H. R. 2095—33 
functions in the railroad industry for a specified period of 
time or until specified conditions are met. 
‘‘(2) This subsection does not affect the Secretary’s authority 
under section 20104 of this title to act on an emergency basis.’’. 
SEC. 306. RAILROAD RADIO MONITORING AUTHORITY. 
Section 20107 is amended by inserting at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) RAILROAD RADIO COMMUNICATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the Secretary’s responsibil-
ities under this part and under chapter 51, the Secretary may 
authorize officers, employees, or agents of the Secretary to 
conduct, with or without making their presence known, the 
following activities in circumstances the Secretary finds to be 
reasonable: 
‘‘(A) Intercepting a radio communication, with or with-
out the consent of the sender or other receivers of the 
communication, but only where such communication is 
broadcast or transmitted over a radio frequency which is— 
‘‘(i) authorized for use by one or more railroad 
carriers by the Federal Communications Commission; 
and 
‘‘(ii) primarily used by such railroad carriers for 
communications in connection with railroad operations. 
‘‘(B) Communicating the existence, contents, substance, 
purport, effect, or meaning of the communication, subject 
to the restrictions in paragraph (3). 
‘‘(C) Receiving or assisting in receiving the communica-
tion (or any information therein contained). 
‘‘(D) Disclosing the contents, substance, purport, 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 restric-
tions in paragraph (3), after having received the commu-
nication or acquired knowledge of the contents, substance, 
purport, effect, or meaning of the communication (or any 
part thereof). 
‘‘(E) Recording the communication by any means, 
including writing and tape recording. 
‘‘(2) ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT PREVENTION AND INVESTIGA-
TION.—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 and incident prevention and investiga-
tion. 
‘‘(3) USE
OF
INFORMATION.—(A) Information obtained 
through activities authorized by paragraphs (1) and (2) shall 
not be admitted into evidence in any administrative or judicial 
proceeding except— 
‘‘(i) in a prosecution of 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, 
substance, 
purport, 
effect, 
meaning, or timing of, or identity of parties to, a commu-
nication intercepted pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) 
in proceedings pursuant to section 5122, 5123, 20702(b), 
20111, 20112, 20113, or 20114 of this title.
H. R. 2095—34 
‘‘(B) If information obtained through activities set forth 
in paragraphs (1) and (2) is admitted into evidence for impeach-
ment purposes in accordance with subparagraph (A), the court, 
administrative law judge, or other officer 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 circumstances to protect privacy and 
administer justice. 
‘‘(C) No evidence shall be excluded in an administrative 
or judicial proceeding solely because the government would 
not have learned of the existence of or obtained such evidence 
but for the interception of information that is not admissible 
in such proceeding under subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(D) Information obtained through activities set forth in 
paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not be subject to publication or 
disclosure, or search or review in connection therewith, under 
section 552 of title 5. 
‘‘(E) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to impair 
or otherwise affect the authority of the United States to inter-
cept a communication, and collect, retain, analyze, use, and 
disseminate the information obtained thereby, under a provi-
sion of law other than this subsection. 
‘‘(4) APPLICATION WITH OTHER LAW.—Section 705 of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 605) and chapter 119 
of title 18 shall not apply to conduct authorized by and pursuant 
to this subsection.’’. 
SEC. 
307. 
UPDATE 
OF 
FEDERAL 
RAILROAD 
ADMINISTRATION’S 
WEBSITE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall update the Federal Rail-
road Administration’s public website to better facilitate the ability 
of the public, including those individuals who are not regular users 
of the public website, to find current information regarding the 
Federal Railroad Administration’s activities. 
(b) PUBLIC REPORTING OF VIOLATIONS.—On the Federal Rail-
road Administration’s public website’s home page, the Secretary 
shall provide a mechanism for the public to submit written reports 
of potential violations of Federal railroad safety and hazardous 
materials transportation laws, regulations, and orders to the Fed-
eral Railroad Administration. 
SEC. 308. EMERGENCY WAIVERS. 
Section 20103 is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘WAIVERS.—’’ in subsection (d) and inserting 
‘‘NONEMERGENCY WAIVERS.—’’; 
(2) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(e) HEARINGS.—The Secretary shall conduct a hearing as pro-
vided by section 553 of title 5 when prescribing a regulation or 
issuing an order under this part, including a regulation or order 
establishing, amending, or providing a waiver, described in sub-
section (d), of compliance with a railroad safety regulation pre-
scribed or order issued under this part. An opportunity for an 
oral presentation shall be provided.’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end thereof the following: 
‘‘(g) EMERGENCY WAIVERS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may waive compliance 
with any part of a regulation prescribed or order issued under
H. R. 2095—35 
this part without prior notice and comment if the Secretary 
determines that— 
‘‘(A) it is in the public interest to grant the waiver; 
‘‘(B) the waiver is not inconsistent with railroad safety; 
and 
‘‘(C) the waiver is necessary to address an actual or 
impending emergency situation or emergency event. 
‘‘(2) PERIOD OF WAIVER.—A waiver under this subsection 
may be issued for a period of not more than 60 days and 
may be renewed upon application to the Secretary only after 
notice and an opportunity for a hearing on the waiver. The 
Secretary shall immediately revoke the waiver if continuation 
of the waiver would not be consistent with the goals and objec-
tives of this part. 
‘‘(3) STATEMENT OF REASONS.—The Secretary shall state 
in the decision issued under this subsection the reasons for 
granting the waiver. 
‘‘(4) CONSULTATION.—In granting a waiver under this sub-
section, the Secretary shall consult and coordinate with other 
Federal agencies, as appropriate, for matters that may impact 
such agencies. 
‘‘(5) EMERGENCY SITUATION; EMERGENCY EVENT.—In this 
subsection, the terms ‘emergency situation’ and ‘emergency 
event’ mean a natural or manmade disaster, such as a hurri-
cane, flood, earthquake, mudslide, forest fire, snowstorm, ter-
rorist act, biological outbreak, release of a dangerous radio-
logical, 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. 309. ENFORCEMENT BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. 
Section 20112(a) is amended— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘this part, except for section 20109 of 
this title, or’’ in paragraph (1) after ‘‘enforce,’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘21301’’ in paragraph (2) and inserting 
‘‘21301, 21302, or 21303’’; 
(3) by striking ‘‘subpena’’ in paragraph (3) and inserting 
‘‘subpoena, request for admissions, request for production of 
documents or other tangible things, or request for testimony 
by deposition’’; and 
(4) by striking ‘‘chapter.’’ in paragraph (3) and inserting 
‘‘part.’’. 
SEC. 310. CRIMINAL PENALTIES. 
Section 21311(b) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(b) ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT REPORTS.—A railroad carrier not 
filing a report in violation of section 20901 of this title shall be 
fined not more than $2,500. A separate violation occurs for each 
day the violation continues.’’.
H. R. 2095—36 
TITLE IV—RAILROAD SAFETY 
ENHANCEMENTS 
SEC. 401. MINIMUM TRAINING STANDARDS AND PLANS. 
(a) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter II of chapter 201, as amended 
by section 210 of this division, is further amended by adding at 
the end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 20162. Minimum training standards and plans 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation shall, not 
later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Rail Safety 
Improvement Act of 2008, establish— 
‘‘(1) minimum training standards for each class and craft 
of safety-related railroad employee (as defined in section 20102) 
and equivalent railroad carrier contractor and subcontractor 
employees, which shall require railroad carriers, contractors, 
and subcontractors to qualify or otherwise document the pro-
ficiency of such employees in each such class and craft 
regarding their knowledge of, and ability to comply with, Fed-
eral railroad safety laws and regulations and railroad carrier 
rules and procedures promulgated to implement those Federal 
railroad safety laws and regulations; 
‘‘(2) a requirement that railroad carriers, contractors, and 
subcontractors develop and submit training and qualification 
plans to the Secretary for approval, including training programs 
and information deemed necessary by the Secretary to ensure 
that all safety-related railroad employees receive appropriate 
training in a timely manner; and 
‘‘(3) a minimum training curriculum, and ongoing training 
criteria, testing, and skills evaluation measures to ensure that 
safety-related railroad employees, and contractor and subcon-
tractor employees, charged with the inspection of track or rail-
road equipment are qualified to assess railroad compliance 
with Federal standards to identify defective conditions and 
initiate immediate remedial action to correct critical safety 
defects that are known to contribute to derailments, accidents, 
incidents, or injuries, and, in implementing the requirements 
of this paragraph, take into consideration existing training 
programs of railroad carriers. 
‘‘(b) APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall review and approve the 
plans required under subsection (a)(2) utilizing an approval process 
required for programs to certify the qualification of locomotive engi-
neers pursuant to part 240 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. 
‘‘(c) EXEMPTION.—The Secretary may exempt railroad carriers 
and railroad carrier contractors and subcontractors from submitting 
training plans for which the Secretary has issued training regula-
tions before the date of enactment of the Rail Safety Improvement 
Act of 2008.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis for 
chapter 201, as amended by section 210 of this division, is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 20161 the following: 
‘‘20162. Minimum training standards and plans.’’.