Under Pressure Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Under Pressure Act directs the Federal Railroad Administration to study pressure relief device failures on rail tank cars during derailment events. Within 18 months, FRA must submit a report to Congress on failure rates and causes, including the number of tank cars involved, whether a fire occurred, fire temperature and duration, timing and circumstances of device failure, commodity compatibility, survivability and thermal protection under high heat, and device orientation above or below the vapor line or in the liquid space. The report must recommend ways to prevent failures and identify the status of relevant National Transportation Safety Board recommendations, including recommendations for rail tank cars where the respondent has not provided an acceptable response. FRA must consult with PHMSA, rail employers, organizations representing rail employees, rail tank car builders, shippers, and owners.
Who Benefits and How
Communities near freight rail routes benefit if the report leads to safer tank cars and fewer hazardous-material releases during derailments. Rail employees and emergency responders benefit from better information about pressure relief failures, fires, thermal protection, and tank car survivability. Congress, FRA, PHMSA, NTSB, rail tank car builders, shippers, and owners benefit from a factual record and recommendations for preventing failures.
Who Bears the Burden and How
FRA safety staff must gather derailment data, analyze failure causes, consult stakeholders, track NTSB recommendation status, and write the report within 18 months. PHMSA staff, rail employers, rail employee organizations, tank car builders, shippers, and owners must provide technical input. Tank car manufacturers and hazardous-material shippers may face future design, inspection, or operating pressure if the report identifies preventable device failures.
Key Provisions
- Requires FRA to report on pressure relief device failure rates and causes in rail tank car derailments.
- Requires analysis of fire conditions, failure timing, commodity compatibility, survivability, thermal protection, and device orientation.
- Requires recommendations to prevent rail tank car pressure relief device failures.
- Requires status updates on relevant NTSB recommendations.
- Requires consultation with PHMSA, rail employers, rail employees, tank car builders, shippers, and owners.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires the Federal Railroad Administration to report to Congress within 18 months on rail tank car pressure relief device failures in derailments, including fire conditions, device compatibility, survivability, orientation, prevention recommendations, NTSB recommendation status, and consultation with PHMSA, rail employers, rail employees, builders, shippers, and owners.
Key Policy Areas
Transportation, Public Safety, Manufacturing
Primary Purpose
Requires the Federal Railroad Administration to report to Congress within 18 months on rail tank car pressure relief device failures in derailments, including fire conditions, device compatibility, survivability, orientation, prevention recommendations, NTSB recommendation status, and consultation with PHMSA, rail employers, rail employees, builders, shippers, and owners.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Communities near freight rail routes
- Rail employees
- Emergency responders
- Congressional transportation committees
- FRA safety analysts
- PHMSA hazardous-materials staff
Identified Costs
- FRA safety staff
- Rail tank car builders
- Hazardous-material shippers
- Tank car owners
- Rail employers
- Rail employee organizations
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Introduced in House
Mr. Deluzio (for himself and Mr. Rulli) introduced the following …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Communities near freight rail routes, Hazardous-material shippers
Positive-direction: Communities near freight rail routes
Negative-direction: Hazardous-material shippers
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
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