may not release to any person information on 
a list obtained under paragraph (1) but may provide information 
on the list about a passenger to the family of the passenger 
to the extent that the director of family support services or 
the organization considers appropriate. 
‘‘(e) CONTINUING RESPONSIBILITIES
OF
THE BOARD.—In the 
course of its investigation of an accident described in subsection 
(a), the Board shall, to the maximum extent practicable, ensure 
that the families of passengers involved in the accident— 
‘‘(1) are briefed, prior to any public briefing, about the 
accident and any other findings from the investigation; and 
‘‘(2) are individually informed of and allowed to attend 
any public hearings and meetings of the Board about the 
accident. 
‘‘(f) USE
OF RAIL PASSENGER CARRIER RESOURCES.—To the 
extent practicable, the organization designated for an accident 
under subsection (a)(2) shall coordinate its activities with the rail 
passenger carrier involved in the accident to facilitate the reason-
able use of the resources of the carrier. 
‘‘(g) PROHIBITED ACTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) ACTIONS TO IMPEDE THE BOARD.—No person (including 
a State or political subdivision thereof) may impede the ability 
of the Board (including the director of family support services 
designated for an accident under subsection (a)(1)), or an 
organization designated for an accident under subsection (a)(2), 
to carry out its responsibilities under this section or the ability 
of the families of passengers involved in the accident to have 
contact with one another. 
‘‘(2) 
UNSOLICITED
COMMUNICATIONS.—No 
unsolicited 
communication concerning a potential action or settlement offer 
for personal injury or wrongful death may be made by an 
attorney (including any associate, agent, employee, or other