S. 4906: A bill to establish a portal and database to receive and maintain information regarding blocked railroad-highway grade crossings and to require the Secretary of Transportation to evaluate the requirements of the railway-highway crossings program.

S. 4906: A bill to establish a portal and database to receive and maintain information regarding blocked railroad-highway grade crossings and to require the Secretary of Transportation to evaluate the requirements of the railway-highway crossings program.

116th Congress · introduced 2020-11-18 · Transportation and Public Works · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2020-11-18 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

A bill to establish a portal and database to receive and maintain information regarding blocked railroad-highway grade crossings and to require the Secretary of Transportation to evaluate the requirements of the railway-highway crossings program.

Plain summary

This bill provides statutory authority for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to establish and maintain a portal and corresponding database through which it shall receive information on blocked railroad-highway grade crossings as a three-year pilot program. The FRA must use information from the database (1) to assist in identifying the locations and potential impacts of frequent and long-duration blocked railroad-highway grade crossings; (2) as a basis for outreach to communities, emergency responders, and railroads; and (3) to support collaboration in the prevention of incidents at railroad-highway grade crossings. Additionally, the Department of Transportation must evaluate the requirements of its railway-highway crossing program to determine whether the program provides states sufficient flexibility to adequately address current and emerging grade-crossing safety issues, the structure of the program provides sufficient incentive and resources to states and local agencies to make changes at grade crossings that are most effective at reducing deaths and injuries, there are appropriate tools and resources to support states in using data-driven programs to determine the most cost-effective use of program funds, and any statutory changes are necessary to improve the effectiveness of the program.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

A bill to establish a portal and database to receive and maintain information regarding blocked railroad-highway grade crossings and to require the Secretary of Transportation to evaluate the requirements of the railway-highway crossings program.

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE] · 4 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Gary C. Peters (D-MI), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE] reported raising $976,129 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (3)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Statute: A written law passed by a legislature. A statute can be changed by a later law; changing a constitution needs an amendment.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116s4906.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/s>

Record fed-us-cong116-s4906 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116