A pair of bills — the STB Information and Security Act and the FRA Safety Data Improvement Act — are poised to change the way railroad data is handled, following advancement by the U.S. House this week.
The efforts at data security come from U.S. Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-MI) and U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), respectively. Mitchell’s STB Information and Security Act would direct the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to create an improvement plan targeting its information security system, focusing on long-term solutions. Meanwhile, Gottheimer’s FRA Safety Data Improvement Act prods the Federal Railroad Administration to create a plan and timeline based on recommendations from the Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General (DOT IG), which are meant to improve management and collection of railroad safety data.
“Both of these bills are simple, straightforward measures that solve serious problems,” Mitchell said. “Companies and individuals from across the Nation interact with and report to the STB and need to be assured their proprietary information is not at risk, and the STB Information Security Improvement Act makes the STB update their currently inadequate data security practices. The FRA Safety Data Act will ensure that when rail accidents and problems occur, there is a standardized way information can be reported to regulators and policymakers so they can act on it.”
The bills have received support thus far from both sides of the aisle. Each is an extension of current attention directed at the nation’s infrastructure, which the administration has labeled a high priority to fix, and Congress has been increasingly concerned over.
“Our roads and rails in New Jersey and across our country are literally crumbling — and our rail safety is way behind where it should be,” Gottheimer said. “From Administration to Administration, our rail safety too often is the subject of political games and partisan politics. We can’t play partisan games with the safety of our children and family.”