releases: https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=5696AD48-621E-4CED-A9A8-0DACC786604A
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=5696AD48-621E-4CED-A9A8-0DACC786604A | Heitkamps Bipartisan Bill to Improve Training & Support for First Responders Unanimously Passes in U.S. House of Representatives Committee | 2016-10-03 | 2016 | 2016-10 | Democrat | House | ND | Heidi Heitkamp | H001069 | www.heitkamp.senate.gov | legacy | Even during Current Downturn in Oil Production, about One-Third of ND Crude Oil is Transported by Rail WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today announced that her bipartisan legislation to make sure first responders are prepared to handle hazardous incidents, including crude oil train derailments, unanimously passed in the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure – final step before a vote on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. In May, Heitkamp’s bill unanimously passed in the U.S. Senate. Since late 2013 when a train carrying crude oil derailed in Casselton, North Dakota, which was followed by several derailments nationwide, Heitkamp has been working to equip emergency response teams with the necessary tools and resources to prepare for to hazmat incidents on the rails. After a train derailment in Casselton, North Dakota in late 2013, which was followed by several derailments throughout the country including a second derailment of a crude oil train in North Dakota, Heitkamp has been pushing to make sure first responders have the tools and resources they need when responding to hazmat incidents on the rails to keep North Dakota’s communities strong and safe, as her bill aims to accomplish. “Most of us can hardly imagine running toward flames in times of emergency, but that’s exactly what North Dakota’s emergency responders in Heimdal and Casselton did during crude oil train derailments, and it’s what our state’s nearly all-volunteer fire fighting forces prepare to do every day,” said Heitkamp. “After a crude oil train derailed in Casselton in 2013, I wanted to make sure that when oil trains derail, first responders across the country are equipped with the training and the tools they need to keep themselves are our communities safe. In May, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed my bill to provide those resources, and now, the U.S. House of Representatives is one step closer to making it a reality. Since Casselton, rural towns across the country have experienced derailments, and it’s my hope that the House swiftly votes on my legislation so we can prepare our first responders to protect our families, and return home safely to their own.” Heitkamp’s Railroad Emergency Services Preparedness, Operational Needs, and Safety Evaluation (RESPONSE) Act would enable first responders to get quality training and have access to the appropriate resources and effective communications. Specifically, her bill would establish a public-private council that combines emergency responders, federal agencies, and leading experts to review training and best practices for first responders. This council, co-chaired by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), would provide Congress with expert recommendations on how to address first responders’ safety needs with increased railway safety challenges so they can best protect communities across the country. Companion legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in February 2015 by U.S. Representative Ron Kind (D-WI). Joining Heitkamp in supporting her RESPONSE Act as cosponsors are U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Bob Casey (D-PA), and Joni Ernst (R-IA). Despite the current downturn in oil production, 32 percent of North Dakota crude oil is being transported by rail and will likely continue to into the future. On major freight railroads across the country, the number of railcars carrying crude oil grew by more than 4,000 percent between 2008 and 2013, with additional increases in 2014. In addition to her RESPONSE Act, after Heitkamp has worked to improve first responder safety by helping secure $5 million in federal funding to support a one-of-a-kind federal training facility in Pueblo, Colorado that prepares first responders to handle hazmat incidents on the rails, such as crude oil train derailments. Nearly 90 North Dakota first responders participated in training at the Pueblo facility in 2014 and 2015. She has also worked closely with federal, state, and local officials, including bringing U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to North Dakota and holding a U.S. Senate hearing on first responder safety. ### | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |