RESPONSE Act of 2015
Latest action · Feb 25, 2015 Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 24, 2015
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
RESPONSE Act of 2015
Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to establish the Railroad Emergency Services Preparedness, Operational Needs, and Safety Evaluation Subcommittee of the National Advisory Council.
Directs the Subcommittee to evaluate the following topics and develop recommendations for improving emergency responder training and resource allocation for hazardous materials incidents involving railroads:
- the quality and application of training for local emergency first responders related to rail hazardous materials incidents, with a particular focus on local emergency responders and small communities near railroads;
- the 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;
- a strategy for integration of commodity flow studies, mapping, and access platforms for local emergency responders and how to increase the rate of access to the individual responder in existing or emerging communications technology;
- the need for emergency response plans for rail, similar to existing law related to maritime and stationary facility emergency response plans for hazardous materials;
- the need for a rail hazardous materials incident database;
- increasing access to relevant, useful, and timely information for the local emergency responder for training purposes and in the event of a rail hazardous materials incident; and
- determining the most appropriate agencies and offices for the implementation of the recommendations.
Terminates the Subcommittee not later than four years after this Act's enactment, subject to one year extensions.
Cosponsors 6
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 24, 2015 to Mar 10, 2015; 5 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-LA | Cedric L. Richmond | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| D-ME | Chellie Pingree | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| D-IL | Daniel Lipinski | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| D-NY | Sean Patrick Maloney | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| D-MN | Timothy J. Walz | Original | Feb 24, 2015 |
| D-IL | Cheri Bustos | Mar 10, 2015 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Transportation and Infrastructure Committee | Referred Feb 24, 2015 |
| Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee | Referred Feb 25, 2015 | |
| Highways and Transit Subcommittee | Referred Feb 25, 2015 | |
| Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee | Referred Feb 25, 2015 | |
| Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee | Referred Feb 25, 2015 | |
| Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee | Referred Feb 25, 2015 |
Actions 7
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Feb 25, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.
- Feb 25, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
- Feb 25, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
- Feb 25, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
- Feb 25, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management.
- Feb 24, 2015Introduced in House
- Feb 24, 2015Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 161, no. 31, February 24, 2015, page H1115.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 546 | RESPONSE Act of 2016 | Related bill | Dec 16, 2016 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- 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 resources relating to hazardous materials incidents involving railroads, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- RESPONSE Act of 2015
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Emergency Management.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Feb 24, 2015Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
