PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jun 28, 2017
Railroad Advancement of Innovation and Leadership with Safety Act or the RAILS Act
This bill seeks to promote alternative approaches to railroad safety through self-regulation.
Specifically, the Department of Transportation (DOT) shall:
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
before proposing or adopting a rule, consider an approach that specifies performance objectives rather than identifies or requires the specific manner of compliance that a regulated entity must adopt;
before issuing a proposed rule, publish an advance notice of proposed rulemaking unless the proposed rule is not likely to result in a "significant rule" (i.e., a rule that has an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or meets other specified criteria);
before issuing any proposed rule or final rule, conduct a regulatory impact analysis to evaluate the proposed rule or final rule;
by June 1, 2019, and at least every five years thereafter, complete a comprehensive review of the regulations, orders, and guidance documents issued; and
include, in each significant rule prescribed on or after December 31, 2017, a framework for assessing the rule's effects.
DOT may waive compliance with any part of a regulation prescribed or order issued if the waiver: (1) is in the public interest; (2) requires the recipient to adopt an alternative technology, practice, or system that could achieve a level of safety equivalent to or greater than that which would be obtained in the absence of the waiver; and (3) includes a DOT-approved evaluation framework.
People & committees
Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE] · R–NE
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.1451 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.1451 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.1451 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.1451 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.