IB 
Union Calendar No. 576 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6707 
[Report No. 110–893] 
To require Surface Transportation Board consideration of the impacts of 
certain railroad transactions on local communities, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 31, 2008 
Mr. OBERSTAR (for himself, Ms. BEAN, Mrs. BIGGERT, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. 
FOSTER, Mr. MANZULLO, Mr. ROSKAM, Mr. HOBSON, Mr. NEAL of Mas-
sachusetts, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. KAGEN, Mr. KIND, Ms. 
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. CASTOR, Ms. BERKLEY, Ms. HOOLEY, Mr. 
BRALEY of Iowa, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. LAHOOD, and 
Mr. CRAMER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
SEPTEMBER 26, 2008 
Additional sponsors: Mr. HOLDEN, and Ms. NORTON 
SEPTEMBER 26, 2008 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 31, 2008] 
A BILL 
To require Surface Transportation Board consideration of 
the impacts of certain railroad transactions on local com-
munities, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Taking Responsible Ac-
tion for Community Safety Act’’. 
SEC. 2. EFFECT OF MERGERS ON LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND 
RAIL PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION. 
Section 11324 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by striking the last sentence and insert-
ing ‘‘The Board shall hold public hearings on the 
proposed transaction, including public hearings 
in the affected communities, unless the Board de-
termines that public hearings are not necessary 
in the public interest.’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘which involves the merger 
or control of at least two Class I railroads,’’ and 
inserting ‘‘with respect to a transaction that in-
volves at least one Class I railroad,’’; 
(B) by inserting ‘‘the effect on the public in-
terest, including’’ after ‘‘the Board shall con-
sider’’; 
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(C) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘on the 
public interest’’; 
(D) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-
graph (4); 
(E) by striking the period at the end of 
paragraph (5) and inserting a semicolon; and 
(F) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraphs: 
‘‘(6) the safety and environmental effects of the 
proposed transaction, including the effects on local 
communities, such as public safety, grade crossing 
safety, hazardous materials transportation safety, 
emergency response time, noise, and socioeconomic 
impacts; and 
‘‘(7) the effect of the proposed transaction on 
intercity rail passenger transportation and commuter 
rail passenger transportation, as defined by section 
24102 of this title.’’; 
(3) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), (e), and 
(f) as subsections (d), (e), (f), and (g) and inserting 
a new subsection (c) as follows: 
‘‘(c) The Board shall approve and authorize a trans-
action under this section when it finds the transaction is 
consistent with the public interest. The Board shall not ap-
prove a transaction described in subsection (b) if it finds 
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that the transaction’s impacts on safety and on all affected 
communities, as defined under subsection (b), outweigh the 
transportation benefits of the transaction. The Board may 
impose conditions governing a transaction under this sec-
tion, including conditions to mitigate the effects of the 
transaction on local communities.’’; 
(4) in subsection (d), as redesignated, by striking 
‘‘The Board shall approve’’ and all that follows 
through ‘‘the transaction, including’’ and inserting 
‘‘The conditions the Board may impose under this 
section include’’; and 
(5) in subsection (e), as redesignated, by striking 
‘‘the merger or control of at least two Class I rail-
roads, as defined by the Board’’ and inserting ‘‘a 
transaction described in subsection (b)’’. 
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
The amendments made in this Act shall be applied to 
all transactions that have not been approved by the Board 
as of August 1, 2008. 
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