Transcripts For CSPAN3 Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20150923

This is another case where youre a public figure and you let your messy private life combine together. Sunday night at 8 00 eastern and pacific on cspans q a. At a Senate Hearing for the active head of the federal Railroad Administration, members questioned the mom knee about implementation about positive train control. A safety implementation to preefrt derailments, twothirds of Rail Companies wouldnt be able to implement the system before a december 31st deadline. This hearing of the science and Transportation Committee is an hour and a half. Want to welcome our nominee here this morning. And get this confirmation hearing under way. Today were going to consider the nomination of sarah feinberg. The fris mission is to oversee the safe, reliable and efficient movement of people and goods throughout our nations rail network. That rail network is absolutely vital to the nations economy. So its important that those who oversee it have the requisite skills and experience. Serving s the acting administrator since january prior to her current assignment, she everybody served as chief of staff to transportation secretary anthony fox from 2013 to 2014. Ms. Feinberg was the policy and Communications Director facebook. And 20092010 she served as special stoont the president and adviser rahm emanuel. Before that she served as mr. Emanuels Communications Director for the house caucus. Ms. Feinberg clearly has commitment and admiral commitment to public service, some are concerned her background does not include deep expertise or experience regarding railroads or Railroad Safety. As noted in an article in politico, at this crucial moment this is the nations top safety regulator is a former facebook executive and white house adviser whose resume is long on communications and policy posts and noticeably short on railroad experience, end quote. So in addition to asking ms. Feinberg to respond to those concerns, ill be also asking her about the looming deadline for railroads to implement positive train control. Those in the Rail Industry are well aware, it is a rail system designed to prevent collision, overspeed derailments and other accidents by automatically slowing or stopping a train that is not being operated safetily by locomotive engineers. The improvement act mandated the implementation of systems by december 21st of 2015. Complex challenges have prevented most railroads from meeting this deadline which is rapidly approaching. Yesterday the independent Government Accountability Office Issued an updated report that found that freight and Passenger Railroads continue to face significant challenges in implementing ptc around the vast majority of railroads would need one to five years to complete implementation. Even the small fraction of railroads it will be able to install pct on their own tracks by december 31st of 2015 will face testing, certification. As profiled by many here, pct is not an off the shelf technology. The gao attributed implementation difficulties to the development of first generation components, the limited number of manufacturers of those components and complex integration testing among other challenges. Some of the implementation issues have also been government created. The gao pointed out that as a result of permitting review issues, the federal communications delayed for a year. The gao also pointed out that the review of safety plans has been slow and the oversight efforts have been insufficient. Gao ultimately found that railroads pushing to meet the current unrealistic deadline installing components before defects are identified and address cod be counterproductive to successful implementation. These findings should not come as a surprise. The fra itself issued a report in 2012 that identified several technical and problematic issues affecting implementation such as spectrum availability, installation and engineering challenges and technical capacity. It has said for years the vast majority of railroads will not meet the current deadline. Railroads have spent billions of dollars working through these challenges, csx testified at a Commerce Committee hearing in january that the Freight Railroad industry has spent over 5 million of private finish in pct deployment and they expect to spend at least 9 billion to make ptc fully operational nationwide. The reality is that if only a few railroads could not meet the deadline, we could perhaps conclude there is an issue with those railroads. But if nearly every railroad in the country will not meet the deadline we need to acknowledge there is an issue with the deadline. Congress has a responsibility to fix the issue. Thats why legislative action is needed to extend the deadline and provide operating authority for railroads that have not completed pct implementation while still motivating compliance and enhancing safety. The surface transportation reauthorization bill which passed the senate by a vote of 6534 includes a bipartisan proposal to extend the ptc deadline on a casebycase basis with enforceable milestones and metrics and sets common sense safety requirements such as cameras and speed limit action plans while pct is being implemented. I believe that failing to extend the pct deadline will result in large scale disruptions to the nations economy that would make the west coast port disruption or the 2013 to 2015 Rail Service Problems impact a large portion of the country look small in comparison. Thats why i recently sent letters to the Surface Transportation Board, all seven class railroads and all Commuter Railroads inquiring about the effects of failing to extend the pct deadline. Responses to my letters indicate tremendous risk of service disruption, including the cessation of Passenger Rail traffic and major delays that will impact Freight Railroads, including the inability to ship critical chemicals such as chlorine for Water Treatment plants across the country and anhydrous ammonia for fertilizer that our Agricultural Sector requires. Mta in new york responsible for metro north and the long island railroad, two of the three largest Commuter Railroads in the country that collectively provide nearly 180 million rides annually stated, and i quote, railroads face serious potential disruptions to operation and exposure to unacceptable risk of liability and civil fines, all of which would divert from the critical task of speeding final implementation of pct, end quote. Union pacific, the largest Freight Railroad in the country clearly stated in its response to my letter that it will embargo all passenger and toxic by inhalation chemical traffic starting on january 1 of 2016. This includes chemicals essential for clean Drinking Water and healthy crops. In fact, the chairman of the Surface Transportation Board stated in his response to me railroads may not be obligated to ship such tih chemicals after the deadline which could redirect them to other modes that are less efficient and importantly, less safe. We cannot wait until the last minute to act. I believe absent congressional action, we will begin to see the effects of the deadline four to six weeks prior to the december 31st deadline as railroads begin to cycle traffic off their lines. This is a looming economic and safety disaster that has completely avoidable. So now more than ever, i believe that ms. Feinberg as the acting administrator of the fra has a responsibility to work with us in congress to avoid the potential service disruptions. The time for anyone to play politics with the pct deadline has past, and we as policymakers must Work Together to avoid disrupting the nations economy. Having said all this, i want to thank ms. Feinberg for her willingness to serve at the d. O. T. Despite some of the criticisms i mentioned earlier, ms. Feinberg has received many compliments for her willingness to be transparent and responsive to congress, which will be essential if she is confirmed. With that i want to turn now to the Ranking Member of the committee, distinguished senator from florida and recognize him for any remarks that he would like to make before we turn to our nominee. Senator nelson . Mr. Chairman, youve laid out a lot of the issues, and i would be duplicative to repeat, and therefore what i am going to do is insert into the record my Opening Statement. Let me say at a critical time, a time in which there are questions of safety, the millions of people that use Commuter Rail, at a time essential to the economy of this country that we have healthy railroads that they can be competitive. They can operate safely, reliably, and efficiently, and with safety being central to the fras mission, indeed, weve seen train accidents decline and fates decline. But then we have huge incidents of fatalities that bring it back to the fore. And so ms. Feinberg, for you to be willing to step into the breach and try to offer the leadership that is so desperately needed of the federal Railroad Administration, which oversees the safety and the development of the nations freight and inner city Passenger Rail networks. So its a critical appointment. Its a critical time. Its a time that the fra cannot let anything be slack and drop. So ill insert my Opening Statement in the record. Thank you, senator nelson. And well make sure thats all included for the record. We have with us today one of our very distinguished colleagues and a member, a very active member of this committee, i might add in the home state senator of ms. Feinberg to introduce her. And so we want to welcome to the other panel, when he is normally up here on the dais, our colleague from West Virginia, senator manchin. Senator manchin, do you want to proceed . First of all to my colleagues and mr. Chairman, thank you for allowing me this opportunity to introduce a most accomplished young woman. Its really an honor to introduce the federal administrator to the federal Railroad Administration and a friend of mine, sarah feinberg. Use know, she is from West Virginia. She grew up in a t most common sense state if you will. She has the same pragmatic approach to problem solving that you see among our congressional delegation every day. And West Virginia, it doesnt matter if youre republican or democrat, you just got to get something done. People expect you to do your job. I want to tell you i first was introduced to this this young lady. In 1983, her daddy, i was in the state legislature with me, lee feinberg, and he brought this little girl in, 6 years old. 5 or 6 i think at the time. And we all bring our kids and show our kids off. You all remember that at the state legislature. Here came this little girl, rambunctious, jumping around and running around the chamber and everything that was my first introduction to sarah. I watch herd grow into a young lady and a most accomplished young woman. She has done a fantastic job and were so proud. She is cut from the same cloth as we have in sylvia burwell, a West Virginia native, i think you found to be very pragmatic and responsive to all of us. Today she sits before the committee seeking to continue her Public Services as administrator of the federal railway administration. I believe she has proven herself to be an a effective and engaged leader with the character to accept criticism that they offer insight. She was baptized by fire after being pointed january 9th of this year. Leading the agencys response to five major incidents within her first 60 dines job. On february 3rd, six people were killed when a commuter train hit an suv at a crossing in valhalla, new york. On february 4th, 14 tank cars carrying ethanol derailed just north of dubuque, iowa. Three of them caught fire. On february 16th, 27 tank cars derailed outside mt. Carbon, West Virginia. They released 378,000 gallons of crude oil and ignited a fire that destroyed a nearby house. It could have been a whole community. On february 24th the commuter train in oxnard, chasm hit a tractortrailer at a grade crossing and jumped the tracks. On march 6, 21 cars derailed outside of galena, illinois near the board were wisconsin. Five of them caught fire. Im a Firm Believer that elected officials need to be on the ground emergency situation, supporting First Responders and assisting those in need. And i was impressed by sarahs response to the mt. Carbon derailment in West Virginia, which i witnessed firsthand. Five weeks into her new job, she executed an efficient and effective federal response that was one of the best ive ever seen, in my experience as an elect official have been through many tragedies in my state there are a lot of smart policy people inned with. But the best policy in the world doesnt mean a thing if it doesnt translate into the real world. Sarahs response to the mt. Carbon accident showed me that she understood that and gave me faith in her ability, not just to lead, but now listen to the people that were here to serve. Over the past ten years, the increase in Domestic Energy production has been an engine of Economic Growth for our great country, and the Energy Information administration predicts that growth to continue through 2020. From 2009 to 2014 crude Oil Production in the United States increased by more than 63 . And in 2009 to 8. 86 Million Barrels a day in 2014. And the majority of this product is moved by rail. In 2008 our railroads moved a meager 295 tank cars carrying crude oil. In 2008, only 9500 tank cars were carrying crude oil. Last year the number grew to 500,000 tank cars. 500,000 from less than 10,000. Over 5,000 increase. Unprecedented new challenges come along with the new Economic Opportunities presented by the growth in Domestic Energy production. And ms. Feinbergs experience makes her uniquely qualified to lead the fhra through this unique transition. She helped the department of transportation to develop a holistic to Development Safety that required cooperation between molds within the department. The tough new tank car safety regulations that were finalized in may depended on close collaboration between the fra and the pipeline of Hazardous Materials safety administration. Sarahs experience in the secretarys office existing relationships throughout the department allowed her to cut through red tape and get the right people in the room to get the job done. Thats what its about. Putting people together that want to get something done. While the new rules do not solve every problem, they represent a major step in the right direction. They satisfied all or part of the ten Outstanding National Transportation Safety boards recommendations, including all four recommendations that were made in april this year. So since taking the helm at the fra earlier this year, i have been impressed with ms. Feinbergs willingness to tackle difficult issues and engage stockholders about realistic solutions, taking politics out of the equation completely. In may she convened the pct task force to try to identify opportunities for the fra to help railroads meet the december 31, 2015 deadline and become a real partner in the process. I think her proactive approach to problem solve willing be an asset to the fra and the entire department of transportation, and to all of us here sitting here responsible for the safety of our citizens in our respective states. So without further ado, i want to introduce to you not only an accomplished young professional committed to public service, and she inherited that in her genes in her bones. Its with her every day in a bipartisan way to get things done to move this country forward. My friend sarah feinberg. Thank you, senator manchin. And that just underscored how old you are. But thank you for being here. Thank you for that introduction. And we now look forward to hearing from our nominee, ms. Feinberg, please proceed. Chairman, Ranking Member nelson and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. Senator manchin, thank you for your kind introduction. Im grateful for your friendship, your decades of service to our state, and your strong support. Ill just briefly note that im so pleased that my brother matthew is here with me today, and that other members of my family are here with me in spirit. It is an honor to have been nominated by president obama to serve as the administrator for the federal Railroad Administration. And to have earned the confidence of secretary fox. It is also a great responsibility and one that i take seriously. Just one month after i became acting administrator, a metro north train traveling out of new york city hit a car at a grade crossing. Six people were killed doing what millions of americans do every day, traveling home from work, visiting friends, or on their way to see their family. Days later in senator manchins and my home state of West Virginia, a mile and a half long train carrying 109 tank cars loaded with crude oil derailed near the town of montgomery. One person was injured. Multiple small communities were evacuated and a fire burned for days. And anyone who visited the scene would agree that we got lucky. In may, an amtrak train traveling significantly over the speed limit derailed in philadelphia. The horrific accident took the lives of eight people. These accidents are searing reminders that millions of americans depend on the railroad and fras diligent oversight to transport them safely to their jobs each morning, to their homes and a families each night, and to deliver goods and products safely every day. Next year fra will turn a half century old. The agency has a proud history and a long list of accomplishments, most notably its significant contributions to improving rail safety. Rail deaths and injuries are down dramatically. Worker injuries are down. Derailments are down. And those decreases are very much a testament to the work of the men and women of the fra. But in some way, safety in the Rail Industry has also plateaued. Improvements are generally not as dramatic as they used to be, and we occasionally even see spikes in the wrong direction. And that calls for action. The American People expect every federal agency to adapt to new conditions and new realities to be willing to change, to be open to criticism. Over the last eight months, have i seen fra do just this. Theyve shown a willingness to adapt, to change. Weve headed in a new direction and weve brought new thinking to old challenges. We tried new solutions aimed at addressing the old challenge of grade crossing incidents. We partnered with police around the country to step up enforcement. And in june, google agreed to integrate our grade crossing data to add crossing alerts to google maps. We have taken a new approach to the way we handle ntsb recommendations. When i arrived at fra in january, there were more than 70 ntsb recommendations awaiting action. Weve taken action on more than half of them. Reducing the number of outstanding recommendations by nearly 15 , and we await word on another 30 from the ntsb. Some of these recommendations have been sitting for more than five years. Fra listened to the frustrations that members of this committee expressed about the Railroad Rehabilitation and improvement financing program, and weve acted. This year weve completed two loans and expect to complete two more shortly. The risk program is very much open for business. While working to try to bring new solutions to these old challenges, the men and women of fra have stayed laser focused on our ongoing safety priorities and have delivered significant results. During the last two years the United States has seen more than a dozen crude oil train derailments. In may, with our sister d. O. T. Agency sinza, we completed the high flammable train rule that aims to prevent these kinds of accidents. We prioritized pct implementation, hiring staff and creating a task force that relates to me regularly on progress and the performance of each railroad. We were also proud to work with many here today and in the Greater New York city region to provide a nearly 1 billion loan to implement ct on mtas system. Both the administrations budget and its grow america act have requested significant funding to assist Commuter Railroads and pct. And chairman thune, Ranking Member nelson, i want to thank you and members of this committee in particular for seeking to leverage nearly 200 million to cover some of the costs and expenses railroads face when taking on a risk loan to implement pct. All of this activity is in addition to our continued focus on making sure the agencys partners deliver high speed inner city Passenger Rail projects for the American People. None of this success would have been possible without the tireless work of the nearly 900 Public Servants at the agency who are dedicated to rail safety. And it has been an honor to lead them as acting administrator. Chairman thune and rank member nelson, i am pushing fra each day to be vigilant in the pursuit of safety, open to pacts of innovation from any source. The agency is engaged, enthusiastic, and driven because we know the gravity of our responsibilities and the size of our opportunities. If confirmed, i would eagerly work with all members of this committee and all members of congress to build a stronger and safer rail system, and one that we can all be proud of. Thank you, and i look forward to taking your questions. Thank you, ms. Feinberg. As i mentioned, and ill start with some questions, and well go around with fiveminute round here. Just to alert members of the committee. As i mentioned, the committee has conducted extensive outreach with freight Commuter Railroads to understand the effects of failing to extend the deadline to implement pct. And its clear that there will be widespread rail Service Reduction if Congress Fails to act. For example, metra in chicago with over 70 million riders annually have stated there is a strong possibility that it will Cease Service altogether, a concern that is echoed by long island railroad, metro north in new york and connecticut. And so i want to get a couple of numbers on the record. Based on your outreach to railroads, approximately how many have informed the fra that they nay reduce or suspend service . Senator, i think you the most recent numbers because theyve been responding to your most recent letter. But to put hit the way, i have not had a recent conversation with a railroad that has informed me that they do intend to operate on january 1. So i believe you have the most recent numbers, but we are well into the 20s at this point. Have you or has d. O. T. I should say evaluated the extent to which there will be an increase in congestion or potentially lives lost from commuters taking alternative options to or alternative modes of transportation i should say . We have not done a specific study that would look at the effects on january 1 or on january 2. But i have said that i do have significant concerns about the consequences of railroads choosing not to operate on january 1. I think it would lead to significant congestion, and that does also lead to safety impacts. Have you had any discussions with fta to determine whether transit buses have the capacity to carry displaced riders who might otherwise be on Commuter Railroads . Well, the most the fra and the tra in constant communication about a variety of ptc issues. I dont think weve had this specific bus conversation, though i dont think there is an expectation that buss can would be able to take that load. How about the smaller railroads, class 2s and class 3s . Some of those are frequently overlooked at the mandate also applies to them. And they happen to use in many cases class 1 railroad track. Roughly how many of these small railroads would be required to equip their locomotives as a result of the pct requirements . And are you hearing of any difficulties these railroads may be experiencing . Certainly. We have heard generally from the Short Line Association and from individual short lines and from other individual entities, i mean, we can get you specific numbers if you need it. But its significant that most are watching the congress and keeping an eye on what is likely to come out of here. Our colleague on the committee, who im sure youll hear from in a minute, senator blumenthal has noted that entities like the connecticut d. O. T. Should not be subject to penalties for making a goodfaith effort to implement pct, even though connecticut will not implement until at least 2018. He has also noted that its possible that metro north could be showed fines if they showed a goodfaith effort. If connecticut d. O. T. And metro north are considered to be making a goodfaith effort, are there others that are as well . Well, there are many railroads that are making a goodfaith effort and have we believe have been working diligently towards pct implementation, but the law and the statute, the deadline is very black and white and does not give in our read, does not give flexibility to railroads that are working diligently versus ones that are not. If a line is not currently handling toxic materials or passenger traffic, does the pct requirement apply . It depends on where in the country were talking about. But it is aimed at lines that are handling Hazardous Materials and Passenger Service. And would the fra consider continued movement of nontih and nonpassenger traffic over such lines after december 31st of 2015 to be in violation of the 2008 statute . Yes. Does the fra intend to impose fines or penalties related to nontih and nonpassenger operation on such lines after december 31st of 2015 . We will we will enforce the law as of the deadline on december 31st. So on january 1, we will enforce the deadline in the law. How does the fra define the common carrier obligations that real carriers have under existing law . Well, let me ask you this way. Do you believe the common carrier requirement is conflict with the current pct deadline . Well, i would refer to the stb on that, and have i read their recent letter. Which i think you have seen as well in which they defer to us on safety. But its a partnership between the two organizations. Okay. My time is expired. Ill hand it off to senator from florida, senator nelson for questions. Well, you heard of the old saying were between the devil and the deep blue sea. So if we dont extend positive train control, which most everyone at this dais wants to get positive train control installed as fast as possible, but under the law, you have to impose fines, but the railroads say they cant comply, and therefore they will not carry certain traffic. So what do we do . If ptc is not extended . Well, sir, weve said that we feel that its our obligation to enforce the ptc deadline. And so on january 1, railroads that have not implemented ptc choose to operate, we will take Enforcement Actions. You formed a task force on this. And its getting information to be used to monitor the progress and guide enforcement efforts. Tell us about that. Yes, sir. Weve had a number of fra Staff Members working on ptc for years, but more recently, i have formed with an fra task force that is working on pct across the board. They are in close touches with railroads. Theyre offering Technical Assistance. They are monitoring testing. But one of the things they are also doing is collecting data about ptc implementation, how that implementation is going from railroads that were tracking that progress regularly. If the Congress Extends the deadline for ptc, what would your recommendation be . How long of an extension . Sir, i dont think its appropriate for me to recommend a certain amount of time. I would be deferential to the congress on what they believe the right action would be to take in terms of the deadline. But we would, as we have in the past, offer as much Technical Assistance and our expertise as we possibly can and try to be help to feel the congress if they contemplate moving the deadline. One of the things that we did in the highway bill was we got the number up to 200 million to help the Commuter Railroads install the positive train control. Now it would be nice to have ptc installed sooner. I want to thank the chairman for this. So how would you go about the use of this funding . Well, we would want to coordinate with this committee and take guidance from you. But as i view it, the 199 million would be used as an offset for crp im sorry, for the credit risk premium for Commuter Railroads that are applying for pct loans, or could be used as Grant Program for those same Commuter Railroads. Grade crossing safety. Its a problem all over the country. Can you talk about your efforts to partner with local Law Enforcement and Technology Companies on this grade crossing issue . Yes, senator. Thank you for the question. Following the metro north grade crossing incident, we the fra launched a grade crossing campaign, which would seek to try to bring some new thinking to this old problem. And one of the first things we did was partner with Law Enforcement to ask for increase in enforcement at grade crossings. So ticketing in an effort to prevent people from beating the train, if you will. Weve also reached out to Tech Companies to ask them to take our grade crossing data, which is the location of more than 240, 250,000 grade crossings across the country, integrate that data into their maps so that when passengers railroad drivers actually within a mapping application they would be alerted that they were approaching a grade crossing. So back to the question before us, do you have a recommendation on what we do on an extension on ptc . I dont have a specific recommendation for a length of time. Im grateful to this committee and to the leadership of this committee for being so focused on this problem. I am worried about the consequences that come on january 1, and im grateful for your attention to it. I do not have the specific amount of time that i would recommend. But as i said, we would continue to work with this committee to offer Technical Assistance. Our expertise and any assistance that we can as you work on this. Thank you. Thank you, senator nelson. Up next, you get the missouri doubleteam. Senator blunt followed by senator mccaskell. There you go. There you go. The missouri doubleteam is sometimes pretty tough. Were glad youre here. Thanks for the work you have already done on this. I appreciate the discussion this morning has not been about who is at fault or whether the government is at fault. Were not going to make this deadline. I think you mentioned, ms. Feinberg, that over 20 railroads have told you they would not operate on january 1st. Some of those railroads also obviously commuter traffic, commuter traffic runs over the rails as well. I think Burlington Northern has said that their contract with the commuter traffic may requires them to have their rail system in compliance with federal law. Your view that commuter traffic could not use those rails as well . Do you have a view of that . Its what Burlington Northern thinks. Is that what you think . No, no. Thats correct. The class 1s are right to be thinking about the Commuter Service that functions on their on their track. And to be clear the commuters are thinking about that, as well. And do you think its reasonable these 20 railroads that have told you they they might not be able to function . Do you think its or wont function. Do you think its reasonable they believe they cannot function if theyre not in compliance with the ptc standard . To be clear, they have communicated that to senator thune, to chairman thune and also copied us on those xhungs, as well. I think it is reasonable for railroads to take a close look at how and if to operate on a date when they will become when they will be operating many violation of the law. I think thats an appropriate thing to look at. And frankly, thats something we expect them to look at regular lie. You think its reasonable to know they cannot violate of the deadline . Each railroad will have to make that decision individually but i absolutely think its reasonable to be contemplating whether or not its appropriate to operate that day, beginning of that die of course, one of the reasons for this is the toxic biinlags freight earn ises. Of course, if that freight along with lots of other freight isnt part of the commerce system, there are major problems in commerce for Water Treatment, for plastic, for whatever else. Those chemicals go into. Anybody doing a study of the Economic Impact of what happens if railroads arent operating on january 1 . We have not done a study into the Economic Impact. I cant speak for the stb. We have not done that specifically, but and our obligation is to think about this in terms of safety versus Economic Impact but im concerned about the consequences in terms of congestion and the safety impacts of increased congestion, as well. And and those products would likely move by truck. They dont move by rail. And so, that creates safety concerns in another not only the correct. Traffic, advanced traffic but move that same problem to another place . Thats right. Same concern to another place. In terms of the Passenger Rail, do you know of any discussion theyre having about whether they think they should be able to operate onlines that dont meet the standard . It is an active conversation happening across the industry so its not just the freights. Commuters are absolutely having this conversation. We are in close touch with them just like we are with the freights. Theyre very anxious and and keeping a close eye on this body. To see what happens next. An youve been thoughtful in not giving any indication of exactly how long an extension would be, but do you think is it your view that there needs to be some sort of extension beyond january 1 . I mean, to echo the Ranking Member, i think he said between the devil and the deep blue sea. I would say were bleen a rock and a hard place. The deadline is not going to be met. That is disappointing to me and i think it has safety consequences that im concerned about. The railroads not operating also has consequences and i would we would want to work very closely with this committee to try to assist in any way we can in offering Technical Assistance and exper tier as you look at the deadline. Thank you, chairman. Senator mccaskill. You are here to for us to ask questions for you to be the boss. So im going to ask you some tough boss questions. Jao has a followup issued yesterday on the ptc implementation. Providing fra with the authority to grant extexes on a case by case basis would provide some needed flexibility and could also assist fra in managing the limited Staff Resources and many it gait risks and ensure ptc is implemented in a safe and reliable manner. Do you agree with that . We are willing we believe thats not my question. I want the know whether you agree with that statement. Granting extensions on a case by case basis provides needed flexibility and assist fra in managing the limited Staff Resources. It would certainly give us flexibility. I am less worried about the Staff Resources because we have plans in place to staff up quickly with contractors and had the plans in place for quite sometime. I am anxious about the prospect of entering into negotiations with 40 different railroads on a case by case basis and result in a choose your own own deadline back and forth. Okay. So, youre not comfortable on a with a case by case basis . You would rather have a set deadline . I think we have to be aware of the kons enss of entering into negotiations with 40 different entities. A yeah. I thats what im trying to find out, ms. Feinberg. Which is the best of bad choices and you have to make that decision potentially. Ultimately, i, unfortunately, fra does not have the authority to make that decision. Okay. You do have the authority on this subject. We know that the railroads will not be ptc compliant by the end of the year. Correct . Correct. No controversy there. No question . Most of them will not. A few will make it. Correct. We have heard theyre not going to operate but really what they want to know is what youre going to do. If you know theyre not going to be compliant at the end of the year, can you tell this committee what youre going to do on january 1 . You gave a memo that gave you all the enforcement options. Right. Why is it that you will not say these railroads are trying to decide what to do. If congress for some inexplicable reason will not face the reality this an extension is necessary, they have to make a tough decision and so do you. The sooner you make your decision the more informed their decision will be. When will you make the decision on what youre going to do when theyre not compliant if Congress Fails to act . Actually, i feel like weve been pretty clear on what we will do on january 1. What is that . Well if the december 31 deadline remains in place and railroads choose to operate in violations of law well take enforcement. Well issue fines and likely additional requirements on the railroads that will raise the bar on safety if they choose to operate without ptc implemented. Have you discussed what the fines will be . Because you know this is going to happen. I mean, if what im trying to figure out is were going to have a huge mess if nobody operates on january 1. I mean, i dont know any other more artful way to put it other than a huge mess. Its going to be dangerous. Its going to very damaging the our economy. Its going to cost jobs. Its going to be exhibit an of why congress is so unpopular. Because we cant manage to do something simple than recognize the obvious here. So, we know what the situations going to be. Why cant you be more specific so the railroads make assessment of cost benefit of the penalties they might incurer have vus operating . Let me try to explain it this way. The railroads continue to make progress every day. So were currently about 3 1 2 months out from the deadline. Some railroads make progress every day. Theyre equipping new locomotives, testing ptc, they are getting additional equipment, they are obtaining spectrum. And so to give a railroad a specific amount to fine them today may well have nothing to do with where they are 3 1 2 months from now. We believe the fines will be significant. Each violation has a maximum fine of 25,000 per day. But if you are choosing to operate past the date of january 1 without having implemented ptc by guess is those are multiple violations dependent on locomotives and segments operated on and weve said we believe the fines will be very significant and on top of that impose additional requirements on the railroad whether thats additional crew members, requiring those additional crew members to communicate, potential speed restrictions so we have been as clear as we can be i believe the railroads do deserve transparency and clarity on what will happen on january 1st. But we have tried to be pretty clear about this. I think you think that will slow them down and i dont think thats true. I think you do need to be more specific than significant fines. And, you know, i think also what i would really appreciate is analysis which is more dangerous. Them not operating on january 1 or continuing to operate without fully implementing ptc. Because i think theres a real question which is going to be more dangerous and it sure would be a shame if that analysis isnt made transparent before that date. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, senator. Senator blunt. And let me just point out, too, i think the administration put out an Extension Proposal in their grow act and the other point to make is an important one. Everybodys focused on january 1 here, the deadline, of course, but the affects of this start being felt sooner than that, particularly the Freight Railroads. I mean, we are talking about probably a november time frame so the sense of you are sen ji attached to doing something on this is very apparent and i think we have to recognize we dont have a lot of time to work with and senator of missouri is exactly right. If you lock at what could happen, the potential effect this is a huge disaster in the making which as i said before is totally avoidable. So senator fischer is up next. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Id like to follow up on the fines that you were talking about and the penalties. You mentioned that theyre going to be significant and before that you said that the railroads are making progress every day. But we all know that theyre not going to get there. I mean, they have been very open about that. They have given us quite a bit of information on the problems that were going to be seeing all across this country and as senator mccaskill said, the tremendous negative impact were going to see on our countrys economy and the safety of our sit senls by a shut down basically from our railroads. When were looking at the significant fines, what system have you established that will determine what the fines are . Does that offer any clarity to the railroads or to us on this committee . Do you have a system in place . We do have a system in place. We have a long standing system for enforcement against railroads which is in place for many years but then more specifically following the 2008 legislation we finalized a rule making in 2010 that included all of the ways that we would enforce against the ptc so its a we can certainly get it to you. Its several pages and basically details the various Enforcement Actions that we would take. What are a couple of specific actions that would happen . So, there are many. They involve failure to equip a locomotive whats the penalty . They start at i think for that one its 15,000 but depends on if its a willful violation so much like any other Enforcement Agency there are basic violations and then there are willful violations. Okay. That then leads me to the idea that there are companies that are working in a good faith effort and theyve invested really billions of dollars in trying to meet these deadlines that theyre not able to meet. Are you going to be looking at those companies differently . I think earlier you said you wouldnt. I think that may have been a reference between freights and commuters but the i believe if i understand your question we certainly do not want to disincentivize progress and we do not want to punish railroads that are making progress and working hard each day to reach the deadline and meet the deadline and important for the enforcements mechanisms to be fair. Would you be looking with that comment i would think you would look at treating companies differently and making accommodations for them individually, not and not as a group. So let me give an example. Some railroads have been unable to obtain the spectrum that they needed in order to implement ptc. My point is that as we look at Enforcement Actions, we want to prioritize both the one that is have the largest impact on safety but also the ones that railroads actually had control over versus something that was out of their control. Okay. Id like to switch gears here and talk about the ecp braking requirements and that would also cost billions of dollars. But two class 1 railroads, Union Pacific and Union Southern tried the systems, abandoned them. They didnt feel that there was a substantial benefit to safety. When you look at the crude by rail and the rule making there, its my understanding that the fra did not conduct a real world study. Is that right . Well, we used modeling for the ecp braking for the cost benefit the impact of the ecb brakes as we do in most rule maki makings. Youre correct theyre in place on some railroads and actually being used each day but to actually take one train equipped with ecp and one train not equipped and involve them in an incident even in a testing is not something that we did. So no hard science was really used at all in determining those regulations . Well, i do think theres hard science involved and there was math involved, as well. But we did not actually go out and involve trains in a real world incident. I understand that maths used in modeling but wouldnt you think that hard science would be more helpful, especially when you had two class 1 railroads that did have information on it . Well, wed be more than happy to do testing like that. We have we have said to this committee that while funding is important for testing like that, we are always anxious to collect more data, particularly on things like braking systems. You know, i understand that the railroads are concerned about the cost of implementing this braking system. I would also note that prior to the rule being finalized some of them were advertising that they were using it so i am aware that they are unhappy with the cost and we always want to collect more data about braking systems but i also am you know, were focused on whether it works opposed to logistics and cost. I would say that all of us up here and including the railroads who are intimately involved in this are concerned a lot more than just about the cost. Were concerned that if it works, we are concerned about the safety. We want to make sure that investments have a return that will keep our population, our citizens safe. So to imply that this is all based on cost i think is a comment that did not need to be made. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, senator. Senator fischer. And we have up next, hes ready, senator mansion. Okay. Well get senator peters next. Thank you. Ms. Feinberg, thank you for being willing to take on this job. I appreciate your efforts and appreciate the opportunity to meet earlier to talk about some issues. And before i get into the positive train control and i have questions related to that, i would like to first mention a personal incident that i had with a good friend in an accident that you mentioned in some of the followup related to that accident. You mentioned in your opening testimony the amtrak accident outside of philadelphia 188. And i had some personal contact with that in the fact i had some very good friends of mine who lost their daughter in that very tragic accident. And their First Contact with amtrak was a very impersonal cold call from a claims adjuster of some sort who said that they would be willing to pay reasonable funeral costs and that was amtraks response which did not sit well with the family as you can imagine through a very traumatic time. Now, amtrak is under statutory requirements of a family assistance plans and i have inserted amendment in the Railroad Enhancement act and hopefully will pass and my colleagues seem to be concerned thats going to pass that were going to be dealing with some issues with positive train control and others but in that amendment that is part of that, i require your agency, the ntsa and others, ntsb to look at the amtrak family assistance republicans and determine whether theyre followed. Id like to hear from you if anyone else at fra have looked into amtraks response to both the victims of the derailment an their families to determine whether or not theyve complied with some of the statutory requirements and your assessment of it. That will certainly all be a part of the investigation into the incident. As i know that you know, senator, the ntsb into the lead Investigative Agency in that accident. Thefra plays a role, as well. They have guidelines of family assistance planning and will take a very close look at that, and we will, as you will. You have not had an opportunity to do that . In my role as a member of the amtrak board, we have had some conversations about the accident and the response. I have reiterated the importance that i put on making sure that families are communicated to quickly and appropriately but it will ultimately be a part of the investigation, the ntsb leads and i cant get ahead of them. Especially as a member of the amtrak board, i hope you take a strong interest in this and understand the seriousness of this and i look forward to working with you in the months and years ahead and hopefully make improvements so things do not like that happen again. Absolutely. And now to the positive train control. Senator mccaskill mentioned the report that came out yesterday and if we are able to pass the comprehensive highway transportation bill or a separate bill to allow us to move forward and push back some of the time requirements for ptc, you will have to oversee some of the implementation of their work and their plans in the fur chur. But in the gao report they noted deficiencies in the reports that talked about how theyre geng the meet some of those deadlines, some of the milest e milestones, how to reach the milestones. In fact it says they lacked any meaningful detail and could not give an understanding of the progress. So if the reports theyre providing you are deficient, what do you plan to do to make these reports more substantive and ones you can actually work on . Do you agree with the assess m and how do you plan to fix it . Well, we we have an agreed with the goas recommendations and agreed theyre important to implement. Most of them were being integrated prior to the report and we take the recommendations seriously and will take action on them. The gao report uex registered s concerns about the amount of data that we were collecting from the railroads and the kind of data we were collecting from the railroads. Oi i believe we have ramped up the efforts and not necessarily reflected in the report but think of it as a better sense of railroads and the progress theyre making. On their safety plans which they owe to us on their plans for implementing ptc, we have tried to give significance guidance to the railroads on what were looking for and how we can go back and forth with them to make sure that their plans for impleation are as safe and efficient as possible. Great. Thank you. Thank you. Senator mansion, thank you, senator peters. Mr. Chairman, i appreciate very much and hope theyve been kind to you since ive been gone. Anyway, ms. Feinberg, everything that, you know, that ive read about the amtrak track, 188 derailment this year, seems like loss awareness, as a pilot, you know, you have to be aware where you are all times and being able to report that and following you. I went over and was able to go over to look at some of the newest amtrak locomotives to get a better understanding of what was happening in the cockpit. I call the engine a cockpit. Okay . I was amazed to find out were still using technology thats 50, 80, 100 years old. Simple, in the cars we have more information in our front seat of our drivers car than we do in an engine. I just kept asking the question over and over. They were telling me how costly it was. I said, just to have Situational Awareness would be something. Knowing where you are at. Thats pretty easy, simple technology. Did you find that to be i mean, i dont know where the pushback, i dont think anybody, i dont care on what side of the fence people might be, Railroad Companies themselves and whether its people we all want it to be safe. Everybody does. If were not moving towards a new technology and the country depends on it, why would we not be using some of the easiest, latest, greatest advance technologies for train traffic . We could not be more suppo supportive of making sure that railroads are integrating technology to improve safety and save lives. That starts with ptc, obviously. You can take that all the way to the encouragement of Tech Companies to integrate the grade crossing information to communicate both with engineers but also with driver who is are just approaching a grade crossing so incredible are they looking at different technology. I dont know. I was asking the questions from they were very kind to show me everything and go through the scenario. I did not get the feeling theyre moving in the direction. We call it a glass panel. Glass cockpit if you will. I saw pretty antiquated. Sound and light system if your certain area and this and that. I was flabbergasted by it. Well, theres also a beauty to the simplicity of locomotive but or a cab but i think probably the most Important Technology that railroads can integrate at this moment is ptc which is incredibly complicated, well worth the complication i think. You are working through the deadlines, working with the industry and making sure that were doing everything we can to expedite this along . But you understand the time consuming there, right . Basically the sbi ka sys of this . Yes, sir. We have tried to do as much as we can to be helpful as railroads are attempting to implement this technology so we have offered Technical Assistance. We have built a test bed facility at pueblo, colorado, for testing purposes. We have hired additional staff. We have tried to proactively help on safety plans and well continue to do all of that because its obviously in our interest to get ptc implemented as safely and efficiently as possible. I was aware of, you know, making sure that anything and everything that happens in a state of West Virginia and every over governor in the states does so with the utmost concern of the safety of the citizens. I used to get complaints years ago when i was governor and the First Responders didnt know what was traveling through the state and god forbid an accident would happen and i sit on mt. Carbon. If it happened a mile or two down the track it would have wiped out montgomery. The whole town. Hard to tell how many people would have lost their lives what we saw happen just outside the town and those are the things im concerned v. You all been able to better coordinate with the First Responders and with the state coordinators and First Responders . We have. I mean, we have i have said to the railroads that i think notifications of First Responders should be a priority. That they are we have an emergency order that went into place in may of 2014, that remains in place. We have reiterated its importance with the railroads. I wrote them a letter reminding them the expectation to be sharing that information with First Responders so those individuals have as much information as possible. Are the states saying we dont are the info in time enough to make sure they have the proper equipment and people available in case god forbid something would happen . It depends on the state. Some states have said they want more and we are asking the railroads to please work with them to give them all of the information they could possibly need. Some are satisfied. And then, depending on whether that information is made public frequently depends on the states finally, if you put a working group together working with the railroad executives and engineers and the people on the front line and all the people that are on the rails, trying to get input from them . To try to to better this, do the things acceptable and can be done . Yes, sir. We have a task force within fra seeking to do that. Thank you. My time is expired. Thank you. Thank you, senator manchin. I have senator wicker followed by senator told we have a vote at 11 00. If we can get everybody in before we have to bust over there would be a good thing and im sure ms. Feinberg would appreciate that, too. Senator wicker . Thank you, ms. Feinberg. I think we have been kind today but i do think the committee on both sides of the aisle, the members are a littleonfused and frustrated by a lack the lack of a specific proposal concerning the extension. Now, the chairman came in and clarified that apparently fra still stands by the grow america recommendation concerning extensions on a case by case basis. Is that your position . Well, we ask what we asked for in the grow america act was not a blanket extension but flexibility to work with railroads so that we could prioritize where ptc would be turned on. So the statute is very black and white an offers literally really no wriggle room and soo what we asked for in the grow america act was flexibility to work with railroads, postjanuary 1 to turn on portions of ptc before waiting for an entire system. You know, if i were a railroad and struggling to meet the deadline, i would find that so uncertain that i dont know if i could develop a business plan. It seems to me that what that would do is leave it up entirely to the discretion of the fra and the people trying to get this thing done in good faith would be so frustrated that they wouldnt know where they stood. You know, it seems to me, ms. Feinberg, that we are going to have to extend this for a period of time just to give people out there in the country the ability to know where they stand. And so, to me, it would be helpful i dont think this i think we can all acknowledge a grow america act is not going to be passed by the house and senate, passed out of the committees, signed by the president of the United States before the end of this year. And so, i would appreciate you coming back to us, the administration coming back to us, about what vehicle we might have, do we need to put it on the cr . If we do, we need to move it pretty quick an i understand the cr, the folks designing that are intending for it to be very, very clean and not have a lot of new provisions. Do we need to put it can we wait until the omnibus at the end of the year . Looks like thats where were headed is this is the reauthorization of the transportation bill in an appropriate way. But i would appreciate a specific recommendation as to the length of time that might be appropriate. Is it six months . Is it a year . Is it two years . You deal with this every day. Were trying to deal with 100 things so i really would ask you to get back to us and provide some leadership there in terms of letting us know how industry can get this done. And i realize we spent a lot of time on this topic so let me switch let me be provincial then and ask you about gulf coast service. You know, the house and senate, we havent quite gotten a bill to the president s desk yet but i think would you acknowledge that we have made it clear in legislation that it is federal intent to have a working group formed to restore the gulf coast Passenger Service that we lost after Hurricane Katrina . Would you agree that that congressional intent is becoming clear based on the legislation so far . Yes, sir. And are you aware that a working group is proposed to develop and answer the question of how we implement this . Yes, sir. And will you acknowledge that fra doesnt have to wait until the legislation is actually enacted to form such a working group . Yes, sir. And i have met with your staff on this. I am supportive of gulf service being of gulf Shore Service restored. We have had a good conversation about it. I will actually be down there next month. I have met with the southern rail commission. They are lovely and excellent wheres down there . Im sorry. Ill be in la l and mississippi. Good. Wonderful. Governor bryant, senator cochran and i would like to host you on a ride along that proposed route with the other members of the delegation, with amtrak president boardman and csx ceo to asez the line. Are you willing to join us on that ride if we can work out convenient date . Look forward to it. Wonderful. Thank you. I look forward to working with you on that and wish you the best. Thank you for your service. Senator klobuchar i believe is next. Thank you very much, senator wicker. Ms. Feinberg, congratulations. Any friend of mention manchin is a friend of ours so first i want to just talk to you about the blocked crossings issue. As i travel across minnesota, i hear from people all over the state who have spent an excessive amount of time, sometimes hours stuck waiting at a blocked rail crossing. Blocked rail crossings not only inconvenience drivers but delay emergency vehicles, in july i was in minnesota which is on the canadian border, its a major crossing and very small town. Their rail crossing blockings 6 to 8 hours a day in the town. So in the drive act, we actually put a provision in there to direct the secretary of transportation to develop highway rail crossing action plans including tools and data, safety risks, other things. And that is the amendment thats in there. Acting add min stray ift feinberg, as the process moving forward, what steps can the fra take to minimize blocked rail crossings . And do you think you have the best practices in place . Thank you for the question. We are also very concerned about blocked crossings. We do not have regulations in place to govern how long a train can block a crossing but we frequently hear from communities in minnesota and elsewhere where you have folks who are waiting for sometime while a train is blocking a crossing and it can sometimes lead to safety concerns, as well, when you have First Responders on one side of a crossing and cant get to the other side of a crossing so we frequently work with railroads individually to address specific problems. We have also suggested we do a study to understand the impact of blocked crossings and also worried about that and attempt l to resolve it. Its dictated by the bill once i know were going to pass it eventually. This year. Also, i hear from communities that they dont have the capacity to prepare to a respond of a derailment or a Hazardous Material spill. Firefighters and First Responders dont have the resources to purchase the equipment. Whens the fra doing to ensure local units of government have the resources to be able to properly prepare and do you need Additional Authority for that . I dont know that we need Additional Authority. We have worked closely with our Sister Agency pipelines and Hazardous Materials on programs to assist with training First Responders, may recollecting sure they have the information they need, the resources they need. Trainings that frequently happen the training and testing facility in pueblo, colorado, which is an excellent facility for training, so we will continue to look for resources where we can assist First Responders with that. And appreciate your focus on it, as well. And then one last question. Im going to end short here and give you the rest in writing so my colleagues ask questions before the vote. Do you support leaders from local government serving on the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee . That isnt happening now and we think that would be helpful. Certainly. They can present at any point. They can comment, reach out to us and make sure that they have a role in the meetings and process and were happy to do that and follow up and make sure that they feel like theyre welcomed and listened to at our meetings. Okay. We would like them on the board to discuss that later. Ill put the rest of the questions in writing and turn it over to senator blumen that will. Thank you. Thank you. Actually, senator danes is next. Okay. There you are. Thank you anyway. Thank you. Appreciate that. Ms. Feinberg, congratulations on your nomination. Its nice to see you here again. Montana is home to nearly 3,200 miles of Railroad Tracks that move record amounts of crude oil, coal and other manufactured products across the rail system every day. In fact, we export the majority of our energy in ag production,. 80 of the wheat harvest to asia and most of that by rail. Last summer, theres challenges and delays in shipping some of the goods, our phones were ringing a lot. A lot of concerns about this. This year, i know the Burlington Northern santa fe made nftmentes in montana to increase capacity and enhance safety and we expect smooth and efficient shipments of this years harvest and come mod ties. I have the inthat sis amtrak builder along the high line with muchneeded transportation and connectivity for the world communities. Last year, nearly 120,000 people boarded and alighted amtrak trains in montana. I recall as a kid hearing stories about how my great grandparents take Passenger Rail from shelby where the empire builder stops there and how my family got back and forth when they came out to montana a century ago. Needless to say, its imperative to montana to continue to move the passengers and come phdtys so my question is probably the same horse weve been beating here during this hearing which is regarding ptc. We all saw in the report released yesterday recommended again that congress extend the december 31,2015, deadline. The largest railroad in my home state in montana is bnsf. They have been working diligently. They have invested 1. 5 billion. In fact, in another 500 million to implement across the nation including on nearly 2,000 miles of track in montana. As we all know, this deadline is approaching. The senate highway bill has an extension on a case by case basis. I think we continues the move passengers and commodities. Wouz these rail connections we are in big trouble in montana. So, my question is, administrator, what would you do in the immediate future to ensure our railroading do not come to a grinding halt on january 1, 2016, beyond the threat of fines . Well, senator, its good to see you again. I cannot i cannot i cannot give the railroads individual legal advice. I dont think thats an appropriate role for the fra administrator. We have said as clearly as we can possibly say that we will enforce the deadline. I know that many railroads are considering not operating starting on january 1st because they will not be in compliance with the ptc law. But would you have your cell phone to forward the calls from montana to you so you could take them . Sir, i am getting the calls. Yes, yes. Im happy to take yours, as well. Yes. Im talking from the people of montana. Yes. Because the phones will be ringing. This will be a crisis. Im sorry. I interrupted you. Go ahead. I am also worried about the crisis that could ensue on january 1st, as well. We have tried to be as clear as we can possibly be. We will continue to try to assist this committee and the congress in any way that we can as you con tom plait the possible extension of the deadline. And we will work with you in way that we possibly can. Were down to about 100 days. Yeah. Plus or minus. Theres something called thanksgiving in the way. Theres the christmas holidays. So the time is of the essence and giving Everything Else going on in this town crisis driven, it would be nice to avoid yet another crisis driven event. Sir, i completely agree. I do not have the authority to extend the deadline. And the secretary of transportation does not. And we will work with the committee any way that we can but were not able to do it ourselves. On your testimony, you mentioned theres a 1 billion loan from fra to new yorks Transit Authority to help implement safety measures. Often the focus of Passenger Rail is on the northeast corridor and i understand the reason why, because the dense populations but sometimes perpetuates this urban world country. As administrator, what efforts would fra take to ensure that Passenger Rail service is notdy fin minnished in rural america, places like montana . What loans are made available to Passenger Rail in these rural areas . Well, the riff program is certainly available and has is frequently sort of gets the most interest from short lines which tend to be functioning in these rural areas. As West Virginian, as someone from rural america, i can tell you im a strong supporter of the importance of Passenger Rail between rural areas. Were working with amtrak all the time. Look. The northeast corridor is important. 100 million a day in Economic Impact but getting a lot of attention but it no way takes all of our attention and we are laser focused on the state routes, as well. Thanks, ms. Feinberg. Thank you. Thank you, senator danes. We are still waiting for Passenger Rail to come to south dakota. Have in it wyoming. Montana and south dakota, only two that 48 lower that dont have. Senator blumenthal and cannotwell and the vote called. Ill be quick. My main reason to speak is to say how fervently i support Passenger Rail in south dakota. I agree. First of all, ms. Feinberg, i want to thank you for the breath of fresh air that you have already brought to the fra. Your diligence and determination have made a significant difference already in the enforcement and the vigilance and vigor of oversight by an agency that has been asleep at the switch for much too long. There are still 64 recommendations i believe from the ntsb that have not been closed by your agency but you have made a lot of progress over a short period of time. And i hope that you will continue to focus not only on positive train control but on very significant other rail safety issues. Close call reporting, redug nant signal protection, Commuter Rail inspection practices, cameras, speed restrictions, fatigue and so many other issues. I think your agency obviously can focus on more than one issue at once and these other challenges are as important as positive train control and a lot less expensive. So i hope that you will continue this effort because rail safety in the United States is sorely lacking. And there will continue to be catastrophes often with fatal results and tremendous costs if the nation fails to do better and you are at the tip of the spear so far as rail safety is concerned. So, i hope youll continue your efforts in that regard. Theres a vast difference in different kinds of extensions of ptc. I strongly support the railroad by railroad year by year vigilant oversight approach. Which i believe was embodied in the grow act. As to posed to the unlimited indeterminant open ended approach which is currently embodied in the drive act and i will oppose that kind of extension if it is incorporated in any sort of continuing resolution or shortterm fix. I believe that approach is simply an invitation to disaster. And i know that you have walked a fine line in your testimony today in a very understandable effort to be accommodating to the different views that are on this committee but i would like a commitment from you that you will vigorously enforce whatever ptc extension is adopted if one is adopted by this committee and congress. Absolutely. We intend to vigorously enforce the deadline in front of us now and should it be moved well enforce that one. I take it you would favor the more limited and year by year case by case approach embodied in the grow act. Thats been the administration policy, is it not . Well, the grow act our purpose in the grow act was to ask for flexibility for railroads that had made progress and that where we were trying to priorize impleation in certain areas. We are committed to ptc as sa safely as possible. I want to focus in the short time i have remaining on the need for greater oversight on the hartford line. I want to thank you and secretary fox for hosting a meeting including myself and the connecticut delegation and our governor. Id like you to commit as you did in the meeting that you will ensure that amtrak manages this project more ably and efficiently. You have my commitment that we will remain very vigilant over that project. It is one of the most important projects in the country and as we said in the meeting, we are lucky to have good partners in connecticut that are actually prioritizing this kind of work and so we will remain very focused on it. There is an opportunity and obligation for more collaboration and cooperation here. The contention and disagreement that is have occurred really are regrettable and ultimately will contribute to delay and cost overruns of this line. Would you agree . Yes, sir. Thank you very much. Mr. Chairman, thanks for the opportunity. Thank you, senator blumenthal. Senator cantwell . Thank you. Weve talked experiences especially in the northeast with train traffic. Do you believe that Oil Volatility is an issue that needs to be addressed and that the d. O. T. Working with d. O. E. Should resolve this issue doing testing required to say what vapor pressure should be on trains . I certainly think it will be helpful to determine what role volatility plays. As you know, the department of energy is has partnered in our Sister Agency, with us to do a study of the backen crude to determine the volatility and what impact that volatility has so does it matter and how much which will guide a lot of our thinking and be helpful. I know that its astounding to me that neither fra or fimsa thinks that they have the ability to regulate this vapor pressure which we do in other areas that somebodys waiting for a cat strask accident to say we should regulate this but are you concerned that these read vapor pressure readings as much as 18. 5 pounds per square inch when in reality a lot of people have concerns above 10 so were not only seeing north dakota saying, well, lets set a standard of 13. 5 which or 13. 7 i have a concern about and finding that theyre not even meeting there, theres no oversight or regulation whether the train traffic is meeting that standard. In fact, some people finding much more higher vapor pressures and i think volatile till comes into play. Its hard to comment on what fimsas authority is. Our authority is the vehicle that that product is traveling in when its on rail so the tank so assisting fimsa with the tank car and the way the train is operated. But i have i have been a loud proponent of asking the Energy Industry to play a role in assisting us with the safety of transporting crude oil across the country. I think its important for the Rail Industry to be accountable but i have been very vocal about my interest in having the Energy Industry have some skin in the game, as well. The Energy Industry . Meaning . Meaning the shippers. Do you think the federal government needs to resolve this issue and weigh in . Whatever agency it is. Whoever has the authority. I mean, i dont think the general public cares, like, what were all doing back here as it relates to this industry and this doctrine and this regulation, oh, falling through a loophole. People want to know whether volatility is address or not and you think the administration should address volatility . I think if the study that is are being done by the department of energy suggest we need to address volatility before its placed into transport, we should do that. We should absolutely do that. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you senator. I want to point out for the record that the grow act had an openended extension. There wasnt any deadline in the grow act. The drive act which passed the senate a few weeks ago has a threeyear deadline through 2018 for installation and then of course certification dependent upon working with the d. O. T. And in addition, the drive act included a number of other safety related measures including inward facing cameras, requiring speed limit action plans to address automatic train control modification, crew mentions, Speed Enforcement issues, Hazardous Materials with realtime information for First Responders and response plans. Requirement for grade crossing action plans to facilitate improved state grade crossing safety efforts and included a number of other safety issues. Such as sign and alerters and track inspections. So the drive act does have a number of safety provisions in there in addition to the ptc extensions. So, ms. Feinberg, thank you for appearing today and we will keep the hearing record open. If i find my act for open for two weeks during which time senators are asked to submit questions for the record. You would be asked to request and submit the written answers to the committee as quickly as possible. And as you can tell, obviously, a lot of focus on ptc. We have a big problem. Youre coming in at a very important and critical time to try and help solve what most of us i think recognize is a mayor crisis and your role is going to be important in the administrations role is important in trying to build the necessary Bipartisan Coalition that will take to pass legislation that gets us to where we need to go. So, thank you for your time today and for your