H.R. 1347: D-BLOC Act
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H.R. 1347: D-BLOC Act
118th Congress · introduced 2023-03-03 · Transportation and Public Works · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
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Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2023-03-03 · official record
- Who proposed it: Rep. Garcia, Sylvia R. [D-TX-29] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials. 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.
Official title
D-BLOC Act
Plain summary
Don't BLock Our Communities Act or the D-BLOC Act This bill prohibits railroad carriers from obstructing travel at public highway-rail crossings for more than 10 minutes, except under limited circumstances (e.g., safety issues). The Department of Transportation (DOT) must investigate and send notices to carriers of repeated incidents; carriers are subject to civil penalties for violations that occur after having received notice. Additionally, each Class I railroad carrier must publish on its home page an active link to the blocked highway-rail crossing portal that is maintained by the Federal Railroad Administration. The portal is used to (1) collect information from the public, including first responders, regarding blocked highway-rail grade crossing events; (2) solicit the apparent cause of the blocked crossing and provide examples of common causes of blocked crossings; (3) provide each complainant with the contact information for reporting a blocked crossing to the relevant railroad; and (4) encourage each complainant to report the blocked crossing to the relevant railroad.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
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If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.
A “Nay” vote
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Rep. Garcia, Sylvia R. [D-TX-29] · 7 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Terri A. Sewell (D-AL), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Frank J. Mrvan (D-IN)
Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Garcia, Sylvia R. [D-TX-29] reported raising $1.2 million (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 (1)
- 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).
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-118hr1347.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/118/hr>
Record fed-us-cong118-hr1347 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong118 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong118