D-BLOC Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 6790 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 6790 To amend title 49, United States Code, to limit railroad carriers from blocking railway-highway crossings, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 17, 2025 Ms. Garcia of Texas (for herself, Mr. Mrvan, Ms. Norton, and Mr. Kennedy of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend title 49, United States Code, to limit railroad carriers from blocking railway-highway crossings, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Don't BLock Our Communities Act'' or the ``D-BLOC Act''. SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF 10-MINUTE TIME LIMIT FOR BLOCKING PUBLIC HIGHWAY-RAIL GRADE CROSSINGS. (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``Sec. 20172. Time limit for blocking public highway-rail grade crossing ``(a) Time Limit.--A railroad carrier may not cause a blocked crossing incident that is longer than 10 minutes in duration, unless the blocked crossing incident is caused by-- ``(1) a casualty or serious injury; ``(2) an accident; ``(3) a track obstruction; ``(4) actions necessary to comply with Federal rail safety laws, regulations, or orders issued thereunder unless the action to comply could reasonably occur at a different time or location; ``(5) actions necessary to adhere to section 24308; ``(6) a train fully contained within rail yard limits or fully contained in a rail siding; ``(7) an act of God; or ``(8) a derailment or a safety appliance equipment