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H.R. 1238 118th Congress House

Decreasing Emergency Railroad Accident Instances Locally Act

Official title: To direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue certain regulations to define high-hazard flammable train, and for other purposes.

Introduced: March 8, 2023 Introduced by: Christopher R. Deluzio Democratic · Pennsylvania See on congress.gov
Transportation and Public Works
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This bill died when the 118th Congress ended
It never became law before the 118th Congress (2023–2024) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 4 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Mar 1, 2023
Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
Feb 28, 2023
Introduced in House
Feb 28, 2023
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Feb 28, 2023
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H953)
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 Latest action March 1, 2023

Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Decreasing Emergency Railroad Accident Instances Locally Act or the DERAIL Act

This bill requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to expand the statutory definition of a high-hazard flammable train (HHFT), thereby subjecting more trains to additional safety requirements.

Specifically, DOT must expand the definition of HHFT to mean a train transporting one or more loaded tank cars of a Class 3 flammable liquid (e.g., benzene residue) or a Class 2 flammable gas (e.g., vinyl chloride) and other materials DOT determines necessary for safety. Current regulations define HHFT as a train transporting 20 or more loaded tank cars of a Class 3 flammable liquid in a continuous block or 35 or more loaded tank cars of a Class 3 flammable liquid dispersed throughout the train.

The bill also requires railway carriers to report a train derailment that involves a train carrying material toxic by inhalation within 24 hours of the derailment to the National Response Center, state and local officials, and tribal governments.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
 Lobbying activity 7

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

  • POTOMAC PARTNERS DC
    for SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY · California · 3rd Quarter 2026 (July 1 - Sep 30)
  • POTOMAC PARTNERS DC
    for SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY · California · 2nd Quarter 2026 (Apr 1 - June 30)
  • POTOMAC PARTNERS DC
    for SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY · California · 1st Quarter 2026 (Jan 1 - Mar 31)
  • POTOMAC PARTNERS DC
    for SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY · California · 4th Quarter 2025 (Oct 1 - Dec 31)
  • POTOMAC PARTNERS DC
    for SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY · California · 3rd Quarter 2025 (July 1 - Sep 30)
  • POTOMAC PARTNERS DC
    for SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY · California · 2nd Quarter 2025 (Apr 1 - June 30)

Bodies those filers lobbied

A filing lists the bills it worked on and the parts of government it contacted in separate sections, so these are the bodies those filers named anywhere in the filing, not a per-bill breakdown.

See all 7 filings →
 Cosponsors 36
All 36 Democratic 32
D
Carson, André
Indiana · Apr 10, 2024
 D
Morelle, Joseph D.
New York · May 15, 2023
 D
Lieu, Ted
California · May 9, 2023
 D
Stevens, Haley M.
Michigan · May 9, 2023
 D
Cohen, Steve
Tennessee · Apr 10, 2023
 D
Schakowsky, Janice D.
Illinois · Apr 10, 2023
 D
Schiff, Adam B.
California · Apr 10, 2023
 D
Omar, Ilhan
Minnesota · Apr 3, 2023
Cárdenas, Tony
· Mar 23, 2023
 D
Green, Al
Texas · Mar 14, 2023
 D
McGovern, James P.
Massachusetts · Mar 14, 2023
 D
Sherman, Brad
California · Mar 14, 2023
Cartwright, Matt
· Mar 8, 2023
 D
Casar, Greg
Texas · Mar 8, 2023
 D
Dean, Madeleine
Pennsylvania · Mar 8, 2023
 D
DeSaulnier, Mark
California · Mar 8, 2023
 D
Evans, Dwight
Pennsylvania · Mar 8, 2023
 D
Hoyle, Val T.
Oregon · Mar 8, 2023
 D
Levin, Mike
California · Mar 8, 2023
 D
Moore, Gwen
Wisconsin · Mar 8, 2023
 D
Norton, Eleanor Holmes
District of Columbia · Mar 8, 2023
 D
Pettersen, Brittany
Colorado · Mar 8, 2023
 D
Sorensen, Eric
Illinois · Mar 8, 2023
 D
Titus, Dina
Nevada · Mar 8, 2023
 D
Barragán, Nanette Diaz
California · Feb 28, 2023
Bowman, Jamaal
· Feb 28, 2023
 D
Boyle, Brendan F.
Pennsylvania · Feb 28, 2023
 D
Doggett, Lloyd
Texas · Feb 28, 2023
 D
Garamendi, John
California · Feb 28, 2023
 D
Khanna, Ro
California · Feb 28, 2023
 D
Lee, Summer L.
Pennsylvania · Feb 28, 2023
 D
Moskowitz, Jared
Florida · Feb 28, 2023
Nickel, Wiley
· Feb 28, 2023
 D
Ryan, Patrick
New York · Feb 28, 2023
 D
Tlaib, Rashida
Michigan · Feb 28, 2023
 D
Tokuda, Jill N.
Hawaii · Feb 28, 2023
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 1238: Decreasing Emergency Railroad Accident Instances Locally Act. 118th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-1238/
MLA
"H.R. 1238: Decreasing Emergency Railroad Accident Instances Locally Act." 118th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-1238/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 1238, 118th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-1238/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 1238: Decreasing Emergency Railroad Accident Instances Locally Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-1238/)
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