II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1379 

To provide increased rail transportation security. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 11, 2005 

Mr. MCCAIN 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Rail Security Act of 2005’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec.1.Short title; table of contents. 

Sec.2.Rail transportation security risk assessment. 

Sec.3.Rail security. 

Sec.4.Study of foreign rail transport security programs. 

Sec.5.Passenger, baggage, and cargo screening. 

Sec.6.Certain personnel limitations not to apply. 

Sec.7.Fire and life-safety improvements. 

Sec.8.Memorandum of agreement. 

Sec.9.Amtrak plan to assist families of passengers involved in rail passenger 

accidents. 
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Sec.10.Systemwide Amtrak security upgrades. 

Sec.11.Freight and passenger rail security upgrades. 

Sec.12.Oversight and grant procedures. 

Sec.13.Rail security research and development. 

Sec.14.Welded rail and tank car safety improvements. 

Sec.15.Northern Border rail passenger report. 

Sec.16.Report regarding impact on security of train travel in communities 

without grade separation. 

Sec.17.Whistleblower protection program. 

1 SEC. 2. RAIL TRANSPORTATION SECURITY RISK ASSESS2 MENT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

4 (1) VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT.—The Under 

5 Secretary of Homeland Security for Border and 

6 Transportation Security, in consultation with the 

7 Secretary of Transportation, shall complete a vulner8 ability assessment of freight and passenger rail 

9 transportation (encompassing railroads, as that term 

10 is defined in section 20102(1) of title 49, United 

11 States Code). The assessment shall include— 

12 (A) identification and evaluation of critical 

13 assets and infrastructures; 

14 (B) identification of threats to those assets 

15 and infrastructures; 

16 (C) identification of vulnerabilities that are 

17 specific to the transportation of hazardous ma18 terials via railroad; and 

19 (D) identification of security weaknesses in 

20 passenger and cargo security, transportation in21 frastructure, protection systems, procedural 
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1 policies, communications systems, employee 

2 training, emergency response planning, and any 

3 other area identified by the assessment. 

4 (2) EXISTING PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR

5 EFFORTS.—The assessment shall take into account 

6 actions taken or planned by both public and private 

7 entities to address identified security issues and as8 sess the effective integration of such actions. 

9 (3) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Based on the assess10 ment conducted under paragraph (1), the Under 

11 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 

12 Transportation, shall develop prioritized rec13 ommendations for improving rail security, including 

14 any recommendations the Under Secretary has for— 

15 (A) improving the security of rail tunnels, 

16 rail bridges, rail switching and car storage 

17 areas, other rail infrastructure and facilities, in18 formation systems, and other areas identified 

19 by the Under Secretary as posing significant 

20 rail-related risks to public safety and the move21 ment of interstate commerce, taking into ac22 count the impact that any proposed security 

23 measure might have on the provision of rail 

24 service; 
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1 (B) deploying equipment to detect explo2 sives and hazardous chemical, biological, and 

3 radioactive substances, and any appropriate 

4 countermeasures; 

5 (C) training employees in terrorism pre6 vention, passenger evacuation, and response ac7 tivities; 

8 (D) conducting public outreach campaigns 

9 on passenger railroads; 

10 (E) deploying surveillance equipment; and 

11 (F) identifying the immediate and long12 term costs of measures that may be required to 

13 address those risks. 

14 (4) PLANS.—The report required by subsection 

15 (c) shall include— 

16 (A) a plan, developed in consultation with 

17 the freight and intercity passenger railroads, 

18 and State and local governments, for the gov19 ernment to provide increased security support 

20 at high or severe threat levels of alert; and 

21 (B) a plan for coordinating rail security 

22 initiatives undertaken by the public and private 

23 sectors. 

24 (b) CONSULTATION; USE OF EXISTING RE25 SOURCES.—In carrying out the assessment required by 
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1 subsection (a), the Under Secretary of Homeland Security 

2 for Border and Transportation Security shall consult with 

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

4 used to transport hazardous materials, first responders, 

5 shippers of hazardous materials, public safety officials (in6 cluding those within other agencies and offices within the 

7 Department of Homeland Security), and other relevant 

8 parties. 

9 (c) REPORT.— 

10 (1) CONTENTS.—Within 180 days after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary 

12 shall transmit to the Senate Committee on Com13 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House 

14 of Representatives Committee on Transportation 

15 and Infrastructure a report containing the assess16 ment and prioritized recommendations required by 

17 subsection (a) and an estimate of the cost to imple18 ment such recommendations. 

19 (2) FORMAT.—The Under Secretary may sub20 mit the report in both classified and redacted for21 mats if the Under Secretary determines that such 

22 action is appropriate or necessary. 

23 (d) 2-YEAR UPDATES.—The Under Secretary, in con24 sultation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall up25 date the assessment and recommendations every 2 years 
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1 and transmit a report, which may be submitted in both 

2 classified and redacted formats, to the Committees named 

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

4 and recommendations. 

5 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 are authorized to be appropriated to the Under Secretary 

7 of Homeland Security for Border and Transportation Se8 curity $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 for the purpose of 

9 carrying out this section. 

10 SEC. 3. RAIL SECURITY. 

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

12 49, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘the rail 

13 carrier’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘any rail car14 rier’’. 

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

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

17 Transportation, in consultation with the Under Secretary 

18 of Homeland Security for Border and Transportation Se19 curity, shall review existing rail regulations of the Depart20 ment of Transportation for the purpose of identifying 

21 areas in which those regulations need to be revised to im22 prove rail security. 
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1 SEC. 4. STUDY OF FOREIGN RAIL TRANSPORT SECURITY 

2 PROGRAMS. 

3 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR STUDY.—Within one year 

4 after the date of enactment of the Rail Security Act of 

5 2005, the Comptroller General shall complete a study of 

6 the rail passenger transportation security programs that 

7 are carried out for rail transportation systems in Japan, 

8 member nations of the European Union, and other foreign 

9 countries. 

10 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the study shall be to 

11 identify effective rail transportation security measures 

12 that are in use in foreign rail transportation systems, in13 cluding innovative measures and screening procedures de14 termined effective. 

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

16 a report on the results of the study to the Senate Com17 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

18 House of Representatives Committee on Transportation 

19 and Infrastructure. The report shall include the Comp20 troller General’s assessment regarding whether it is fea21 sible to implement within the United States any of the 

22 same or similar security measures that are determined ef23 fective under the study. 

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

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

26 Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Border and 
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1 Transportation Security, in cooperation with the Secretary 

2 of Transportation, shall— 

3 (1) analyze the cost and feasibility of requiring 

4 security screening for passengers, baggage, and 

5 cargo on passenger trains; and 

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

7 with any recommendations that the Under Secretary 

8 may have for implementing a rail security screening 

9 program to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

10 Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep11 resentatives Committee on Transportation and In12 frastructure within 1 year after the date of enact13 ment of this Act. 

14 (b) PILOT PROGRAM.—As part of the study under 

15 subsection (a), the Under Secretary shall complete a pilot 

16 program of random security screening of passengers and 

17 baggage at 5 passenger rail stations served by Amtrak se18 lected by the Under Secretary. In conducting the pilot pro19 gram, the Under Secretary shall— 

20 (1) test a wide range of explosives detection 

21 technologies, devices and methods; 

22 (2) require that intercity rail passengers 

23 produce government-issued photographic identifica24 tion which matches the name on the passenger’s 

25 tickets prior to boarding trains; and 
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1 (3) attempt to give preference to locations at 

2 the highest risk of terrorist attack and achieve a dis3 tribution of participating train stations in terms of 

4 geographic location, size, passenger volume, and 

5 whether the station is used by commuter rail pas6 sengers as well as Amtrak passengers. 

7 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 are authorized to be appropriated to the Under Secretary 

9 of Homeland Security for Border and Transportation Se10 curity to carry out this section $5,000,000 for fiscal year 

11 2006. 

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

13 Any statutory limitation on the number of employees 

14 in the Transportation Security Administration of the De15 partment of Transportation, before or after its transfer 

16 to the Department of Homeland Security, does not apply 

17 to the extent that any such employees are responsible for 

18 implementing the provisions of this Act. 

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

20 (a) LIFE-SAFETY NEEDS.—The Secretary of Trans21 portation is authorized to make grants to Amtrak for the 

22 purpose of making fire and life-safety improvements to 

23 Amtrak tunnels on the Northeast Corridor in New York, 

24 NY, Baltimore, MD, and Washington, DC. 
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1 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

3 Transportation for the purposes of carrying out subsection 

4 (a) the following amounts: 

5 (1) For the 6 New York tunnels to provide ven6 tilation, electrical, and fire safety technology up7 grades, emergency communication and lighting sys8 tems, and emergency access and egress for pas9 sengers— 

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

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

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

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

14 and 

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

16 (2) For the Baltimore & Potomac tunnel and 

17 the Union tunnel, together, to provide adequate 

18 drainage, ventilation, communication, lighting, and 

19 passenger egress upgrades— 

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

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

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

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

24 (E) $17,000,000 for fiscal year 2010. 
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1 (3) For the Washington, DC Union Station 

2 tunnels to improve ventilation, communication, light3 ing, and passenger egress upgrades— 

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

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

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

7 (D) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; and 

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

9 (c) INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES.—There are au10 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Transpor11 tation for fiscal year 2006 $3,000,000 for the preliminary 

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

13 to augment the capacity of the existing Baltimore tunnels. 

14 (d) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS.— 

15 Amounts appropriated pursuant to this section shall re16 main available until expended. 

17 (e) PLANS REQUIRED.—The Secretary may not make 

18 amounts available to Amtrak for obligation or expenditure 

19 under subsection (a)— 

20 (1) until Amtrak has submitted to the Sec21 retary, and the Secretary has approved, an engineer22 ing and financial plan for such projects; and 

23 (2) unless, for each project funded pursuant to 

24 this section, the Secretary has approved a project 

25 management plan prepared by Amtrak addressing 
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1 appropriate project budget, construction schedule, 

2 recipient staff organization, document control and 

3 record keeping, change order procedure, quality con4 trol and assurance, periodic plan updates, periodic 

5 status reports, and such other matters the Secretary 

6 deems appropriate. 

7 (f) REVIEW OF PLANS.—The Secretary of Transpor8 tation shall complete the review of the plans required by 

9 paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (e) and approve or 

10 disapprove the plans within 45 days after the date on 

11 which each such plan is submitted by Amtrak. If the Sec12 retary determines that a plan is incomplete or deficient, 

13 the Secretary shall notify Amtrak of the incomplete items 

14 or deficiencies and Amtrak shall, within 30 days after re15 ceiving the Secretary’s notification, submit a modified 

16 plan for the Secretary’s review. Within 15 days after re17 ceiving additional information on items previously included 

18 in the plan, and within 45 days after receiving items newly 

19 included in a modified plan, the Secretary shall either ap20 prove the modified plan, or, if the Secretary finds the plan 

21 is still incomplete or deficient, the Secretary shall identify 

22 in writing to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, 

23 and Transportation and the House of Representatives 

24 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure the por25 tions of the plan the Secretary finds incomplete or defi-
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1 cient, approve all other portions of the plan, obligate the 

2 funds associated with those other portions, and execute 

3 an agreement with Amtrak within 15 days thereafter on 

4 a process for resolving the remaining portions of the plan. 

5 (g) FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION FROM OTHER TUN6 NEL USERS.—The Secretary shall, taking into account the 

7 need for the timely completion of all portions of the tunnel 

8 projects described in subsection (a)— 

9 (1) consider the extent to which rail carriers 

10 other than Amtrak use the tunnels; 

11 (2) consider the feasibility of seeking a financial 

12 contribution from those other rail carriers toward 

13 the costs of the projects; and 

14 (3) obtain financial contributions or commit15 ments from such other rail carriers at levels reflect16 ing the extent of their use of the tunnels, if feasible. 

17 SEC. 8. MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT. 

18 (a) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—Within 60 days 

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

20 Transportation and the Secretary of Homeland Security 

21 shall execute a memorandum of agreement governing the 

22 roles and responsibilities of the Department of Transpor23 tation and the Department of Homeland Security, respec24 tively, in addressing railroad transportation security mat25 ters, including the processes the departments will follow 
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1 to promote communications, efficiency, and nonduplication 

2 of effort. 

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

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

5 ‘‘safety’’ the first place it appears, and inserting ‘‘safety, 

6 including security,’’. 

7 SEC. 9. AMTRAK PLAN TO ASSIST FAMILIES OF PAS8 SENGERS INVOLVED IN RAIL PASSENGER AC9 CIDENTS. 

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

11 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘§ 24316. Plans to address needs of families of pas14 sengers involved in rail passenger acci15 dents 

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

17 months after the date of the enactment of the Rail Secu18 rity Act of 2005, Amtrak shall submit to the Chairman 

19 of the National Transportation Safety Board and the Sec20 retary of Transportation a plan for addressing the needs 

21 of the families of passengers involved in any rail passenger 

22 accident involving an Amtrak intercity train and resulting 

23 in a loss of life. 
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1 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—The plan to be sub2 mitted by Amtrak under subsection (a) shall include, at 

3 a minimum, the following: 

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

5 and provide to the National Transportation Safety 

6 Board and the Secretary of Transportation, imme7 diately upon request, a list (which is based on the 

8 best available information at the time of the request) 

9 of the names of the passengers aboard the train 

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

11 will periodically update the list. The plan shall in12 clude a procedure, with respect to unreserved trains 

13 and passengers not holding reservations on other 

14 trains, for Amtrak to use reasonable efforts to ascer15 tain the number and names of passengers aboard a 

16 train involved in an accident. 

17 ‘‘(2) A plan for creating and publicizing a reli18 able, toll-free telephone number within 4 hours after 

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

20 handle calls from the families of the passengers. 

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

22 passengers, before providing any public notice of the 

23 names of the passengers, by suitably trained individ24 uals. 
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1 ‘‘(4) A process for providing the notice de2 scribed in paragraph (2) to the family of a pas3 senger as soon as Amtrak has verified that the pas4 senger was aboard the train (whether or not the 

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

6 ‘‘(5) A process by which the family of each pas7 senger will be consulted about the disposition of all 

8 remains and personal effects of the passenger within 

9 Amtrak’s control; that any possession of the pas10 senger within Amtrak’s control will be returned to 

11 the family unless the possession is needed for the ac12 cident investigation or any criminal investigation; 

13 and that any unclaimed possession of a passenger 

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

15 passenger carrier for at least 18 months. 

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

17 families of nonrevenue passengers will be the same 

18 as the treatment of the families of revenue pas19 sengers. 

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

21 adequate training to its employees and agents to 

22 meet the needs of survivors and family members fol23 lowing an accident. 

24 ‘‘(c) USE OF INFORMATION.—The National Trans25 portation Safety Board, the Secretary of Transportation, 
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1 and Amtrak may not release to any person information 

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

3 information on the list about a passenger to the family 

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

5 considers appropriate. 

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

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

8 or State court arising out of the performance of Amtrak 

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

10 information concerning a train reservation, pursuant to a 

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

12 such liability was caused by Amtrak’s conduct. 

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

14 Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the 

15 actions that Amtrak may take, or the obligations that Am16 trak may have, in providing assistance to the families of 

17 passengers involved in a rail passenger accident. 

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

19 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

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

21 year 2006 to carry out this section. Amounts appropriated 

22 pursuant to this subsection shall remain available until ex23 pended.’’. 
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal2 ysis for chapter 243 of title 49, United States Code, is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘24316.Plan to assist families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents.’’. 

4 SEC. 10. SYSTEMWIDE AMTRAK SECURITY UPGRADES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL—Subject to subsection (c), the 

6 Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Border and 

7 Transportation Security is authorized to make grants, 

8 through the Secretary of Transportation, to Amtrak— 

9 (1) to secure major tunnel access points and en10 sure tunnel integrity in New York, Baltimore, and 

11 Washington, DC; 

12 (2) to secure Amtrak trains; 

13 (3) to secure Amtrak stations; 

14 (4) to obtain a watch list identification system 

15 approved by the Under Secretary; 

16 (5) to obtain train tracking and interoperable 

17 communications systems that are coordinated to the 

18 maximum extent possible; 

19 (6) to hire additional police and security offi20 cers, including canine units; and 

21 (7) to expand emergency preparedness efforts. 

22 (b) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary of Transportation 

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

24 unless the projects are contained in a systemwide security 
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1 plan approved by the Under Secretary, in consultation 

2 with the Secretary of Transportation, and, for capital 

3 projects, meet the requirements of section 7(e)(2). The 

4 plan shall include appropriate measures to address secu5 rity awareness, emergency response, and passenger evacu6 ation training. 

7 (c) EQUITABLE GEOGRAPHIC ALLOCATION.—The 

8 Under Secretary shall ensure that, subject to meeting the 

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

10 and facilities located outside of the Northeast Corridor re11 ceive an equitable share of the security funds authorized 

12 by this section. 

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

14 to be appropriated to the Under Secretary of Homeland 

15 Security for Border and Transportation Security 

16 $63,500,000 for fiscal year 2006 for the purposes of car17 rying out this section. Amounts appropriated pursuant to 

18 this subsection shall remain available until expended. 

19 SEC. 11. FREIGHT AND PASSENGER RAIL SECURITY UP20 GRADES. 

21 (a) SECURITY IMPROVEMENT GRANTS.—The Under 

22 Secretary of Homeland Security for Border and Transpor23 tation Security is authorized to make grants to freight 

24 railroads, the Alaska Railroad, hazardous materials ship25 pers, owners of rail cars used in the transportation of haz-
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1 ardous materials, universities, colleges and research cen2 ters, State and local governments (for passenger facilities 

3 and infrastructure not owned by Amtrak), and, through 

4 the Secretary of Transportation, to Amtrak, for full or 

5 partial reimbursement of costs incurred in the conduct of 

6 activities to prevent or respond to acts of terrorism, sabo7 tage, or other intercity passenger rail and freight rail secu8 rity 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 United States-Mexico 

14 border or the United States-Canada border; 

15 (3) the security of hazardous material transpor16 tation by rail; 

17 (4) secure intercity passenger rail stations, 

18 trains, and infrastructure; 

19 (5) structural modification or replacement of 

20 rail cars transporting high hazard materials to im21 prove their resistance to acts of terrorism; 

22 (6) employee security awareness, preparedness, 

23 passenger evacuation, and emergency response train24 ing; 
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1 (7) public security awareness campaigns for 

2 passenger train operations; 

3 (8) the sharing of intelligence and information 

4 about security threats; 

5 (9) to obtain train tracking and interoperable 

6 communications systems that are coordinated to the 

7 maximum extent possible; 

8 (10) to hire additional police and security offi9 cers, including canine units; and 

10 (11) other improvements recommended by the 

11 report required by section 2, including infrastruc12 ture, facilities, and equipment upgrades. 

13 (b) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The Under Secretary shall 

14 adopt necessary procedures, including audits, to ensure 

15 that grants made under this section are expended in ac16 cordance with the purposes of this Act and the priorities 

17 and other criteria developed by the Under Secretary. 

18 (c) EQUITABLE ALLOCATION.—The Under Secretary 

19 shall equitably distribute the funds authorized by this sec20 tion, taking into account geographic location, and shall en21 courage non-Federal financial participation in awarding 

22 grants. With respect to grants for passenger rail security, 

23 the Under Secretary shall also take into account passenger 

24 volume and whether a station is used by commuter rail 

25 passengers as well as intercity rail passengers. 
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1 (d) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary of Transportation 

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

3 unless Amtrak meets the conditions set forth in section 

4 10(b) of this Act. 

5 (e) ALLOCATION BETWEEN RAILROADS AND OTH6 ERS.—Unless as a result of the assessment required by 

7 section 2 the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for 

8 Border and Transportation Security determines that crit9 ical rail transportation security needs require reimburse10 ment in greater amounts to any eligible entity, no grants 

11 under this section may be made— 

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

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

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

15 (a). 

16 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated to the Under Secretary 

18 of Homeland Security for Border and Transportation Se19 curity $350,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 to carry out the 

20 purposes of this section. Amounts appropriated pursuant 

21 to this subsection shall remain available until expended. 

22 (g) HIGH HAZARD MATERIALS DEFINED.—In this 

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

24 inhalation hazard materials, Class 2.3 gases, Class 6.1 

25 materials, and anhydrous ammonia. 
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1 SEC. 12. OVERSIGHT AND GRANT PROCEDURES. 

2 (a) SECRETARIAL OVERSIGHT.—The Secretary of 

3 Transportation may use up to 0.5 percent of amounts 

4 made available to Amtrak for capital projects under the 

5 Rail Security Act of 2005 to enter into contracts for the 

6 review of proposed capital projects and related program 

7 management plans and to oversee construction of such 

8 projects. 

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

10 amounts available under subsection (a) of this subsection 

11 to make contracts for safety, procurement, management, 

12 and financial compliance reviews and audits of a recipient 

13 of amounts under subsection (a). 

14 (c) PROCEDURES FOR GRANT AWARD.—The Under 

15 Secretary shall prescribe procedures and schedules for the 

16 awarding of grants under this Act, including application 

17 and qualification procedures (including a requirement that 

18 the applicant have a security plan), and a record of deci19 sion on applicant eligibility. The procedures shall include 

20 the execution of a grant agreement between the grant re21 cipient and the Under Secretary. The Under Secretary 

22 shall issue a final rule establishing the procedures not 

23 later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

24 SEC. 13. RAIL SECURITY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

25 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOP26 MENT PROGRAM.—The Under Secretary of Homeland Se-
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1 curity for Border and Transportation Security, in conjunc2 tion with the Secretary of Transportation, shall carry out 

3 a research and development program for the purpose of 

4 improving freight and intercity passenger rail security that 

5 may include research and development projects to— 

6 (1) reduce the vulnerability of passenger trains, 

7 stations, and equipment to explosives and hazardous 

8 chemical, biological, and radioactive substances; 

9 (2) test new emergency response techniques and 

10 technologies; 

11 (3) develop improved freight technologies, in12 cluding— 

13 (A) technologies for sealing rail cars; 

14 (B) automatic inspection of rail cars; 

15 (C) communication-based train controls; 

16 and 

17 (D) emergency response training; 

18 (4) test wayside detectors that can detect tam19 pering with railroad equipment; and 

20 (5) support enhanced security for the transpor21 tation of hazardous materials by rail, including— 

22 (A) technologies to detect a breach in a 

23 tank car and transmit information about the in24 tegrity of tank cars to the train crew; 
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1 (B) research to improve tank car integrity, 

2 with a focus on tank cars that carry high haz3 ard materials (as defined in section 11(g) of 

4 this Act; 

5 (C) techniques to transfer hazardous mate6 rials from rail cars that are damaged or other7 wise represent an unreasonable risk to human 

8 life or public safety; 

9 (6) other projects recommended in the report 

10 required by section 2. 

11 (b) COORDINATION WITH OTHER RESEARCH INITIA12 TIVES.—The Under Secretary of Homeland Security for 

13 Border and Transportation Security shall ensure that the 

14 research and development program authorized by this sec15 tion is coordinated with other research and development 

16 initiatives at the Department and the Department of 

17 Transportation. The Under Secretary of Homeland Secu18 rity for Border and Transportation Security shall carry 

19 out any research and development project authorized by 

20 this section through a reimbursable agreement with the 

21 Secretary of Transportation if the Secretary of Transpor22 tation— 

23 (1) is already sponsoring a research and devel24 opment project in a similar area; or 
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1 (2) has a unique facility or capability that 

2 would be useful in carrying out the project. 

3 (c) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The Under Secretary shall 

4 adopt necessary procedures, including audits, to ensure 

5 that grants made under this section are expended in ac6 cordance with the purposes of this Act and the priorities 

7 and other criteria developed by the Under Secretary. 

8 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

9 are authorized to be appropriated to the Under Secretary 

10 of Homeland Security for Border and Transportation Se11 curity $50,000,000 in each of fiscal years 2006 and 2007 

12 to carry out the purposes of this section. Amounts appro13 priated pursuant to this subsection shall remain available 

14 until expended. 

15 SEC. 14. WELDED RAIL AND TANK CAR SAFETY IMPROVE16 MENTS. 

17 (a) TRACK STANDARDS.—Within 90 days after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Railroad Ad19 ministration shall— 

20 (1) require each track owner using continuous 

21 welded rail track to include procedures (in its proce22 dures filed with the Administration pursuant to sec23 tion 213.119 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula24 tions) to improve the identification of cracks in rail 

25 joint bars; 
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1 (2) instruct Administration track inspectors to 

2 obtain copies of the most recent continuous welded 

3 rail programs of each railroad within the inspectors’ 

4 areas of responsibility and require that inspectors 

5 use those programs when conducting track inspec6 tions; and 

7 (3) establish a program to periodically review 

8 continuous welded rail joint bar inspection data from 

9 railroads and Administration track inspectors and, 

10 whenever the Administration determines that it is 

11 necessary or appropriate, require railroads to in12 crease the frequency or improve the methods of in13 spection of joint bars in continuous welded rail. 

14 (b) TANK CAR STANDARDS.—The Federal Railroad 

15 Administration shall— 

16 (1) within 1 year after the date of enactment 

17 of this Act, validate the predictive model it is devel18 oping to quantify the relevant dynamic forces acting 

19 on railroad tank cars under accident conditions; and 

20 (2) within 18 months after the date of enact21 ment of this Act, initiate a rulemaking to develop 

22 and implement appropriate design standards for 

23 pressurized tank cars. 

24 (c) OLDER TANK CAR IMPACT RESISTANCE ANAL25 YSIS AND REPORT.—Within 2 years after the date of en-
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1 actment of this Act, the Federal Railroad Administration 

2 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) transmit a report to the Senate Committee 

7 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

8 House of Representatives Committee on Transpor9 tation and Infrastructure with recommendations for 

10 measures to eliminate or mitigate the risk of cata11 strophic failure. 

12 SEC. 15. NORTHERN BORDER RAIL PASSENGER REPORT. 

13 Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

14 Act, the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Bor15 der and Transportation Security, in consultation with the 

16 heads of other appropriate Federal departments and agen17 cies and the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, 

18 shall transmit a report to the Senate Committee on Com19 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep20 resentatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc21 ture that contains— 

22 (1) a description of the current system for 

23 screening passengers and baggage on passenger rail 

24 service between the United States and Canada; 
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1 (2) an assessment of the current program to 

2 provide preclearance of airline passengers between 

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

4 Agreement on Air Transport Preclearance between 

5 the Government of Canada and the Government of 

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

7 2001; 

8 (3) an assessment of the current program to 

9 provide preclearance of freight railroad traffic be10 tween the United States and Canada as outlined in 

11 the ‘‘Declaration of Principle for the Improved Secu12 rity of Rail Shipments by Canadian National Rail13 way and Canadian Pacific Railway from Canada to 

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

15 (4) information on progress by the Department 

16 of Homeland Security and other Federal agencies to17 wards finalizing a bilateral protocol with Canada 

18 that would provide for preclearance of passengers on 

19 trains operating between the United States and Can20 ada; 

21 (5) a description of legislative, regulatory, 

22 budgetary, or policy barriers within the United 

23 States Government to providing pre-screened pas24 senger lists for rail passengers travelling between the 
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1 United States and Canada to the Department of 

2 Homeland Security; 

3 (6) a description of the position of the Govern4 ment of Canada and relevant Canadian agencies 

5 with respect to preclearance of such passengers; and 

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

7 law necessary to provide for pre-screening of such 

8 passengers and providing pre-screened passenger 

9 lists to the Department of Homeland Security. 

10 SEC. 16. REPORT REGARDING IMPACT ON SECURITY OF 

11 TRAIN TRAVEL IN COMMUNITIES WITHOUT 

12 GRADE SEPARATION. 

13 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 

14 shall, in consultation with State and local government offi15 cials, conduct a study on the impact of blocked highway16 railroad grade crossings on the ability of emergency re17 sponders, including ambulances and police, fire, and other 

18 emergency vehicles, to perform public safety and security 

19 duties in the event of a terrorist attack. 

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

21 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Secu22 rity shall submit a report to the Committee on Transpor23 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

24 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor25 tation of the Senate on the findings of the study conducted 
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1 under subsection (a) and recommendations for reducing 

2 the impact of blocked crossings on emergency response. 

3 SEC. 17. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION PROGRAM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A 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.—No rail 

10 carrier engaged in interstate or foreign commerce may dis11 charge 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 about 

15 to provide or cause to be provided, to the employer 

16 or the Federal Government information relating to a 

17 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 section 3 to resolve 

5 the dispute, grievance, or claim the proceeding shall be 

6 expedited and the dispute, grievance, or claim shall be re7 solved not later than 180 days after it is filed. If the viola8 tion is a form of discrimination that does not involve dis9 charge, suspension, or another action affecting pay, and 

10 no other remedy is available under this subsection, the 

11 Board, division, delegate, or other board of adjustment 

12 may award the employee reasonable damages, including 

13 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) of this title, including the burdens of 

17 proof, applies to 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) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of 

24 this subsection, or with the written consent of the 

25 employee, the Secretary of Transportation may not 
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1 disclose the name of an employee of a railroad car2 rier who has provided information about an alleged 

3 violation of this section. 

4 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall disclose to the Attor5 ney General the name of an employee described in 

6 paragraph (1) of this subsection if the matter is re7 ferred to the Attorney General for enforcement.’’. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal9 ysis for chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, is 

10 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

11 20115 the following: 

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

Æ