‘‘(2) designate an independent nonprofit organi-
zation, with experience in disasters and posttrauma
communication with families, which shall have pri-
mary responsibility for coordinating the emotional
care and support of the families of passengers in-
volved 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 subsection (a); and
‘‘(2) communicating with the families of pas-
sengers involved in the accident as to the roles of—
‘‘(A) the organization designated for an ac-
cident under subsection (a)(2);
‘‘(B) Government agencies; and
‘‘(C) the rail passenger carrier involved,
with respect to the accident and the post-accident ac-
tivities.
‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF DESIGNATED ORGANIZA-
TION.—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 passenger 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 di-
rector of family support services designated for the ac-
cident under subsection (a)(1), determines that fur-
ther assistance 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
SERVICES.—It shall be the responsi-
bility of the director of family support services
designated for an accident under subsection
(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 infor-
mation at the time of the request, of the names
of the passengers that were aboard the rail pas-
senger 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 ORGANIZA-
TION.—The organization designated for an acci-
dent under subsection (a)(2) may request from
the rail passenger carrier involved in the acci-
dent a list described in subparagraph (A).
‘‘(2) USE
OF
INFORMATION.—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 pas-
senger 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 max-
imum extent practicable, ensure that the families of pas-
sengers 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
RE-
SOURCES.—To the extent practicable, the organization des-
ignated for an accident under subsection (a)(2) shall coordi-
nate its activities with the rail passenger carrier involved
in the accident to facilitate the reasonable use of the re-
sources of the carrier.
‘‘(g) PROHIBITED ACTIONS.—
‘‘(1) ACTIONS TO IMPEDE THE BOARD.—No per-
son (including a State or political subdivision) may
impede the ability of the Board (including the direc-
tor of family support services designated for an acci-
dent under subsection (a)(1)), or an organization des-
ignated 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 unso-
licited communication concerning a potential action
for personal injury or wrongful death may be made
by an attorney (including any associate, agent, em-
ployee, or other representative of an attorney) or any
potential party to the litigation to an individual
(other than an employee of the rail passenger carrier)
injured in the accident, or to a relative of an indi-
vidual involved in the accident, before the 45th day
following the date of the accident.
‘‘(3) PROHIBITION
ON
ACTIONS
TO
PREVENT
MENTAL
HEALTH
AND
COUNSELING
SERVICES.—No
State or political subdivision may prevent the em-
ployees, agents, or volunteers of an organization des-
ignated for an accident under subsection (a)(2) from
providing mental health and counseling services
under subsection (c)(1) in the 30-day period begin-
ning on the date of the accident. The director of fam-
ily support services designated for the accident under
subsection (a)(1) may extend such period for not to
exceed an additional 30 days if the director deter-
mines that the extension is necessary to meet the
needs of the families and if State and local authori-
ties are notified of the determination.
‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi-
nitions apply:
‘‘(1) RAIL
PASSENGER
ACCIDENT.—The term
‘rail passenger accident’ means any rail passenger
disaster occurring in the provision of—
‘‘(A) interstate intercity rail passenger
transportation (as such term is defined in sec-
tion 24102); or
‘‘(B) interstate or intrastate high-speed rail
(as such term is defined in section 26105) trans-
portation,
regardless of its cause or suspected cause.
‘‘(2) RAIL PASSENGER CARRIER.—The term ‘rail
passenger carrier’ means a rail carrier providing—
‘‘(A) interstate intercity rail passenger
transportation (as such term is defined in sec-
tion 24102); or
‘‘(B) interstate or intrastate high-speed rail
(as such term is defined in section 26105) trans-
portation,
except that such term shall not include a tourist, his-
toric, scenic, or excursion rail carrier.
‘‘(3) 
PASSENGER.—The 
term 
‘passenger’
includes—
‘‘(A) an employee of a rail passenger car-
rier aboard a train;
the accident, the Board shall assist, to the maximum
extent possible, the agency to which the Board has re-
linquished investigative priority in assisting families
with respect to the accident.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sections
for such chapter is amended by inserting after the item re-
lating to section 1137 the following:
‘‘1138. Assistance to families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents.’’.
SEC. 202. RAIL PASSENGER CARRIER PLANS TO ADDRESS
NEEDS OF FAMILIES OF PASSENGERS IN-
VOLVED IN RAIL PASSENGER ACCIDENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part C of subtitle V of title 49,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following new chapter:
‘‘CHAPTER 251—FAMILY ASSISTANCE
‘‘Sec.
‘‘25101.
Plans to address needs of families of passengers involved in rail pas-
senger accidents.
‘‘§ 25101.
Plans to address needs of families of pas-
sengers involved in rail passenger acci-
dents
‘‘(a) SUBMISSION OF PLANS.—Not later than 6 months
after the date of the enactment of this section, each rail pas-
senger carrier shall submit to the Secretary of Transpor-
tation and the Chairman of the National Transportation
Safety Board a plan for addressing the needs of the families
of passengers involved in any rail passenger accident in-
volving a train of the rail passenger carrier and resulting
in a major loss of life.
‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—A plan to be submitted
by a rail passenger carrier under subsection (a) shall in-
clude, at a minimum, the following:
‘‘(1) A plan for publicizing a reliable, toll-free
telephone number, and for providing staff, to handle
calls from the families of the passengers.
‘‘(2) A process for notifying the families of the
passengers, before providing any public notice of the
names of the passengers, either by utilizing the serv-
ices of the organization designated for the accident
under section 1138(a)(2) of this title or the services
of other suitably trained individuals.
‘‘(3) An assurance that the notice described in
paragraph (2) will be provided to the family of a pas-
senger as soon as the rail passenger carrier has
verified that the passenger was aboard the train
(whether or not the names of all of the passengers
have been verified) and, to the extent practicable, in
person.
‘‘(4) An assurance that the rail passenger carrier
will provide to the director of family support services
designated for the accident under section 1138(a)(1)
of this title, and to the organization designated for the
accident under section 1138(a)(2) of this title, imme-
diately upon request, a list (which is based on the best
available information at the time of the request) of
the names of the passengers aboard the train (whether
or not such names have been verified), and will peri-
odically update the list. The plan shall include a pro-
cedure, with respect to unreserved trains and pas-
sengers not holding reservations on other trains, for
the rail passenger carrier to use reasonable efforts to
ascertain the names of passengers aboard a train in-
volved in an accident.
‘‘(5) An assurance that the family of each pas-
senger will be consulted about the disposition of all
remains and personal effects of the passenger within
the control of the rail passenger carrier.
‘‘(6) An assurance that if requested by the family
of a passenger, any possession of the passenger within
the control of the rail passenger carrier (regardless of
its condition) will be returned to the family unless the
possession is needed for the accident investigation or
any criminal investigation.
‘‘(7) An assurance that any unclaimed posses-
sion of a passenger within the control of the rail pas-
senger carrier will be retained by the rail passenger
carrier for at least 18 months.
‘‘(8) An assurance that the family of each pas-
senger or other person killed in the accident will be
consulted about construction by the rail passenger
carrier of any monument to the passengers, including
any inscription on the monument.
‘‘(9) An assurance that the treatment of the fam-
ilies of nonrevenue passengers will be the same as the
treatment of the families of revenue passengers.
‘‘(10) An assurance that the rail passenger car-
rier will work with any organization designated
under section 1138(a)(2) of this title on an ongoing
basis to ensure that families of passengers receive an
appropriate level of services and assistance following
each accident.
‘‘(11) An assurance that the rail passenger car-
rier will provide reasonable compensation to any or-
ganization designated under section 1138(a)(2) of this
title for services provided by the organization.
‘‘(12) An assurance that the rail passenger car-
rier will assist the family of a passenger in traveling
to the location of the accident and provide for the
physical care of the family while the family is staying
at such location.
‘‘(13) An assurance that the rail passenger car-
rier will commit sufficient resources to carry out the
plan.
‘‘(14) An assurance that the rail passenger car-
rier will provide adequate training to the employees
and agents of the carrier to meet the needs of sur-
vivors and family members following an accident.
‘‘(15) An assurance that, upon request of the
family of a passenger, the rail passenger carrier will
inform the family of whether the passenger’s name
appeared on any preliminary passenger manifest for
the train involved in the accident.
‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—A rail passenger car-
rier shall not be liable for damages in any action brought
in a Federal or State court arising out of the performance
of the rail passenger carrier in preparing or providing a
passenger list, or in providing information concerning a
train reservation, pursuant to a plan submitted by the rail
passenger carrier under subsection (b), unless such liability
was caused by conduct of the rail passenger carrier which
was grossly negligent or which constituted intentional mis-
conduct.
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section—
‘‘(1) the terms ‘rail passenger accident’ and ‘rail
passenger carrier’ have the meanings such terms have
in section 1138 of this title; and
‘‘(2) the term ‘passenger’ means a person aboard
a rail passenger carrier’s train that is involved in a
rail passenger accident.
‘‘(e) LIMITATION
ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—
Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the
actions that a rail passenger carrier may take, or the obli-
gations that a rail passenger carrier may have, in pro-
viding assistance to the families of passengers involved in
a rail passenger accident.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters
for subtitle V of title 49, United States Code, is amended
by adding after the item relating to chapter 249 the fol-
lowing new item:
‘‘251. FAMILY ASSISTANCE .................................................................
25101’’.
Union Calendar No. 281
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4466
[Report No. 107–470]
A BILL
To amend title 49, United States Code, to author-
ize appropriations for the National Transpor-
tation Safety Board for fiscal years 2003, 2004,
and 2005, and for other purposes.
MAY 16, 2002
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,
and ordered to be printed