{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://mikethompson.house.gov//newsroom/press-releases/thompson-legislation-to-enhance-rail-and-refinery-security-to-be-signed-into", "THOMPSON LEGISLATION TO ENHANCE RAIL AND REFINERY SECURITY TO BE SIGNED INTO LAW", "2014-12-10", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "CA", "Mike Thompson", "T000460", "mikethompson.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON D.C. \u2013 Legislation authored by U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-5) to enhance rail and refinery security passed the U.S. House of Representatives as part of H.R. 4681, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015. Thompson\u2019s legislation requires the Department of Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis (DHS I&A) to conduct an intelligence assessment of the security of domestic oil refineries and related rail infrastructure.\nAfter the assessment is conducted, DHS I&A must submit the results of its assessment to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, along with any recommendations to improve the security of domestic oil refineries and related rail infrastructure. The recommendations will help officials better protect the communities surrounding refineries and railways from potential harm.\n\u201cPublic safety is my number one priority and through enhanced reporting we can better know if threats exist and how we can fix them,\u201d said Thompson. \u201cThis law will help make sure we\u2019re transporting and holding crude oil and other cargo through and in our communities in a safe manner.\u201d\nThe improved reporting required by Thompson\u2019s legislation will help officials better assess the types of threats our nation's oil refineries and railways face so that such threats can be mitigated. This could include improvements to security at refineries, or upgrades to rail infrastructure that could decrease the likelihood of derailments.\nMany trains transporting crude oil from the Bakken Shale formation of North Dakota run through Thompson\u2019s congressional district. The crude oil from this region is regarded as highly flammable and this legislation will help make sure it is transported safely.\nH.R. 4681 passed the House by a vote of 325-100. It now goes to the President to be signed into law.\n\u00a0\nCongressman Mike Thompson is proud to represent California\u2019s 5th Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma Counties. \u00a0He is a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Rep. Thompson is also a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition and chairs the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus.\n\u00a0\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://mikethompson.house.gov//newsroom/press-releases/thompson-legislation-to-enhance-rail-and-refinery-security-to-be-signed-into"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8193741086870432, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}