I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3270 

To improve the security of public transportation and rail systems in the 

United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 13, 2005 

Ms. NORTON (for herself, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. HOYER, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. SPRATT, 

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. DICKS, Mrs. 

CHRISTENSEN, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, and Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of 

California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committee on 

Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To improve the security of public transportation and rail 

systems in the United States, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Secure Transit and Rail Across America and Invest in 

6 National Security Act of 2005’’ or the ‘‘Secure Trains 

7 Act’’. 
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.— 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SECURITY STRATEGY AND 

INTERAGENCY COOPERATION 

Sec. 101. National Transportation Security Strategy. 

Sec. 102. Interagency cooperation. 

Sec. 103. Definitions. 

TITLE II—PUBLIC TRANSIT SECURITY 

Sec. 201. Homeland security public transportation grants. 

Sec. 202. Training exercises. 

Sec. 203. Security best practices. 

Sec. 204. Public outreach. 

Sec. 205. National Transportation Security Centers. 

Sec. 206. Whistleblower protections. 

Sec. 207. Definitions. 

TITLE III—RAIL SECURITY 

Sec. 301. Freight and passenger rail security upgrades. 

Sec. 302. Fire and life-safety improvements. 

Sec. 303. Rail security research and development program. 

Sec. 304. Rail worker security training program. 

Sec. 305. Whistleblower protection. 

Sec. 306. Public outreach. 

Sec. 307. Passenger, baggage, and cargo screening. 

Sec. 308. Emergency responder training standards. 

Sec. 309. Information for first responders. 

Sec. 310. TSA personnel limitations. 

Sec. 311. Rail safety regulations. 

Sec. 312. Rail security. 

Sec. 313. Definitions. 

2 TITLE I—NATIONAL TRANSPOR3 TATION SECURITY STRATEGY 

4 AND INTERAGENCY CO5 OPERATION 

6 SEC. 101. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SECURITY STRAT7 EGY. 

8 (a) DEADLINE.—Not later than 30 days after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

10 to the appropriate congressional committees the National 
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1 Strategy for Transportation Security required under sec2 tion 114(t) of title 49, United States Code. 

3 (b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In addition to the 

4 requirements of section 114(t) of such title, the Secretary 

5 shall develop a supplement to the National Strategy for 

6 Transportation Security. The supplement shall include the 

7 following: 

8 (1) Requirements for the Federal Government 

9 to provide increased security support during high or 

10 severe threat levels of alert. 

11 (2) Procedures for establishing and maintaining 

12 permanent and comprehensive consultative relations 

13 among the parties described in subsection (c). 

14 (3) A contingency plan to ensure the continued 

15 movement of freight and passengers in the event of 

16 an attack affecting the railroad or public transpor17 tation system, which shall contemplate— 

18 (A) the possibility of rerouting traffic due 

19 to the loss of critical infrastructure, such as a 

20 bridge, tunnel, yard, or station; and 

21 (B) methods of continuing railroad service 

22 in the Northeast Corridor in the event of a 

23 commercial power loss or a catastrophe affect24 ing a critical bridge, tunnel, yard, or station; 

25 and 
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1 (4) An identification of actions taken or 

2 planned by both public and private entities to ad3 dress security issues identified under paragraph (1) 

4 and an assessment of the effective integration of 

5 such actions. 

6 (c) CONSULTATION.—In developing the supplement 

7 under subsection (b) and recommendations under sub8 section (d), the Secretary shall work jointly with the Sec9 retary of Transportation and shall consult with appro10 priate public transportation entities and appropriate rail 

11 entities. 

12 (d) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Secretary shall de13 velop prioritized recommendations for improving public 

14 transportation and railroad security, including rec15 ommendations for— 

16 (1) improving the security of public transpor17 tation and rail infrastructure to include subway plat18 forms, bus and ferry terminals, rail tunnels, rail 

19 bridges, rail switching and car storage areas, infor20 mation systems, and other areas identified as posing 

21 significant risks to public safety and the movement 

22 of interstate commerce, taking into account the im23 pact that any proposed security measure might have 

24 on the provision of public transportation or railroad 

25 service; 
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1 (2) deploying surveillance equipment; 

2 (3) deploying equipment to detect explosives 

3 and hazardous chemical, biological, and radioactive 

4 substances, and any appropriate countermeasures; 

5 (4) installing redundant and backup systems to 

6 ensure the continued operation of critical elements 

7 of the railroad system in the event of an attack or 

8 other incident, including disruption of commercial 

9 electric power or communications networks; 

10 (5) conducting public outreach campaigns on 

11 public transportation and passenger railroad sys12 tems; and 

13 (6) identifying the immediate and long-term 

14 costs of measures that may be required to address 

15 those risks. 

16 (e) REPORT.— 

17 (1) CONTENTS.—Not later than 60 days after 

18 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

19 shall transmit to the appropriate congressional com20 mittees a report containing the supplement devel21 oped under subsection (b) and recommendations de22 veloped under subsection (d), together with an esti23 mate of the cost to implement such recommenda24 tions. 
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1 (2) FORMAT.—The report may be submitted in 

2 a classified format if the Secretary determines that 

3 such action is necessary. 

4 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

6 $10,000,000 for the purpose of carrying out this section. 

7 SEC. 102. INTERAGENCY COOPERATION. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall work jointly 

9 with the Secretary of Transportation in carrying out the 

10 provisions of this Act. 

11 (b) MEMORANDUM.—Not later than 30 days after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Sec13 retary of Transportation shall execute a memorandum of 

14 agreement governing the roles and responsibilities of the 

15 Department of Homeland Security and the Department 

16 of Transportation, respectively, in addressing public trans17 portation and rail security matters, including the process 

18 their departments will follow to carry this Act and pro19 mote communications, efficiency, and nonduplication of ef20 fort. 

21 SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this title, the following definitions apply: 

23 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT24 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com25 mittees’’ means the Committee on Homeland Secu-
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1 rity and the Committee on Transportation and In2 frastructure of the House of Representatives and the 

3 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

4 Affairs and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

5 and Transportation of the Senate. 

6 (2) APPROPRIATE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

7 ENTITIES.—The term ‘‘appropriate public transpor8 tation entities’’ means owners, operators, and pro9 viders of public transportation systems, public trans10 portation employee representatives, first responders, 

11 industry associations, private sector experts, aca12 demic experts, and appropriate Federal, State, and 

13 local officials. 

14 (3) APPROPRIATE RAIL ENTITIES.—The term 

15 ‘‘appropriate rail entities’’ means freight and pas16 senger railroad carriers, nonprofit employee organi17 zations representing rail workers, nonprofit employee 

18 organizations representing emergency responders, 

19 owners or lessors of rail cars used to transport haz20 ardous materials, shippers of hazardous materials, 

21 manufacturers of rail tank cars, State Departments 

22 of Transportation, public safety officials, and other 

23 relevant parties. 

24 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

25 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 
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1 TITLE II—PUBLIC TRANSIT 

2 SECURITY 

3 SEC. 201. HOMELAND SECURITY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION 

4 GRANTS. 

5 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of Homeland 

6 Security is authorized to make grants for the purpose of 

7 improving the security of public transportation systems 

8 against acts of terrorism. The grant program shall be ad9 ministered by the Director of the Office of Domestic Pre10 paredness to ensure that the program is consistent with 

11 other Department of Homeland Security grant programs. 

12 (b) GRANT CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall make 

13 grants under this section using the following criteria: 

14 (1) Risk of terrorism, including threat assess15 ment, vulnerabilities of public transportation sys16 tems, potential effects of acts of terrorism against 

17 public transportation systems, and past acts of ter18 rorism against modes of transportation. 

19 (2) Merits of the proposed projects to increase 

20 national security, based on a consideration of— 

21 (A) threats; 

22 (B) vulnerabilities; 

23 (C) consequences, including human casual24 ties and economic impacts; 

25 (D) consequence management; 
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1 (E) the likelihood that such projects would 

2 have been pursued in the normal course of busi3 ness and in the absence of national security 

4 considerations; and 

5 (F) feasibility, based on the technical and 

6 operational merits of the projects. 

7 (c) ALLOWABLE USE OF FUNDS.—Grants made 

8 under this section shall be used for the purposes of— 

9 (1) support for increased capital investments in 

10 cameras, close-circuit television, and other surveil11 lance systems; 

12 (2) increased capital investment in command, 

13 control, and communications systems, including in14 vestments for redundancy and interoperability and 

15 for improved situational awareness, such as emer16 gency call boxes and vehicle locator systems; 

17 (3) increased training, including for carrying 

18 out exercises under section 202, and technical sup19 port for public transportation employees, especially 

20 for security awareness, prevention, and emergency 

21 response, including evacuation and decontamination; 

22 (4) expanded deployment of equipment and 

23 other measures, including canine detection teams, 

24 for the detection of explosives and chemical, biologi25 cal, radiological, and nuclear agents; 
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1 (5) capital improvements and operating activi2 ties, including personnel expenditures, to increase 

3 the physical security of stations, vehicles, bridges, 

4 and tunnels; 

5 (6) capital improvements and operating activi6 ties to improve passenger survivability in the event 

7 of an attack, including improvements in ventilation, 

8 drainage, fire safety technology, emergency commu9 nications systems, lighting systems, passenger 

10 egress, and accessibility by emergency response per11 sonnel; 

12 (7) acquisition of emergency response and sup13 port equipment, including fire suppression and de14 contamination equipment; and 

15 (8) expansion of employee education and public 

16 awareness campaigns regarding security on public 

17 transportation systems. 

18 (d) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS.—Grants shall be made 

19 available under this section directly to owners, operators, 

20 and providers of public transportation systems. Owners, 

21 operators, and providers of infrastructure over which pub22 lic transportation operates, but which is not primarily 

23 used for public transportation, may also be eligible for 

24 grants at the discretion of the Secretary. 
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1 (e) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The Secretary shall adopt 

2 necessary procedures, including audits, to ensure that 

3 grants made under this section are expended in accord4 ance with the purposes of this title and the priorities and 

5 other criteria developed by the Secretary. If the Secretary 

6 determines that a recipient has used any portion of the 

7 grant funds received under this section for a purpose other 

8 than the allowable uses specified for that grant under this 

9 section, the grantee shall return any amount so used to 

10 the Treasury of the United States. 

11 (f) PROCEDURES FOR GRANT AWARD.—The Sec12 retary shall prescribe procedures and schedules for the 

13 awarding of grants under this section, including applica14 tion and qualification procedures, and a record of decision 

15 on applicant eligibility. The Secretary shall issue a final 

16 rule establishing the procedures not later than 90 days 

17 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

18 (g) COST SHARE.—Grants made under this section 

19 shall account for no more than— 

20 (1) 85 percent for fiscal year 2006; 

21 (2) 80 percent for fiscal year 2007; and 

22 (3) 75 percent for fiscal year 2008, 

23 of the expense of the purposes for which the grants are 

24 used. 
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1 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

3 out the purposes of this section— 

4 (1) $1,200,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

5 (2) $900,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; and 

6 (3) $700,000,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

7 Amounts appropriated pursuant to this subsection shall 

8 remain available until expended. 

9 SEC. 202. TRAINING EXERCISES. 

10 (a) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 4 months after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 

12 Security shall publish guidelines for the conduct by recipi13 ents of grants under section 201 of appropriate exercises 

14 for emergency response and public transportation em15 ployee training purposes. 

16 (b) PLANS.—Not later than 6 months after receipt 

17 of a grant under section 201, the recipient of such grant 

18 shall transmit to the Secretary its emergency response 

19 plan as well as a plan for conducting exercises for emer20 gency response and public transportation employee train21 ing purposes pursuant to the guidelines published under 

22 subsection (a). 

23 (c) EXERCISES.— 

24 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 1 year 

25 after receipt of a grant under section 201, the re-
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1 cipient of such grant shall conduct an exercise pur2 suant to the plan for conducting exercises trans3 mitted under subsection (b). 

4 (2) EXEMPTIONS.—The Secretary may exempt 

5 a grant recipient from the requirement under para6 graph (1) if the recipient has recently conducted an 

7 equivalent exercise. 

8 (3) NOTICE AND REPORT.—Not later than 30 

9 days after conducting an exercise under paragraph 

10 (1) or as described in paragraph (2), the recipient 

11 shall notify the Secretary that such exercise has 

12 been completed, including a description of the re13 sults of the exercise and findings and lessons learned 

14 from the exercise, and shall make recommendations 

15 for changes, if necessary, to existing emergency re16 sponse plans. If the recipient revises an emergency 

17 response plan as a result of an exercise under this 

18 subsection, the recipient shall transmit the revised 

19 plan to the Secretary not later than 6 months after 

20 the date of the exercise. 

21 (d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

22 provide technical assistance in the design, preparation for, 

23 and conduct of emergency response exercises. 

24 (e) USE OF PLANS.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

25 information submitted to the Secretary under this section 
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1 is protected from any form of disclosure that might com2 promise public transportation security or trade secrets. 

3 Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the Secretary 

4 may use such information, on a nonattributed basis unless 

5 otherwise agreed to by the source of the information, to 

6 aid in developing recommendations, best practices, and 

7 materials for use by public transportation authorities to 

8 improve security practices and emergency response capa9 bilities. 

10 SEC. 203. SECURITY BEST PRACTICES. 

11 Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment 

12 of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall de13 velop, disseminate to appropriate owners, operators, and 

14 providers of public transportation systems, public trans15 portation employees and employee representatives, and 

16 Federal, State, and local officials, and transmit to Con17 gress, a report containing best practices for the security 

18 of public transportation systems. In developing best prac19 tices, the Secretary shall be responsible for consulting with 

20 and collecting input from owners, operators, and providers 

21 of public transportation systems, public transportation 

22 employee representatives, first responders, industry asso23 ciations, private sector experts, academic experts, and ap24 propriate Federal, State, and local officials. 
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1 SEC. 204. PUBLIC OUTREACH. 

2 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall de4 velop a national plan for public outreach and awareness. 

5 Such plan shall be designed to increase awareness of 

6 measures that the general public, public transportation 

7 passengers, and public transportation employees can take 

8 to increase public transportation system security. Such 

9 plan shall also provide outreach to owners, operators, pro10 viders, and employees of public transportation systems to 

11 improve their awareness of available technologies, ongoing 

12 research and development efforts, and available Federal 

13 funding sources to improve public transportation security. 

14 Not later than 9 months after the date of enactment of 

15 this Act, the Secretary shall implement the plan developed 

16 under this section. 

17 SEC. 205. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SECURITY CEN18 TERS. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Homeland 

20 Security, working jointly with the Secretary of Transpor21 tation, shall establish more than 1 but not more than 4 

22 National Transportation Security Centers at institutions 

23 of higher education to assist in carrying out this title, to 

24 conduct research and education activities, and to develop 

25 or provide professional training, including the training of 

26 public transportation employees and public transportation- 
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1 related professionals, with emphasis on utilization of intel2 ligent transportation systems, technologies, and architec3 tures. 

4 (b) CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall designate the 

5 Centers according to the following selection criteria: 

6 (1) The demonstrated commitment of the insti7 tution to transportation security issues. 

8 (2) The use of and experience with partnerships 

9 with other institutions of higher education, Federal 

10 laboratories, or other nonprofit laboratories. 

11 (3) Capability to conduct both practical and 

12 theoretical research and technical systems analysis. 

13 (4) Utilization of intelligent transportation sys14 tem technologies and architectures. 

15 (5) Ability to develop professional training pro16 grams. 

17 (6) Capability and willingness to conduct edu18 cation of transportation security professionals. 

19 (7) Such other criteria as the Secretary may 

20 designate. 

21 (c) EXISTING CENTERS.—The Secretary may des22 ignate an existing national transportation research center 

23 as a National Transportation Security Center under this 

24 section. 
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1 (d) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall provide such 

2 funding as is necessary to the National Transportation Se3 curity Centers established under subsection (a) to carry 

4 out this section. 

5 SEC. 206. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—No covered individual may be dis7 charged, demoted, suspended, threatened, harassed, rep8 rimanded, investigated, or in any other manner discrimi9 nated against (including by a denial, suspension, or rev10 ocation of a security clearance or by any other security 

11 access determination) if such discrimination is due, in 

12 whole or in part, to any lawful act done, perceived to have 

13 been done, or intended to be done by the covered indi14 vidual— 

15 (1) to provide information, cause information to 

16 be provided, or otherwise assist in an investigation 

17 regarding any conduct which the covered individual 

18 reasonably believes constitutes a violation of any 

19 law, rule or regulation relating to national or home20 land security, which the covered individual reason21 ably believes constitutes a threat to national or 

22 homeland security, or which the covered individual 

23 reasonably believes constitutes fraud, waste or mis24 management of Government funds intended to be 

25 used for national or homeland security, when the in-
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1 formation or assistance is provided to or the inves2 tigation is conducted by— 

3 (A) a Federal, State, or local regulatory or 

4 law enforcement agency (including an office of 

5 Inspector General under the Inspector General 

6 Act of 1978); 

7 (B) any Member of Congress, any com8 mittee of Congress, or the Government Ac9 countability Office; or 

10 (C) a person with supervisory authority 

11 over the covered individual (or such other per12 son who has the authority to investigate, dis13 cover, or terminate misconduct); 

14 (2) to file, cause to be filed, testify, participate 

15 in, or otherwise assist in a proceeding or action filed 

16 or about to be filed relating to an alleged violation 

17 of any law, rule or regulation relating to national or 

18 homeland security; or 

19 (3) to refuse to violate or assist in the violation 

20 of any law, rule, or regulation relating to national or 

21 homeland security. 

22 (b) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered individual who al24 leges discharge or other discrimination by any per-
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1 son in violation of subsection (a) may seek relief 

2 under subsection (c) by— 

3 (A) filing a complaint with the Secretary of 

4 Labor; or 

5 (B) if the Secretary has not issued a final 

6 decision within 180 days after the filing of the 

7 complaint and there is no showing that such 

8 delay is due to the bad faith of the claimant, 

9 bringing an action at law or equity for de novo 

10 review in the appropriate district court of the 

11 United States, which shall have jurisdiction 

12 over such an action without regard to the 

13 amount in controversy. 

14 (2) PROCEDURE.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—An action under para16 graph (1)(A) shall be governed under the rules 

17 and procedures set forth in section 42121(b) of 

18 title 49, United States Code. 

19 (B) EXCEPTION.—Notification made under 

20 section 42121(b)(1) of title 49, United States 

21 Code, shall be made to the person named in the 

22 complaint and to the person’s employer. 

23 (C) BURDENS OF PROOF.—An action 

24 brought under paragraph (1)(B) shall be gov25 erned by the legal burdens of proof set forth in 
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1 section 42121(b) of title 49, United States 

2 Code. 

3 (D) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—An action 

4 under paragraph (1) shall be commenced not 

5 later than 1 year after the date on which the 

6 violation occurs. 

7 (c) REMEDIES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered individual pre9 vailing in any action under subsection (b)(1) shall be 

10 entitled to all relief necessary to make the covered 

11 individual whole. 

12 (2) DAMAGES.—Relief for any action under 

13 paragraph (1) shall include— 

14 (A) reinstatement with the same seniority 

15 status that the covered individual would have 

16 had, but for the discrimination; 

17 (B) the amount of any back pay, with in18 terest; 

19 (C) compensation for any special damages 

20 sustained as a result of the discrimination, in21 cluding litigation costs, expert witness fees, and 

22 reasonable attorney fees; and 

23 (D) punitive damages in an amount not to 

24 exceed the greater of 3 times the amount of any 
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1 compensatory damages awarded under this sec2 tion or $5,000,000. 

3 (d) STATE SECRETS PRIVILEGE.—If, in any action 

4 brought under subsection (b)(1)(B), the Government as5 serts as a defense the privilege commonly referred to as 

6 the ‘‘state secrets privilege’’ and the assertion of such 

7 privilege prevents the plaintiff from establishing a prima 

8 facie case in support of the plaintiff’s claim, the court shall 

9 enter judgment for the plaintiff and shall determine the 

10 relief to be granted. 

11 (e) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any 

13 person employing a covered individual to commit an 

14 act prohibited by subsection (a). Any person vio15 lating this paragraph shall be fined under title 18, 

16 United States Code, imprisoned not more than 10 

17 years, or both. 

18 (2) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The Depart19 ment of Justice shall submit to Congress an annual 

20 report on the enforcement of paragraph (1). Each 

21 such report shall (A) identify each case in which for22 mal charges under paragraph (1) were brought, (B) 

23 describe the status or disposition of each such case, 

24 and (C) in any actions under subsection (b)(1)(B) in 

25 which the covered individual was the prevailing party 
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1 or the substantially prevailing party, indicate wheth2 er or not any formal charges under paragraph (1) 

3 have been brought and, if not, the reasons therefor. 

4 (f) RIGHTS RETAINED BY COVERED INDIVIDUAL.— 

5 Nothing in this section shall be deemed to diminish the 

6 rights, privileges, or remedies of any covered individual 

7 under any Federal or State law, or under any collective 

8 bargaining agreement. The rights and remedies in this 

9 section may not be waived by any agreement, policy, form, 

10 or condition of employment. 

11 (g) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

12 (1) the term ‘‘covered individual’’ means an em13 ployee of— 

14 (A) the Department of Homeland Security 

15 (which, for purposes of this section, includes the 

16 Transportation Security Administration); 

17 (B) a Federal contractor or subcontractor; 

18 and 

19 (C) an employer within the meaning of sec20 tion 701(b) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

21 U.S.C. 2000e(b)); 

22 (2) the term ‘‘lawful’’ means not specifically 

23 prohibited by law, except that, in the case of any in24 formation the disclosure of which is specifically pro25 hibited by law or specifically required by Executive 
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1 order to be kept secret in the interest of national de2 fense or the conduct of foreign affairs, any disclo3 sure of such information to any Member of Con4 gress, committee of Congress, or other recipient au5 thorized to receive such information, shall be deemed 

6 lawful; 

7 (3) the term ‘‘Federal contractor’’ means a per8 son who has entered into a contract with the De9 partment of Homeland Security; 

10 (4) the term ‘‘employee’’ means— 

11 (A) with respect to an employer referred to 

12 in paragraph (1)(A), an employee as defined by 

13 section 2105 of title 5, United States Code; and 

14 (B) with respect to an employer referred to 

15 in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1), 

16 any officer, partner, employee, or agent; 

17 (5) the term ‘‘subcontractor’’— 

18 (A) means any person, other than the Fed19 eral contractor, who offers to furnish or fur20 nishes any supplies, materials, equipment, or 

21 services of any kind under a contract with the 

22 Department of Homeland Security or a sub23 contract entered into in connection with such a 

24 contract; and 
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1 (B) includes any person who offers to fur2 nish or furnishes general supplies to the Fed3 eral contractor or a higher tier subcontractor; 

4 and 

5 (6) the term ‘‘person’’ means a corporation, 

6 partnership, State entity, business association of any 

7 kind, trust, joint-stock company, or individual. 

8 (h) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—A grant under this 

9 title shall be subject to terms and conditions of section 

10 5333 of title 49, United States Code. 

11 SEC. 207. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this title, the following definitions apply: 

13 (1) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION EMPLOYEES.— 

14 The term ‘‘public transportation employees’’ means 

15 security personnel, dispatchers, vehicle and vessel 

16 operators, other onboard employees, maintenance 

17 and support personnel, and other appropriate em18 ployees of owners, operators, and providers of public 

19 transportation systems. 

20 (2) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS.—The 

21 term ‘‘public transportation systems’’ means pas22 senger, commuter, and light rail, including subways, 

23 buses, commuter ferries, and other modes of public 

24 transit. 
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1 TITLE III—RAIL SECURITY 

2 SEC. 301. FREIGHT AND PASSENGER RAIL SECURITY UP3 GRADES. 

4 (a) SECURITY IMPROVEMENT GRANTS.—The Sec5 retary, in coordination with the Secretary of Transpor6 tation, is authorized to make grants to freight and pas7 senger railroad carriers, nonprofit employee organizations 

8 that represent rail workers, shippers of hazardous mate9 rials by rail, owners of rail cars used in the transportation 

10 of hazardous materials, manufacturers of rail tank cars, 

11 and State and local governments, for costs incurred in the 

12 conduct of activities to prevent or respond to acts of ter13 rorism or sabotage against railroads, or other railroad se14 curity threats, including— 

15 (1) perimeter protection systems, including ac16 cess control, installation of better lighting, fencing, 

17 and barricades at railroad facilities; 

18 (2) structural modification or replacement of 

19 rail cars transporting hazardous materials to im20 prove their resistance to acts of terrorism; 

21 (3) technologies for reduction of tank car vul22 nerability; 

23 (4) security improvements to passenger railroad 

24 stations, trains, and infrastructure; 

25 (5) tunnel protection systems; 
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1 (6) evacuation improvements; 

2 (7) inspection technologies, including verified 

3 visual inspection technologies using hand-held read4 ers and discs; 

5 (8) security and redundancy for critical commu6 nications, computer, and train control systems essen7 tial for secure railroad operations or to continue rail8 road operations after an attack impacting railroad 

9 operations; 

10 (9) train tracking and interoperable commu11 nications systems; 

12 (10) chemical, biological, radiological, or explo13 sive detection systems and devices; 

14 (11) surveillance equipment; 

15 (12) additional police and security officers, in16 cluding canine units; 

17 (13) accommodation of cargo or passenger 

18 screening equipment; 

19 (14) employee security awareness, prepared20 ness, and response training (including compliance 

21 with section 304); 

22 (15) public security awareness campaigns; 

23 (16) emergency response equipment, including 

24 fire suppression and decontamination equipment; 

25 and 
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1 (17) other improvements recommended by the 

2 Secretary, including infrastructure, facilities, and 

3 equipment upgrades. 

4 (b) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary shall require recipi5 ents of funds for construction under this section and sec6 tion 302 of this Act to apply the standards of section 

7 24312 of title 49, United States Code, as in effect on Sep8 tember 1, 2004, with respect to the construction in the 

9 same manner as Amtrak is required to comply with such 

10 standards for construction work financed under an agree11 ment made under section 24308(a) of such title 49. 

12 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

14 $600,000,000 to carry out the purposes of this section, 

15 of which $100,000,000 shall be used by the Secretary for 

16 making grants to Amtrak, in accordance with this section. 

17 Amounts appropriated pursuant to this subsection shall 

18 remain available until expended. 

19 SEC. 302. FIRE AND LIFE-SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS. 

20 (a) LIFE-SAFETY NEEDS.—There are authorized to 

21 be appropriated to Amtrak for the purposes of carrying 

22 out this section the following amounts: 

23 (1) For the 6 New York Tunnels to provide 

24 ventilation, electrical, and fire safety technology up25 grades, emergency communication and lighting sys-
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1 tems, and emergency access and egress for pas2 sengers— 

3 (A) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

4 (B) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

5 (C) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

6 (D) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

7 and 

8 (E) $170,000,000 for fiscal year 2010. 

9 (2) For the Baltimore & Potomac Tunnel and 

10 the Union Tunnel, together, to provide adequate 

11 drainage, ventilation, communication, lighting, and 

12 passenger egress upgrades— 

13 (A) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

14 (B) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

15 (C) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

16 (D) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; and 

17 (E) $17,000,000 for fiscal year 2010. 

18 (3) For the Washington, District of Columbia, 

19 Union Station Tunnels to improve ventilation, com20 munication, lighting, and passenger egress up21 grades— 

22 (A) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

23 (B) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

24 (C) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

25 (D) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; and 
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1 (E) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2010. 

2 (b) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS.— 

3 Amounts appropriated pursuant to this section shall re4 main available until expended. 

5 SEC. 303. RAIL SECURITY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 

6 PROGRAM. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOP8 MENT PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall carry out a re9 search and development program for the purpose of im10 proving railroad security that may include research and 

11 development projects to— 

12 (1) reduce the vulnerability of passenger trains, 

13 stations, and equipment to explosives and hazardous 

14 chemical, biological, and radioactive substances; 

15 (2) test new emergency response techniques and 

16 technologies; 

17 (3) develop improved freight technologies, in18 cluding— 

19 (A) technologies for sealing rail cars; 

20 (B) automatic inspection of rail cars; and 

21 (C) communication-based train controls; 

22 (4) test wayside detectors that can detect tam23 pering with railroad equipment; 

24 (5) support enhanced security for the transpor25 tation of hazardous materials by rail, including— 
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1 (A) technologies to detect a breach in a 

2 tank car and transmit information about the in3 tegrity of tank cars to the train crew; 

4 (B) research to improve tank car integrity; 

5 and 

6 (C) techniques to transfer hazardous mate7 rials from rail cars that are damaged or other8 wise represent an unreasonable risk to human 

9 life or public safety; and 

10 (6) other projects recommended by the Sec11 retary. 

12 (b) COORDINATION WITH OTHER RESEARCH INITIA13 TIVES.—The Secretary shall ensure that the research and 

14 development program authorized by this section is coordi15 nated with other research and development initiatives at 

16 the Department of Homeland Security, the Department 

17 of Transportation, and other Federal agencies. 

18 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

20 $50,000,000 in each of fiscal years 2006 and 2007 to 

21 carry out the purposes of this section. Amounts appro22 priated pursuant to this subsection shall remain available 

23 until expended. 
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1 SEC. 304. RAIL WORKER SECURITY TRAINING PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

3 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consulta4 tion with appropriate law enforcement, security, and ter5 rorism experts, representatives of railroad carriers, and 

6 nonprofit employee organizations that represent rail work7 ers, shall develop and issue detailed guidance for a rail 

8 worker security training program to prepare rail workers 

9 for potential threat conditions. 

10 (b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The guidance developed 

11 under subsection (a) shall require such a program to in12 clude, at a minimum, elements that address the following: 

13 (1) Determination of the seriousness of any oc14 currence. 

15 (2) Crew and passenger communication and co16 ordination. 

17 (3) Appropriate responses to defend oneself. 

18 (4) Use of protective devices. 

19 (5) Evacuation procedures. 

20 (6) Live situational training exercises regarding 

21 various threat conditions, including tunnel evacu22 ation procedures. 

23 (7) Any other subject the Secretary considers 

24 appropriate. 

25 (c) RAILROAD CARRIER PROGRAMS.—Not later than 

26 60 days after the Secretary issues guidance under sub-
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1 section (a) in final form, each railroad carrier shall develop 

2 a rail worker security training program in accordance with 

3 that guidance and submit it to the Secretary for approval. 

4 Not later than 60 days after receiving a railroad carrier’s 

5 program under this subsection, the Secretary shall review 

6 the program and approve it or require the railroad carrier 

7 to make any revisions the Secretary considers necessary 

8 for the program to meet the guidance requirements. 

9 (d) TRAINING.—Not later than 1 year after the Sec10 retary approves the training program developed by a rail11 road carrier under this section, the railroad carrier shall 

12 complete the training of all rail workers in accordance with 

13 that program. 

14 (e) UPDATES.—The Secretary shall update the train15 ing guidance issued under subsection (a) from time to 

16 time to reflect new or different security threats, and re17 quire railroad carriers to revise their programs accordingly 

18 and provide additional training to their rail workers. 

19 SEC. 305. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 201 of 

21 title 49, is amended by inserting after section 20115 the 

22 following: 
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1 ‘‘§ 20116. Whistleblower protection for railroad secu2 rity matters 

3 ‘‘(a) DISCRIMINATION AGAINST EMPLOYEE.—No 

4 railroad carrier engaged in interstate or foreign commerce 

5 may discharge a railroad employee or otherwise discrimi6 nate against a railroad employee because the employee (or 

7 any person acting pursuant to a request of the employee) 

8 ‘‘(1) provided, caused to be provided, or is 

9 about to provide or cause to be provided, to the em10 ployer or the Federal Government information relat11 ing to a perceived threat to security; 

12 ‘‘(2) provided, caused to be provided, or is 

13 about to provide or cause to be provided, testimony 

14 before Congress or at any Federal or State pro15 ceeding regarding a perceived threat to security; 

16 ‘‘(3) has assisted or participated, or is about to 

17 assist or participate, in any manner in a proceeding 

18 or any other action to enhance railroad security; or 

19 ‘‘(4) refused to violate or assist in the violation 

20 of any law, rule, or regulation related to railroad se21 curity. 

22 ‘‘(b) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person who alleges dis24 charge or other discrimination by any person in vio25 lation of subsection (a) may seek relief under sub26 section (c) by— 
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1 ‘‘(A) filing a complaint with the Secretary 

2 of Labor; or 

3 ‘‘(B) if the Secretary of Labor has not 

4 issued a final decision within 180 days of the 

5 filing of the complaint and there is no showing 

6 that such delay is due to the bad faith of the 

7 claimant, bringing an action at law or equity 

8 for de novo review in the appropriate district 

9 court of the United States, which shall have ju10 risdiction over such an action without regard to 

11 the amount in controversy. 

12 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURE.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An action under para14 graph (1)(A) shall be governed under the rules 

15 and procedures set forth in section 42121(b) of 

16 this title. 

17 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Notification made 

18 under section 42121(b)(1) of this title, shall be 

19 made to the person named in the complaint and 

20 to the employer. 

21 ‘‘(C) BURDENS OF PROOF.—An action 

22 brought under paragraph (1)(B) shall be gov23 erned by the legal burdens of proof set forth in 

24 section 42121(b) this title. 
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1 ‘‘(D) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—An ac2 tion under paragraph (1)(A) shall be com3 menced not later than 90 days after the date on 

4 which the violation occurs. 

5 ‘‘(c) REMEDIES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An employee prevailing in 

7 any action under subsection (b)(1) shall be entitled 

8 to all relief necessary to make the employee whole. 

9 ‘‘(2) COMPENSATORY DAMAGES.—Relief for any 

10 action under paragraph (1) shall include— 

11 ‘‘(A) reinstatement with the same seniority 

12 status that the employee would have had, but 

13 for the discrimination; 

14 ‘‘(B) the amount of back pay, with inter15 est; and 

16 ‘‘(C) compensation for any special damages 

17 sustained as a result of the discrimination, in18 cluding litigation costs, expert witness fees, and 

19 reasonable attorney fees. 

20 ‘‘(d) RIGHTS RETAINED BY EMPLOYEE.—Except as 

21 provided in subsection (e), nothing in this section shall be 

22 deemed to diminish the rights, privileges, or remedies of 

23 any employee under any Federal or State law, or under 

24 any collective bargaining agreement. 
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1 ‘‘(e) ELECTION OF REMEDIES.—An employee of a 

2 railroad carrier may not seek protection under both this 

3 section and another provision of law for the same allegedly 

4 unlawful act of the railroad carrier. 

5 ‘‘(f) DISCLOSURE OF IDENTITY.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (2), without the written consent of the em8 ployee, the Secretary of Labor may not disclose the 

9 name of an employee of a railroad carrier who has 

10 provided information about an alleged violation of 

11 this section. 

12 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary of Labor 

13 shall disclose to the Attorney General the name of 

14 an employee described in paragraph (1) of this sub15 section if the matter is referred to the Attorney Gen16 eral for enforcement.’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec18 tions for chapter 201 of title 49, is amended by inserting 

19 after the item relating to section 20115 the following: 

‘‘20116. Whistleblower protection for railroad security matters.’’. 

20 SEC. 306. PUBLIC OUTREACH. 

21 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 

22 of this Act, the Secretary shall develop a national plan 

23 for public outreach and awareness. Such plan shall be de24 signed to increase awareness of measures that the general 

25 public, railroad passengers, and railroad employees can 
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1 take to increase railroad system security. Such plan shall 

2 also provide outreach to railroad carriers and their em3 ployees to improve their awareness of available tech4 nologies, ongoing research and development efforts, and 

5 available Federal funding sources to improve railroad se6 curity. Not later than 9 months after the date of enact7 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall implement the plan 

8 developed under this section. 

9 SEC. 307. PASSENGER, BAGGAGE, AND CARGO SCREENING. 

10 The Secretary shall— 

11 (1) analyze the cost and feasibility of requiring 

12 security screening for passengers, baggage, and 

13 cargo on passenger trains; and 

14 (2) report the results of the study, together 

15 with any recommendations that the Secretary may 

16 have for implementing a rail security screening pro17 gram to the Committee on Transportation and In18 frastructure and the Committee on Homeland Secu19 rity of the House of Representatives and to the 

20 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor21 tation of the Senate not later than 1 year after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act. 

23 SEC. 308. EMERGENCY RESPONDER TRAINING STANDARDS. 

24 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 

25 of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall issue 
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1 training standards for persons responsible for responding 

2 to emergency situations occurring during transportation 

3 of hazardous materials by rail, in accordance with existing 

4 regulations, to ensure their ability to protect nearby per5 sons, property, or the environment from the effects of acci6 dents involving hazardous materials. 

7 SEC. 309. INFORMATION FOR FIRST RESPONDERS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 

9 shall provide grants to Operation Respond Institute for 

10 the purpose of— 

11 (1) deploying and expanding the Operation Re12 spond Emergency Information System software; 

13 (2) developing, implementing, and maintaining 

14 a railroad infrastructure mapping program that cor15 relates railroad right-of-way information with high16 way grid maps and overhead imagery of traffic 

17 routes, hazardous materials routes, and commuter 

18 rail lines; and 

19 (3) establishing an alert and messaging capa20 bility for use during emergencies involving freight 

21 and passenger railroads. 

22 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

24 Transportation to carry out this section $2,500,000 for 

25 each of fiscal years 2005, 2006, and 2007. Amounts ap-
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1 propriated pursuant to this subsection shall remain avail2 able until expended. 

3 SEC. 310. TSA PERSONNEL LIMITATIONS. 

4 Any statutory limitation on the number of employees 

5 in the Transportation Security Administration, before or 

6 after its transfer to the Department of Homeland Secu7 rity, does not apply to the extent that any such employees 

8 are responsible for implementing the provisions of this 

9 title. 

10 SEC. 311. RAIL SAFETY REGULATIONS. 

11 Section 20103(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

12 amended by striking ‘‘safety’’ the first place it appears, 

13 and inserting ‘‘safety, including security,’’. 

14 SEC. 312. RAIL SECURITY. 

15 (a) RAIL POLICE OFFICERS.— 

16 (1) AMENDMENT.—Section 28101 of title 49, 

17 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘§ 28101. Rail and State public transit police officers 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Under regulations prescribed by 

20 the Secretary of Transportation, a rail or public transit 

21 system police officer who is employed by a rail carrier or 

22 a public transportation system and certified or commis23 sioned as a police officer under the laws of a State may 

24 enforce the laws of any jurisdiction in which any rail car25 rier or public transit system owns property or provides 
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1 service, to the extent of the authority of a police officer 

2 certified or commissioned under the laws of that jurisdic3 tion, to protect— 

4 ‘‘(1) employees, passengers, or patrons of any 

5 rail carrier or public transit system; 

6 ‘‘(2) property, equipment, and facilities owned, 

7 leased, operated, or maintained by any rail carrier or 

8 public transit system; 

9 ‘‘(3) property moving in interstate or foreign 

10 commerce in the possession of any rail carrier or 

11 public transit system; and 

12 ‘‘(4) personnel, equipment, and material moving 

13 by rail or public transit that are vital to the national 

14 defense. 

15 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘public 

16 transit’ has the meaning given that term by section 

17 5302(a) of this title.’’. 

18 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The 

19 item relating to section 28101 in the table of sec20 tions for chapter 281 of title 49, United States 

21 Code, is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘28101. Rail and State public transit police officers.’’. 

22 (b) REVIEW OF RAIL REGULATIONS.—Within 1 year 

23 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

24 Transportation, in consultation with the Under Secretary 

25 of Homeland Security for Border and Transportation Se-
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1 curity, shall review existing rail regulations of the Depart2 ment of Transportation for the purpose of identifying 

3 areas in which those regulations need to be revised to im4 prove rail security. 

5 SEC. 313. DEFINITIONS. 

6 For purposes of this title— 

7 (1) the terms ‘‘railroad’’ and ‘‘railroad carrier’’ 

8 have the meaning given those terms in section 

9 20102 of title 49, United States Code; and 

10 (2) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

11 of Homeland Security. 

Æ