Federal Railroad Safety Authorization Act of 1975
Public Law 94-56 · S. 1462 · 94th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Gerald Ford (R) on Jul 19, 1975 · Transportation and Public Works
Sponsor: Sen. Rupert Hartke (D-IN)
Cosponsors: None
Passage votes
- HouseMethod not stated
- SenateMethod not stated
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Federal Railroad Safety Authorization Act - Requires that the comprehensive safety report required to be filed with Congress by March 1976, under the Federal Railroad Safety Act, contain a description of regulations and handling criteria, established as of June 30, 1975, applicable to the transportation of radioactive materials by railroad, together with the projections of the volume of such materials to be transported by railroad through 1980.
Authorizes appropriations to carry out the provisions of the Federal Railroad Safety Act through September 30, 1976.
Authorizes appropriations for the purposes of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act of $7,000,000 for fiscal year 1976 and $1,750,000 for the transition period through September 1976.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 12 actions.
- Jul 19, 1975Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- PresidentPresident · Public law 94-56.
- Jul 10, 1975PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
- Jul 9, 1975PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in Senate.
- PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in House.
- Jul 8, 1975Resolving differencesResolving differences · Senate agreed to House amendments.
- Jun 23, 1975FloorFloor · Measure passed House, amended, in lieu of H.R. 5358.
- May 19, 1975CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Energy and Commerce Committee
- May 16, 1975FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate.
- May 14, 1975CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
- Apr 17, 1975CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.