I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1043 
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 re-
sources relating to hazardous materials incidents involving railroads, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 24, 2015 
Mr. KIND (for himself, Mr. RICHMOND, Mr. LIPINSKI, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. 
WALZ, and Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To establish the Railroad Emergency Services Preparedness, 
Operational Needs, and Safety Evaluation (RESPONSE) 
Subcommittee under the Federal Emergency Manage-
ment Agency’s National Advisory Council to provide rec-
ommendations on emergency responder training and re-
sources relating to hazardous materials incidents involv-
ing railroads, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘RESPONSE Act of 
2015’’. 
SEC. 2. RAILROAD EMERGENCY SERVICES PREPAREDNESS, 
OPERATIONAL NEEDS, AND SAFETY EVALUA-
TION SUBCOMMITTEE. 
Section 508 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
(6 U.S.C. 318) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub-
section (e); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(d) RESPONSE SUBCOMMITTEE.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 30 days 
after the date of the enactment of the RESPONSE 
Act of 2015, the Administrator shall establish, as a 
subcommittee of the National Advisory Council, the 
Railroad Emergency Services Preparedness, Oper-
ational Needs, and Safety Evaluation Subcommittee 
(referred to in this subsection as the ‘RESPONSE 
Subcommittee’). 
‘‘(2) 
MEMBERSHIP.—Notwithstanding 
sub-
section (c), the RESPONSE Subcommittee shall be 
composed of the following: 
‘‘(A) The Deputy Administrator for Pro-
tection and National Preparedness of the Fed-
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Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, or 
designee. 
‘‘(I) The Chief Safety Officer and Assist-
ant Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier 
Safety Administration, or designee. 
‘‘(J) Such other qualified individuals as 
the Administrator shall appoint as soon as 
practicable after the date of the enactment of 
the RESPONSE Act of 2015 from among the 
following: 
‘‘(i) Members of the National Advi-
sory Council that have the requisite tech-
nical knowledge and expertise to address 
rail emergency response issues, including 
members from the following disciplines: 
‘‘(I) Emergency management and 
emergency response providers, includ-
ing fire service, law enforcement, haz-
ardous materials response, and emer-
gency medical services. 
‘‘(II) State, local, and tribal gov-
ernment officials with expertise in 
preparedness, protection, response, re-
covery, and mitigation, including Ad-
jutants General. 
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‘‘(III) Elected State, local, and 
tribal government executives. 
‘‘(IV) Such other individuals as 
the Administrator determines to be 
appropriate. 
‘‘(ii) Individuals who have the req-
uisite technical knowledge and expertise to 
serve on the RESPONSE Subcommittee, 
including representatives of— 
‘‘(I) the rail industry; 
‘‘(II) the oil industry; 
‘‘(III) the communications indus-
try; 
‘‘(IV) emergency response pro-
viders, including individuals nomi-
nated by national organizations rep-
resenting local governments and per-
sonnel; 
‘‘(V) representatives from na-
tional Indian organizations; 
‘‘(VI) technical experts; and 
‘‘(VII) vendors, developers, and 
manufacturers of systems, facilities, 
equipment, and capabilities for emer-
gency responder services. 
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‘‘(iii) Representatives of such other 
stakeholders and interested and affected 
parties as the Administrator considers ap-
propriate. 
‘‘(3) CHAIRPERSON.—The Deputy Adminis-
trator for Protection and National Preparedness 
shall serve as the Chairperson of the RESPONSE 
Subcommittee, or designee. 
‘‘(4) MEETINGS.— 
‘‘(A) INITIAL MEETING.—The initial meet-
ing of the RESPONSE Subcommittee shall 
take place not later than 90 days after the date 
of the enactment of the RESPONSE Act of 
2015. 
‘‘(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 Chairperson. 
‘‘(5) CONSULTATION WITH NONMEMBERS.—The 
RESPONSE Subcommittee and the program offices 
for emergency responder training and resources shall 
consult with other relevant agencies and groups, in-
cluding entities engaged in federally funded research 
and academic institutions engaged in relevant work 
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and research, which are not represented on the RE-
SPONSE Subcommittee to consider new and devel-
oping technologies and methods that may be bene-
ficial to preparedness and response to rail incidents. 
‘‘(6) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The RESPONSE 
Subcommittee shall evaluate the following topics and 
develop recommendations for improving emergency 
responder training and resource allocation for haz-
ardous materials incidents involving railroads: 
‘‘(A) Quality and application of training 
for local emergency first responders related to 
rail hazardous materials incidents, with a par-
ticular focus on local emergency responders and 
small communities near railroads, including the 
following: 
‘‘(i) Ease of access to relevant train-
ing 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 
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‘‘(V) projected needs. 
‘‘(ii) Modernization of course content 
related to rail hazardous materials inci-
dents, with a particular focus on response 
to the exponential rise in oil shipments by 
rail. 
‘‘(iii) Training content across agencies 
and the private sector to provide com-
plementary opportunities for rail haz-
ardous materials incidents courses and ma-
terials to avoid overlap, including the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(I) Overlap of course content 
among agencies. 
‘‘(II) Integrated course content 
through public-private partnerships. 
‘‘(III) Regular and ongoing eval-
uation of course opportunities, adap-
tation to emerging trends, agency and 
private sector outreach, effectiveness 
and ease of access for local emergency 
responders. 
‘‘(iv) Online training platforms, train- 
the-trainer and mobile training options. 
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‘‘(B) Effectiveness of funding levels related 
to training local emergency responders for rail 
hazardous materials incidents, with a particular 
focus on local emergency responders and small 
communities, including the following: 
‘‘(i) Minimizing overlap in resource al-
location among agencies. 
‘‘(ii) Minimizing overlap in resource 
allocation among agencies and private sec-
tor. 
‘‘(iii) Maximizing public-private part-
nerships where funding gaps exists for spe-
cific training or cost-saving measures can 
be implemented to increase training oppor-
tunities. 
‘‘(iv) Adaptation of priority settings 
for agency funding allocations in response 
to emerging trends. 
‘‘(v) Historic levels of funding across 
agencies and private sector for rail haz-
ardous materials incidents. 
‘‘(vi) Current funding resources across 
agencies. 
‘‘(C) Strategy for integration of commodity 
flow studies, mapping, and access platforms for 
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