II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 83 

To provide increased rail transportation security 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 4, 2007 

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. BIDEN, and Mr. LIEBERMAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To provide increased rail transportation security 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rail Security Act of 

5 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RAIL TRANSPORTATION SECURITY RISK ASSESS7 MENT. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

9 (1) VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT.—The Assist10 ant Secretary of Homeland Security for the Trans11 portation Security Administration (referred to in 


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1 this Act as the ‘‘Assistant Secretary’’), in consulta2 tion with the Secretary of Transportation, shall con3 duct a vulnerability assessment of freight and pas4 senger rail transportation (encompassing railroads, 

5 as that term is defined in section 20102(1) of title 

6 49, United States Code), which shall include— 

7 (A) identification and evaluation of critical 

8 assets and infrastructures; 

9 (B) identification of threats to those assets 

10 and infrastructures; 

11 (C) identification of vulnerabilities that are 

12 specific to the transportation of hazardous ma13 terials via railroad; and 

14 (D) identification of security weaknesses in 

15 passenger and cargo security, transportation in16 frastructure, protection systems, procedural 

17 policies, communications systems, employee 

18 training, emergency response planning, and any 

19 other area identified by the assessment. 

20 (2) EXISTING PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR

21 EFFORTS.—The assessment conducted under this 

22 subsection shall take into account actions taken or 

23 planned by both public and private entities to ad24 dress identified security issues and assess the effec25 tive integration of such actions. 


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1 (3) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Based on the assess2 ment conducted under this subsection, the Assistant 

3 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 

4 Transportation, shall develop prioritized rec5 ommendations for improving rail security, including 

6 any recommendations the Assistant Secretary has 

7 for— 

8 (A) improving the security of rail tunnels, 

9 rail bridges, rail switching and car storage 

10 areas, other rail infrastructure and facilities, in11 formation systems, and other areas identified 

12 by the Assistant Secretary as posing significant 

13 rail-related risks to public safety and the move14 ment of interstate commerce, taking into ac15 count the impact that any proposed security 

16 measure might have on the provision of rail 

17 service; 

18 (B) deploying equipment to detect explo19 sives and hazardous chemical, biological, and 

20 radioactive substances, and any appropriate 

21 countermeasures; 

22 (C) training employees in terrorism pre23 vention, passenger evacuation, and response ac24 tivities; 


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1 (D) conducting public outreach campaigns 

2 on passenger railroads; 

3 (E) deploying surveillance equipment; and 

4 (F) identifying the immediate and long5 term costs of measures that may be required to 

6 address those risks. 

7 (b) CONSULTATION; USE OF EXISTING RE8 SOURCES.—In carrying out the assessment required by 

9 subsection (a), the Assistant Secretary shall consult with 

10 rail management, rail labor, owners or lessors of rail cars 

11 used to transport hazardous materials, first responders, 

12 shippers of hazardous materials, public safety officials (in13 cluding those within other agencies and offices within the 

14 Department of Homeland Security), and other relevant 

15 parties. 

16 (c) REPORT.— 

17 (1) CONTENTS.—Not later than 180 days after 

18 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant 

19 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Com20 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

21 and the Committee on Transportation and Infra22 structure of the House of Representatives a report 

23 that contains— 

24 (A) the assessment and prioritized rec25 ommendations required by subsection (a) and 


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1 an estimate of the cost to implement such rec2 ommendations; 

3 (B) a plan, developed in consultation with 

4 the freight and intercity passenger railroads, 

5 and State and local governments, for the gov6 ernment to provide increased security support 

7 at high or severe threat levels of alert; and 

8 (C) a plan for coordinating rail security 

9 initiatives undertaken by the public and private 

10 sectors. 

11 (2) FORMAT.—The Assistant Secretary may 

12 submit the report in both classified and redacted for13 mats if the Assistant Secretary determines that such 

14 action is appropriate or necessary. 

15 (d) 2-YEAR UPDATES.—The Assistant Secretary, in 

16 consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall 

17 update the assessment and recommendations every 2 years 

18 and transmit a report, which may be submitted in both 

19 classified and redacted formats, to the Committees named 

20 in subsection (c)(1), containing the updated assessment 

21 and recommendations. 

22 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated to the Assistant Sec24 retary $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 to carry out this 

25 section. 


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1 SEC. 3. RAIL SECURITY. 

2 (a) RAIL POLICE OFFICERS.—Section 28101 of title 

3 49, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘the rail 

4 carrier’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘any rail car5 rier’’. 

6 (b) REVIEW OF RAIL REGULATIONS.—Not later than 

7 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

8 Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the As9 sistant Secretary, shall review existing rail regulations of 

10 the Department of Transportation for the purpose of iden11 tifying areas in which those regulations need to be revised 

12 to improve rail security. 

13 SEC. 4. STUDY OF FOREIGN RAIL TRANSPORT SECURITY 

14 PROGRAMS. 

15 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR STUDY.—Not later than 1 

16 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp17 troller General of the United States shall complete a study 

18 of the rail passenger transportation security programs 

19 that are carried out for rail transportation systems in 

20 Japan, member nations of the European Union, and other 

21 foreign countries. 

22 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the study conducted 

23 under subsection (a) shall be to identify effective rail 

24 transportation security measures that are in use in foreign 

25 rail transportation systems, including innovative measures 

26 and screening procedures determined effective. 


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1 (c) REPORT.—The Comptroller General shall submit 

2 a report on the results of the study conducted under sub3 section (a) to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

4 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

5 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep6 resentatives. The report shall include the Comptroller 

7 General’s assessment regarding whether it is feasible to 

8 implement within the United States any of the same or 

9 similar security measures that are determined effective 

10 under the study. 

11 SEC. 5. PASSENGER, BAGGAGE, AND CARGO SCREENING. 

12 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR STUDY AND REPORT.—The 

13 Assistant Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of 

14 Transportation, shall— 

15 (1) conduct a study to analyze the cost and fea16 sibility of requiring security screening for pas17 sengers, baggage, and cargo on passenger trains; 

18 and 

19 (2) not later than 1 year after the date of the 

20 enactment of this Act, submit a report containing 

21 the results of the study and any recommendations 

22 that the Assistant Secretary may have for imple23 menting a rail security screening program to— 

24 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

25 and Transportation of the Senate; and 


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1 (B) the Committee on Transportation and 

2 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives. 

3 (b) PILOT PROGRAM.—As part of the study con4 ducted under subsection (a), the Assistant Secretary shall 

5 complete a pilot program of random security screening of 

6 passengers and baggage at 5 passenger rail stations served 

7 by Amtrak, which shall be selected by the Assistant Sec8 retary. In conducting the pilot program under this sub9 section, the Assistant Secretary shall— 

10 (1) test a wide range of explosives detection 

11 technologies, devices, and methods; 

12 (2) require that intercity rail passengers 

13 produce government-issued photographic identifica14 tion, which matches the name on the passenger’s 

15 tickets before the passenger boarding a train; and 

16 (3) attempt to give preference to locations at 

17 the highest risk of terrorist attack and achieve a dis18 tribution of participating train stations in terms of 

19 geographic location, size, passenger volume, and 

20 whether the station is used by commuter rail pas21 sengers and Amtrak passengers. 

22 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated to the Assistant Sec24 retary to carry out this section $5,000,000 for fiscal year 

25 2008. 


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1 SEC. 6. CERTAIN PERSONNEL LIMITATIONS NOT TO APPLY. 

2 Any statutory limitation on the number of employees 

3 in the Transportation Security Administration of the De4 partment of Transportation, before or after its transfer 

5 to the Department of Homeland Security, does not apply 

6 to the extent that any such employees are responsible for 

7 implementing the provisions of this Act. 

8 SEC. 7. FIRE- AND LIFE-SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS. 

9 (a) LIFE-SAFETY NEEDS.—The Secretary of Trans10 portation may award grants to Amtrak for the purpose 

11 of making fire- and life-safety improvements to Amtrak 

12 tunnels on the Northeast Corridor in New York, New 

13 York, Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. 

14 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

16 Transportation for the purposes of carrying out subsection 

17 (a) the following amounts: 

18 (1) For the 6 New York tunnels, to provide 

19 ventilation, electrical, and fire-safety technology up20 grades, emergency communication and lighting sys21 tems, and emergency access and egress for pas22 sengers— 

23 (A) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

24 (B) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

25 (C) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and 

26 (D) $170,000,000 for fiscal year 2011. 


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1 (2) For the Baltimore & Potomac tunnel and 

2 the Union tunnel, together, to provide adequate 

3 drainage, ventilation, communication, lighting, and 

4 passenger egress upgrades— 

5 (A) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

6 (B) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

7 (C) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and 

8 (D) $17,000,000 for fiscal year 2011. 

9 (3) For the Washington, DC Union Station 

10 tunnels to improve ventilation, communication, light11 ing, and passenger egress upgrades— 

12 (A) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

13 (B) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

14 (C) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and 

15 (D) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2011. 

16 (c) INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES.—There are au17 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Transpor18 tation $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 for the preliminary 

19 design of options for a new tunnel on a different alignment 

20 to augment the capacity of the existing Baltimore tunnels. 

21 (d) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS.— 

22 Amounts appropriated pursuant to this section shall re23 main available until expended. 


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1 (e) PLANS REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Transpor2 tation may not make amounts available to Amtrak for ob3 ligation or expenditure under subsection (a)— 

4 (1) until Amtrak has submitted to the Sec5 retary, and the Secretary has approved, an engineer6 ing and financial plan for such projects; and 

7 (2) unless, for each project funded under this 

8 section, the Secretary has approved a project man9 agement plan prepared by Amtrak that appro10 priately addresses— 

11 (A) project budget; 

12 (B) construction schedule; 

13 (C) recipient staff organization; 

14 (D) document control and record keeping; 

15 (E) change order procedure; 

16 (F) quality control and assurance; 

17 (G) periodic plan updates; 

18 (H) periodic status reports; and 

19 (I) such other matters the Secretary deter20 mines to be appropriate. 

21 (f) REVIEW OF PLANS.— 

22 (1) COMPLETION.—The Secretary of Transpor23 tation shall complete the review of the plans re24 quired under paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection 

25 (e) and approve or disapprove the plans not later 


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1 than 45 days after the date on which each such plan 

2 is submitted by Amtrak. 

3 (2) INCOMPLETE PLANS.—If the Secretary de4 termines that a plan is incomplete or deficient— 

5 (A) the Secretary shall notify Amtrak of 

6 the incomplete items or deficiencies; and 

7 (B) not later than 30 days after receiving 

8 the Secretary’s notification under subparagraph 

9 (A), Amtrak shall submit a modified plan for 

10 the Secretary’s review. 

11 (3) REVIEW OFMODIFIED PLANS.—Not later 

12 than 15 days after receiving additional information 

13 on items previously included in the plan, and not 

14 later than 45 days after receiving items newly in15 cluded in a modified plan, the Secretary shall— 

16 (A) approve the modified plan; or 

17 (B) if the Secretary finds the plan is still 

18 incomplete or deficient— 

19 (i) submit a report to the Committee 

20 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

21 of the Senate and the Committee on 

22 Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

23 House of Representatives that identifies 

24 the portions of the plan the Secretary finds 

25 incomplete or deficient; 


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1 (ii) approve all other portions of the 

2 plan; 

3 (iii) obligate the funds associated with 

4 those other portions; and 

5 (iv) execute an agreement with Am6 trak not later than 15 days thereafter on 

7 a process for resolving the remaining por8 tions of the plan. 

9 (g) FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION FROM OTHER TUN10 NEL USERS.—The Secretary of Transportation shall, tak11 ing into account the need for the timely completion of all 

12 portions of the tunnel projects described in subsection 

13 (a)— 

14 (1) consider the extent to which rail carriers 

15 other than Amtrak use the tunnels; 

16 (2) consider the feasibility of seeking a financial 

17 contribution from those other rail carriers toward 

18 the costs of the projects; and 

19 (3) obtain financial contributions or commit20 ments from such other rail carriers at levels reflect21 ing the extent of their use of the tunnels, if feasible. 

22 SEC. 8. MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT. 

23 (a) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—Not later than 

24 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

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1 land Security shall execute a memorandum of agreement 

2 governing the roles and responsibilities of the Department 

3 of Transportation and the Department of Homeland Secu4 rity, respectively, in addressing railroad transportation se5 curity matters, including the processes the departments 

6 will follow to promote communications, efficiency, and 

7 nonduplication of effort. 

8 (b) RAIL SAFETY REGULATIONS.—Section 20103(a) 

9 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking 

10 ‘‘railroad safety’’ and inserting ‘‘railroad safety, including 

11 security,’’. 

12 SEC. 9. AMTRAK PLAN TO ASSIST FAMILIES OF PAS13 SENGERS INVOLVED IN RAIL PASSENGER AC14 CIDENTS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 243 of title 49, United 

16 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘§ 24316. Plans to address needs of families of pas19 sengers involved in rail passenger acci20 dents 

21 ‘‘(a) SUBMISSION OF PLAN.—Not later than 6 

22 months after the date of the enactment of the Rail Secu23 rity Act of 2007, Amtrak shall submit to the Chairman 

24 of the National Transportation Safety Board and the Sec25 retary of Transportation a plan for addressing the needs 


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1 of the families of passengers involved in any rail passenger 

2 accident involving an Amtrak intercity train and resulting 

3 in a loss of life. 

4 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—The plan to be sub5 mitted by Amtrak under subsection (a) shall include, at 

6 a minimum, the following: 

7 ‘‘(1) A process by which Amtrak will maintain 

8 and provide to the National Transportation Safety 

9 Board and the Secretary of Transportation, imme10 diately upon request, a list (which is based on the 

11 best available information at the time of the request) 

12 of the names of the passengers aboard the train 

13 (whether or not such names have been verified), and 

14 will periodically update the list. The plan shall in15 clude a procedure, with respect to unreserved trains 

16 and passengers not holding reservations on other 

17 trains, for Amtrak to use reasonable efforts to ascer18 tain the number and names of passengers aboard a 

19 train involved in an accident. 

20 ‘‘(2) A plan for creating and publicizing a reli21 able, toll-free telephone number within 4 hours after 

22 such an accident occurs, and for providing staff, to 

23 handle calls from the families of the passengers. 

24 ‘‘(3) A process for notifying the families of the 

25 passengers, before providing any public notice of the 


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1 names of the passengers, by suitably trained individ2 uals. 

3 ‘‘(4) A process for providing the notice de4 scribed in paragraph (2) to the family of a pas5 senger as soon as Amtrak has verified that the pas6 senger was aboard the train (whether or not the 

7 names of all of the passengers have been verified). 

8 ‘‘(5) A process by which the family of each pas9 senger will be consulted about the disposition of all 

10 remains and personal effects of the passenger within 

11 Amtrak’s control; that any possession of the pas12 senger within Amtrak’s control will be returned to 

13 the family unless the possession is needed for the ac14 cident investigation or any criminal investigation; 

15 and that any unclaimed possession of a passenger 

16 within Amtrak’s control will be retained by the rail 

17 passenger carrier for at least 18 months. 

18 ‘‘(6) A process by which the treatment of the 

19 families of nonrevenue passengers will be the same 

20 as the treatment of the families of revenue pas21 sengers. 

22 ‘‘(7) An assurance that Amtrak will provide 

23 adequate training to its employees and agents to 

24 meet the needs of survivors and family members fol25 lowing an accident. 


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1 ‘‘(c) USE OF INFORMATION.—The National Trans2 portation Safety Board, the Secretary of Transportation, 

3 and Amtrak may not release to any person information 

4 on a list obtained under subsection (b)(1) but may provide 

5 information on the list about a passenger to the family 

6 of the passenger to the extent that the Board or Amtrak 

7 considers appropriate. 

8 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—Amtrak shall not 

9 be liable for damages in any action brought in a Federal 

10 or State court arising out of the performance of Amtrak 

11 in preparing or providing a passenger list, or in providing 

12 information concerning a train reservation, pursuant to a 

13 plan submitted by Amtrak under subsection (b), unless 

14 such liability was caused by Amtrak’s conduct. 

15 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.— 

16 Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the 

17 actions that Amtrak may take, or the obligations that Am18 trak may have, in providing assistance to the families of 

19 passengers involved in a rail passenger accident. 

20 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

21 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

22 Transportation for the use of Amtrak $500,000 for fiscal 

23 year 2008 to carry out this section. Amounts appropriated 

24 pursuant to this subsection shall remain available until ex25 pended.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

2 chapter 243 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

3 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘24316. Plans to address needs of families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents.’’. 

4 SEC. 10. SYSTEMWIDE AMTRAK SECURITY UPGRADES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c), the As6 sistant Secretary may award grants, through the Sec7 retary of Transportation, to Amtrak— 

8 (1) to secure major tunnel access points and en9 sure tunnel integrity in New York, Baltimore, and 

10 Washington, D.C.; 

11 (2) to secure Amtrak trains; 

12 (3) to secure Amtrak stations; 

13 (4) to obtain a watch list identification system 

14 approved by the Assistant Secretary; 

15 (5) to obtain train tracking and interoperable 

16 communications systems that are coordinated to the 

17 maximum extent possible; 

18 (6) to hire additional police and security offi19 cers, including canine units; and 

20 (7) to expand emergency preparedness efforts. 

21 (b) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary of Transportation 

22 may not disburse funds to Amtrak for projects under sub23 section (a) unless— 


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1 (1) the projects are contained in a systemwide 

2 security plan approved by the Assistant Secretary, in 

3 consultation with the Secretary of Transportation; 

4 (2) capital projects meet the requirements 

5 under section 7(e)(2); and 

6 (3) the plan includes appropriate measures to 

7 address security awareness, emergency response, and 

8 passenger evacuation training. 

9 (c) EQUITABLE GEOGRAPHIC ALLOCATION.—The As10 sistant Secretary shall ensure that, subject to meeting the 

11 highest security needs on Amtrak’s entire system, stations 

12 and facilities located outside of the Northeast Corridor re13 ceive an equitable share of the security funds authorized 

14 under this section. 

15 (d) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—There are authorized 

16 to be appropriated to the Assistant Secretary $63,500,000 

17 for fiscal year 2008 for the purposes of carrying out this 

18 section. Amounts appropriated pursuant to this subsection 

19 shall remain available until expended. 

20 SEC. 11. FREIGHT AND PASSENGER RAIL SECURITY UP21 GRADES. 

22 (a) SECURITY IMPROVEMENT GRANTS.—The Assist23 ant Secretary may award grants to freight railroads, the 

24 Alaska Railroad, hazardous materials shippers, owners of 

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1 rials, universities, colleges and research centers, State and 

2 local governments (for passenger facilities and infrastruc3 ture not owned by Amtrak), and, through the Secretary 

4 of Transportation, to Amtrak, for full or partial reim5 bursement of costs incurred in the conduct of activities 

6 to prevent or respond to acts of terrorism, sabotage, or 

7 other intercity passenger rail and freight rail security 

8 threats, including— 

9 (1) security and redundancy for critical commu10 nications, computer, and train control systems essen11 tial for secure rail operations; 

12 (2) accommodation of cargo or passenger 

13 screening equipment at the international border be14 tween the United States and Mexico or the inter15 national border between the United States and Can16 ada; 

17 (3) the security of hazardous material transpor18 tation by rail; 

19 (4) secure intercity passenger rail stations, 

20 trains, and infrastructure; 

21 (5) structural modification or replacement of 

22 rail cars transporting high hazard materials to im23 prove their resistance to acts of terrorism; 


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1 (6) employee security awareness, preparedness, 

2 passenger evacuation, and emergency response train3 ing; 

4 (7) public security awareness campaigns for 

5 passenger train operations; 

6 (8) the sharing of intelligence and information 

7 about security threats; 

8 (9) to obtain train tracking and interoperable 

9 communications systems that are coordinated to the 

10 maximum extent possible; 

11 (10) to hire additional police and security offi12 cers, including canine units; and 

13 (11) other improvements recommended by the 

14 report required under section 2(c), including infra15 structure, facilities, and equipment upgrades. 

16 (b) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The Assistant Secretary shall 

17 adopt necessary procedures, including audits, to ensure 

18 that grants awarded under this section are expended in 

19 accordance with the purposes of this Act and the priorities 

20 and other criteria developed by the Assistant Secretary. 

21 (c) EQUITABLE ALLOCATION.—The Assistant Sec22 retary shall equitably distribute the funds authorized by 

23 this section, taking into account geographic location, and 

24 shall encourage non-Federal financial participation in 

25 awarding grants. With respect to grants for passenger rail 


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1 security, the Assistant Secretary shall also take into ac2 count passenger volume and whether a station is used by 

3 commuter rail passengers and intercity rail passengers. 

4 (d) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary of Transportation 

5 may not disburse funds to Amtrak under subsection (a) 

6 unless Amtrak meets the conditions set forth in section 

7 l10(b). 

8 (e) ALLOCATION BETWEEN RAILROADS AND OTH9 ERS.—Unless the Assistant Secretary determines, as a re10 sult of the assessment required by section 2, that critical 

11 rail transportation security needs require reimbursement 

12 in greater amounts to any eligible entity, a grant may not 

13 be awarded under this section— 

14 (1) in excess of $65,000,000 to Amtrak; or 

15 (2) in excess of $100,000,000 for the purposes 

16 described in paragraphs (3) and (5) of subsection 

17 (a). 

18 (f) HIGH HAZARD MATERIALS DEFINED.—In this 

19 section, the term ‘‘high hazard materials’’ means poison 

20 inhalation hazard materials, class 2.3 gases, class 6.1 ma21 terials, and anhydrous ammonia. 

22 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated to the Assistant Sec24 retary $350,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 to carry out the 


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1 purposes of this section. Amounts appropriated pursuant 

2 to this subsection shall remain available until expended. 

3 SEC. 12. OVERSIGHT AND GRANT PROCEDURES. 

4 (a) SECRETARIAL OVERSIGHT.—The Secretary of 

5 Transportation may use not more than 0.5 percent of 

6 amounts made available to Amtrak for capital projects 

7 under this Act— 

8 (1) to enter into contracts for the review of pro9 posed capital projects and related program manage10 ment plans; and 

11 (2) to oversee construction of such projects. 

12 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary may use 

13 amounts available under subsection (a) to make contracts 

14 for safety, procurement, management, and financial com15 pliance reviews and audits of a recipient of amounts under 

16 subsection (a). 

17 (c) PROCEDURES FOR GRANT AWARD.—The Assist18 ant Secretary shall prescribe procedures and schedules for 

19 the awarding of grants under this Act, including applica20 tion and qualification procedures (including a requirement 

21 that the applicant have a security plan), and a record of 

22 decision on applicant eligibility. The procedures shall in23 clude the execution of a grant agreement between the 

24 grant recipient and the Assistant Secretary. The Assistant 

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1 dures not later than 90 days after the date of the enact2 ment of this Act. 

3 SEC. 13. RAIL SECURITY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOP5 MENT PROGRAM.—The Assistant Secretary, in conjunc6 tion with the Secretary of Transportation, shall carry out 

7 a research and development program for the purpose of 

8 improving freight and intercity passenger rail security that 

9 may include research and development projects to— 

10 (1) reduce the vulnerability of passenger trains, 

11 stations, and equipment to explosives and hazardous 

12 chemical, biological, and radioactive substances; 

13 (2) test new emergency response techniques and 

14 technologies; 

15 (3) develop improved freight technologies, in16 cluding— 

17 (A) technologies for sealing rail cars; 

18 (B) automatic inspection of rail cars; 

19 (C) communication-based train controls; 

20 and 

21 (D) emergency response training; 

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

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 with a focus on tank cars that carry high haz6 ard materials (as defined in section 11(g)); 

7 (C) techniques to transfer hazardous mate8 rials from rail cars that are damaged or other9 wise represent an unreasonable risk to human 

10 life or public safety; 

11 (6) other projects recommended in the report 

12 required under section 02. 

13 (b) COORDINATION WITH OTHER RESEARCH INITIA14 TIVES.—The Assistant Secretary shall ensure that the re15 search and development program under this section is co16 ordinated with other research and development initiatives 

17 at the Department of Homeland Security and the Depart18 ment of Transportation. The Assistant Secretary shall 

19 carry out any research and development project authorized 

20 under this section through a reimbursable agreement with 

21 the Secretary of Transportation if the Secretary— 

22 (1) is already sponsoring a research and devel23 opment project in a similar area; or 

24 (2) has a unique facility or capability that 

25 would be useful in carrying out the project. 


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1 (c) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The Assistant Secretary shall 

2 adopt necessary procedures, including audits, to ensure 

3 that grants made under this section are expended in ac4 cordance with the purposes of this Act and the priorities 

5 and other criteria developed by the Assistant Secretary. 

6 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 are authorized to be appropriated to the Assistant Sec8 retary $50,000,000 in each of fiscal years 2008 and 2009 

9 to carry out the purposes of this section. Amounts appro10 priated pursuant to this subsection shall remain available 

11 until expended. 

12 SEC. 14. WELDED RAIL AND TANK CAR SAFETY IMPROVE13 MENTS. 

14 (a) TRACK STANDARDS.—Not later than 90 days 

15 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis16 trator of the Federal Railroad Administration shall— 

17 (1) require each track owner using continuous 

18 welded rail track to include procedures to improve 

19 the identification of cracks in rail joint bars in the 

20 procedures filed with the Administration under sec21 tion 213.119 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula22 tions; 

23 (2) instruct Administration track inspectors to 

24 obtain copies of the most recent continuous welded 

25 rail programs of each railroad within the inspectors’ 


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1 areas of responsibility and require that inspectors 

2 use those programs when conducting track inspec3 tions; and 

4 (3) establish a program to— 

5 (A) periodically review continuous welded 

6 rail joint bar inspection data from railroads and 

7 Administration track inspectors; and 

8 (B) require railroads to increase the fre9 quency or improve the methods of inspection of 

10 joint bars in continuous welded rail, if the Ad11 ministrator determines that such increase or 

12 improvement is necessary or appropriate. 

13 (b) TANK CAR STANDARDS.—The Administrator of 

14 the Federal Railroad Administration shall— 

15 (1) not later than 1 year after the date of the 

16 enactment of this Act, validate the predictive model 

17 it is developing to quantify the relevant dynamic 

18 forces acting on railroad tank cars under accident 

19 conditions; and 

20 (2) not later than 18 months after the date of 

21 the enactment of this Act, initiate a rulemaking to 

22 develop and implement appropriate design standards 

23 for pressurized tank cars. 

24 (c) OLDER TANK CAR IMPACT RESISTANCE ANAL25 YSIS AND REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 


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1 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 

2 Federal Railroad Administration shall— 

3 (1) conduct a comprehensive analysis to deter4 mine the impact resistance of the steels in the shells 

5 of pressure tank cars constructed before 1989; and 

6 (2) submit a report to the Committee on Com7 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

8 and the Committee on Transportation and Infra9 structure of the House of Representatives that con10 tains recommendations for measures to eliminate or 

11 mitigate the risk of catastrophic failure. 

12 SEC. 15. NORTHERN BORDER RAIL PASSENGER REPORT. 

13 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact14 ment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary, in consultation 

15 with the heads of other appropriate Federal departments 

16 and agencies and the National Railroad Passenger Cor17 poration, shall submit a report to the Committee on Com18 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

19 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

20 House of Representatives that contains— 

21 (1) a description of the current system for 

22 screening passengers and baggage on passenger rail 

23 service between the United States and Canada; 

24 (2) an assessment of the current program to 

25 provide preclearance of airline passengers between 


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1 the United States and Canada as outlined in ‘‘The 

2 Agreement on Air Transport Preclearance between 

3 the Government of Canada and the Government of 

4 the United States of America’’, dated January 18, 

5 2001; 

6 (3) an assessment of the current program to 

7 provide preclearance of freight railroad traffic be8 tween the United States and Canada as outlined in 

9 the ‘‘Declaration of Principle for the Improved Secu10 rity of Rail Shipments by Canadian National Rail11 way and Canadian Pacific Railway from Canada to 

12 the United States’’, dated April 2, 2003; 

13 (4) information on progress by the Department 

14 of Homeland Security and other Federal agencies to15 wards finalizing a bilateral protocol with Canada 

16 that would provide for preclearance of passengers on 

17 trains operating between the United States and Can18 ada; 

19 (5) a description of legislative, regulatory, 

20 budgetary, or policy barriers within the United 

21 States Government to providing pre-screened pas22 senger lists for rail passengers traveling between the 

23 United States and Canada to the Department of 

24 Homeland Security; 


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1 (6) a description of the position of the Govern2 ment of Canada and relevant Canadian agencies 

3 with respect to preclearance of such passengers; and 

4 (7) a draft of any changes in existing Federal 

5 law necessary to provide for pre-screening of such 

6 passengers and providing pre-screened passenger 

7 lists to the Department of Homeland Security. 

8 SEC. 16. REPORT REGARDING IMPACT ON SECURITY OF 

9 TRAIN TRAVEL IN COMMUNITIES WITHOUT 

10 GRADE SEPARATION. 

11 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Homeland Security, in 

12 consultation with State and local government officials, 

13 shall conduct a study on the impact of blocked highway14 railroad grade crossings on the ability of emergency re15 sponders, including ambulances and police, fire, and other 

16 emergency vehicles, to perform public safety and security 

17 duties in the event of a terrorist attack. 

18 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

19 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 

20 Security shall submit a report to the Committee on Com21 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

22 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

23 House of Representatives that contains— 

24 (1) the findings of the study conducted under 

25 subsection (a); and 


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1 (2) recommendations for reducing the impact of 

2 blocked crossings on emergency response. 

3 SEC. 17. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION PROGRAM. 

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

5 title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

6 section 20115 the following: 

7 ‘‘§ 20116. Whistleblower protection for rail security 

8 matters 

9 ‘‘(a) DISCRIMINATION AGAINST EMPLOYEE.—A rail 

10 carrier engaged in interstate or foreign commerce may not 

11 discharge a railroad employee or otherwise discriminate 

12 against a railroad employee because the employee (or any 

13 person acting pursuant to a request of the employee)— 

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

15 about to provide or cause to be provided, to the em16 ployer or the Federal Government information relat17 ing to a perceived threat to security; or 

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

19 about to provide or cause to be provided, testimony 

20 before Congress or at any Federal or State pro21 ceeding regarding a perceived threat to security; or 

22 ‘‘(3) refused to violate or assist in the violation 

23 of any law, rule or regulation related to rail security. 

24 ‘‘(b) DISPUTE RESOLUTION.—A dispute, grievance, 

25 or claim arising under this section is subject to resolution 


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1 under section 3 of the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 153). 

2 In a proceeding by the National Railroad Adjustment 

3 Board, a division or delegate of the Board, or another 

4 board of adjustment established under such section 3 to 

5 resolve the dispute, grievance, or claim the proceeding 

6 shall be expedited and the dispute, grievance, or claim 

7 shall be resolved not later than 180 days after the filing 

8 date. If the violation is a form of discrimination that does 

9 not involve discharge, suspension, or another action affect10 ing pay, and no other remedy is available under this sub11 section, the Board, division, delegate, or other board of 

12 adjustment may award the employee reasonable damages, 

13 including punitive damages, of not more than $20,000. 

14 ‘‘(c) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS.—Except as pro15 vided in subsection (b), the procedure set forth in section 

16 42121(b)(2)(B), including the burdens of proof, applies to 

17 any complaint brought under this section. 

18 ‘‘(d) ELECTION OF REMEDIES.—An employee of a 

19 railroad carrier may not seek protection under both this 

20 section and another provision of law for the same allegedly 

21 unlawful act of the carrier. 

22 ‘‘(e) DISCLOSURE OF IDENTITY.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para24 graph (2), the Secretary of Transportation may not 

25 disclose the name of an employee of a railroad carVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:25 Jan 05, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S83.IS S83

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1 rier who has provided information about an alleged 

2 violation of this section without the written consent 

3 of the employee. 

4 ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary shall dis5 close to the Attorney General the name of an em6 ployee described in paragraph (1) if the matter is re7 ferred to the Attorney General for enforcement.’’. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

9 chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

10 by inserting after the item relating to section 20115 the 

11 following: 

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

Æ 


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