I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1900 

To authorize programs and activities within the Transportation Security Administration to enhance the security of surface transportation, including 

mass transit, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 13, 2011 

Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas (for herself, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. 

DAVIS of Illinois, and Ms. CLARKE of New York) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 

A BILL 

To authorize programs and activities within the Transportation Security Administration to enhance the security 

of surface transportation, including mass transit, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Surface Transpor5 tation and Mass Transit Security Act of 2011’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ASSISTANT SECRETARY DEFINED. 

2 Section 1301 of the Implementing Recommendations 

3 of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (6 U.S.C. 1111) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

6 (6) as paragraphs (3) through (7), respectively; and 

7 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(2) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘As10 sistant Secretary’ means the Assistant Secretary of 

11 Homeland Security (Transportation Security Admin12 istration).’’. 

13 SEC. 3. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY INSPEC14 TION PROGRAM. 

15 (a) SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY INSPEC16 TION OFFICE.—Section 1304 of the Implementing Rec17 ommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (6 

18 U.S.C. 1113) is amended— 

19 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) through (j) 

20 as subsections (b) through (i), respectively; and 

21 (2) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and in22 serting the following: 

23 ‘‘(a) SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY INSPEC24 TION OFFICE.— 

25 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Assistant Sec26 retary shall establish an office to be known as the 


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1 Surface Transportation Security Inspection Office 

2 (in this section referred to as the ‘Office’). 

3 ‘‘(2) MISSION.—The Assistant Secretary shall 

4 use the Office to train, employ, and utilize surface 

5 transportation security inspectors to— 

6 ‘‘(A) assist surface transportation carriers, 

7 operators, owners, entities, and facilities to en8 hance their security against terrorist attacks 

9 and other security threats; and 

10 ‘‘(B) assist the Assistant Secretary in en11 forcing applicable surface transportation secu12 rity regulations and directives. 

13 ‘‘(3) OFFICERS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) DIRECTOR.—The head of the Office 

15 shall be the Director, who shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) oversee and coordinate the activi17 ties of the Office, including all officers and 

18 any corresponding surface transportation 

19 modes in which the Office carries out such 

20 activities, and the surface transportation 

21 security inspectors who assist in such ac22 tivities; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) act as the primary point of con24 tact between the Office and other entities 

25 that support the Department’s surface 


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1 transportation security mission to ensure 

2 efficient and appropriate use of surface 

3 transportation security inspectors and 

4 maintain strong working relationships with 

5 surface transportation security stake6 holders. 

7 ‘‘(B) DEPUTY DIRECTOR.—There shall be 

8 a Deputy Director of the Office, who shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) assist the Director in carrying out 

10 the responsibilities of the Director under 

11 this subsection; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) serve as acting Director in the 

13 absence of the Director and during any va14 cancy in the office of Director. 

15 ‘‘(4) APPOINTMENT.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director and 

17 Deputy Director shall be responsible on a full18 time basis for the duties and responsibilities de19 scribed in this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(B) CLASSIFICATION.—The position of 

21 Director shall be considered a position in the 

22 Senior Executive Service as defined in section 

23 2101a of title 5, United States Code, and the 

24 position of Deputy Director shall be considered 


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1 a position classified at grade GS–15 of the Gen2 eral Schedule. 

3 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION.—No person shall serve as an 

4 officer under paragraph (3) while serving in any 

5 other position in the Federal Government. 

6 ‘‘(6) FIELD OFFICES.— 

7 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Assistant 

8 Secretary shall establish primary and secondary 

9 field offices in the United States for surface 

10 transportation security inspectors carrying out 

11 their duties under this section. 

12 ‘‘(B) DESIGNATION.—The locations for, 

13 and designation as ‘primary’ or ‘secondary’ of, 

14 such field offices shall be determined in a man15 ner that is consistent with the Department’s 

16 risk-based approach to carrying out its home17 land security mission. 

18 ‘‘(C) COMMAND STRUCTURE.— 

19 ‘‘(i) PRIMARY FIELD OFFICES.—Each 

20 primary field office shall be led by a chief 

21 surface transportation security inspector, 

22 who has significant experience with surface 

23 transportation systems, facilities, and oper24 ations and shall report directly to the Di25 rector. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) SECONDARY FIELD OFFICES.— 

2 Each secondary field office shall be led by 

3 a senior surface transportation security in4 spector, who shall report directly to the 

5 chief surface transportation security in6 spector of a geographically appropriate pri7 mary field office, as determined by the Di8 rector. 

9 ‘‘(D) PERSONNEL.—Not later than 18 

10 months after the date of enactment of the Sur11 face Transportation and Mass Transit Security 

12 Act of 2011, field offices shall be staffed with— 

13 ‘‘(i) not fewer than 7 surface trans14 portation security inspectors, including one 

15 chief surface transportation security in16 spector, at every primary field office; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) not fewer than 5 surface trans18 portation security inspectors, including one 

19 senior surface transportation security in20 spector, at every secondary field office.’’. 

21 (b) NUMBER OF INSPECTORS.—Section 1304(e) of 

22 such Act, as redesignated by subsection (a) of this section, 

23 is amended to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(e) NUMBER OF INSPECTORS; TRAINING.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) NUMBER.—Subject to the availability of 

2 appropriations, the Secretary shall maintain not 

3 fewer than 100 more surface transportation security 

4 inspectors than the number of such inspectors em5 ployed at the end of fiscal year 2010. 

6 ‘‘(2) TRAINING.—The Director shall provide 

7 initial and recurrent training to each surface trans8 portation inspector that includes counterterrorism 

9 training, audit training, inspections training, and 

10 training on emergency preparedness and response.’’. 

11 (c) COORDINATION.—Section 1304(f) of such Act, as 

12 redesignated by subsection (a) of this section, is amended 

13 by striking ‘‘114(t)’’ and inserting ‘‘114(s)’’. 

14 (d) REPORT.—Section 1304(h), as redesignated by 

15 subsection (a) of this section, is amended by striking 

16 ‘‘2008’’ and inserting ‘‘2011’’. 

17 (e) PLAN.—Section 1304(i) of such Act, as redesig18 nated by subsection (a) of this section, is amended to read 

19 as follows: 

20 ‘‘(i) PLAN.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

22 after the date of enactment of the Surface Transpor23 tation and Mass Transit Security Act of 2011, the 

24 Assistant Secretary shall submit to the appropriate 

25 congressional committees a plan for expanding the 


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1 duties, operations, and training of surface transpor2 tation security inspector workforce to enhance the 

3 Transportation Security Administration’s surface 

4 transportation security mission. 

5 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The plan shall include— 

6 ‘‘(A) an analysis of how surface transpor7 tation security inspectors could be used to con8 duct oversight activities with respect to surface 

9 transportation security projects funded by rel10 evant grant programs administered by the De11 partment; 

12 ‘‘(B) an evaluation of whether the capacity 

13 of the Office to take an active role in the De14 partment’s surface transportation security oper15 ations would be enhanced if all or some of the 

16 surface transportation security inspector work17 force were law enforcement officers; 

18 ‘‘(C) an analysis of best practices for train19 ing surface transportation security inspectors, 

20 including identifying skills that could be trans21 ferable among inspectors of different modes of 

22 transportation to enhance flexibility; 

23 ‘‘(D) a requirement that the Office evalu24 ate its Surface Transportation Security Inspec25 tion training program annually for the purpose 


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1 of incorporating the identified best practices, as 

2 appropriate, and determining whether the pro3 vided training is effective; and 

4 ‘‘(E) any other potential functions relating 

5 to surface transportation security the Secretary 

6 determines appropriate.’’. 

7 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

8 1304 of such Act (6 U.S.C. 1113) is amended by adding 

9 at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

12 necessary to the Assistant Secretary to carry out this sec13 tion for fiscal years 2012 and 2013.’’. 

14 (g) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1304(b) of 

15 such Act, as redesignated by subsection (a) of this section, 

16 is amended by striking ‘‘subsection (e)’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘subsection (d)’’. 

18 SEC. 4. VISIBLE INTERMODAL PREVENTION AND RE19 SPONSE TEAMS (VIPR TEAMS). 

20 Section 1303 of the Implementing Recommendations 

21 of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (6 U.S.C. 1112) is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘Administrator 

24 of the Transportation Security Administration,’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘Assistant Secretary,’’; 


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1 (2) in subsection (a)(2) by inserting ‘‘according 

2 to risk,’’ after ‘‘determine’’; 

3 (3) in subsection (a)(4) by striking ‘‘team,’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘team as to specific locations and times 

5 within their facilities at which VIPR teams should 

6 be deployed to maximize the effectiveness of such de7 ployment and other matters,’’; and 

8 (4) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(b) PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—Not later than one 

11 year after enactment of the Surface Transportation and 

12 Mass Transit Security Act of 2011, the Assistant Sec13 retary shall develop and implement a system of qualitative 

14 performance measures and objectives by which to assess 

15 the roles, activities, and effectiveness of VIPR team oper16 ations on an ongoing basis, including a mechanism 

17 through which the transportation entities listed in sub18 section (a)(4) shall submit feedback from surface trans19 portation operators received by the Assistant Secretary on 

20 VIPR team operations involving their systems or facilities. 

21 ‘‘(c) DEPLOYMENTS.—Not later than one year after 

22 the date of enactment of the Surface Transportation and 

23 Mass Transit Security Act of 2011, the Assistant Sec24 retary shall establish risk-based criteria to evaluate all 

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1 tablishment, shall begin utilizing the criteria for such pur2 poses. 

3 ‘‘(d) INTEROPERABILITY.—Not later than one year 

4 after the date of enactment of the Surface Transportation 

5 and Mass Transit Security Act of 2011, the Assistant Sec6 retary shall develop and implement a plan for ensuring 

7 the interoperability of communications among all partici8 pating VIPR team components as designated under sub9 section (a)(1) and between VIPR teams and any relevant 

10 transportation entities listed in subsection (a)(4) whose 

11 systems or facilities are involved in VIPR team operations, 

12 including an analysis of the costs and resources required 

13 to carry out the plan. 

14 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Assistant Secretary 

15 shall submit on an annual basis, together with the annual 

16 budget request, a report on VIPR team operations for the 

17 previous year that includes information on lessons learned 

18 from operations in the previous year and plans for pro19 gram enhancements for the forthcoming year.’’. 

20 SEC. 5. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY STAKE21 HOLDER PARTICIPATION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title XIII of the Implementing 

23 Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (6 

24 U.S.C. 1111 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

25 the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1311. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADVI2 SORY COMMITTEE. 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 

5 shall establish in the Transportation Security Ad6 ministration an advisory committee, to be known as 

7 the Surface Transportation Security Advisory Com8 mittee (in this section referred to as the ‘Advisory 

9 Committee’), to assist the Assistant Secretary with 

10 issues pertaining to surface transportation security. 

11 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Com13 mittee shall develop recommendations for im14 provements to surface transportation security. 

15 ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS OF WORKING

16 GROUPS.—Recommendations agreed upon by 

17 the working groups established under this sec18 tion shall be approved by the Advisory Com19 mittee for transmission to the Assistant Sec20 retary. 

21 ‘‘(C) PERIODIC REPORTS.—The Advisory 

22 Committee shall periodically submit to the As23 sistant Secretary— 

24 ‘‘(i) reports on matters identified by 

25 the Assistant Secretary; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) reports on other matters identi2 fied by a majority of the members of the 

3 Advisory Committee. 

4 ‘‘(D) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Advisory 

5 Committee shall submit to the Assistant Sec6 retary an annual report providing information 

7 on the activities, findings, and recommendations 

8 of the Advisory Committee, including its work9 ing groups, for the preceding year. 

10 ‘‘(3) MEETINGS.—The Assistant Secretary shall 

11 require the Advisory Committee to meet at least 

12 semiannually and may convene additional meetings 

13 as necessary. 

14 ‘‘(4) UNPAID POSITION.—Advisory Committee 

15 Members shall serve at their own expense and re16 ceive no salary, reimbursement for travel expenses, 

17 or other compensation from the Federal Govern18 ment. 

19 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

21 after the date of enactment of this section, the As22 sistant Secretary shall appoint the Advisory Com23 mittee, which shall consist of individuals rep24 resenting not more than 27 member organizations. 

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1 vidual (or the individual’s designee) and shall in2 clude representatives from public transportation 

3 agencies, passenger rail agencies or operators, rail4 road carriers, motor carriers, owners or operators of 

5 highways, over-the-road bus operators and terminal 

6 owners and operators, pipeline operators, privacy or7 ganizations, labor organizations representing em8 ployees of such entities, and the surface transpor9 tation security technology industry. 

10 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENTS.—Members shall be ap11 pointed by the Assistant Secretary and the Assistant 

12 Secretary shall have the discretion to review the par13 ticipation of any Advisory Committee member and 

14 remove for cause at any time. 

15 ‘‘(c) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Federal 

16 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply 

17 to the Advisory Committee under this section. 

18 ‘‘(d) PASSENGER CARRIER SECURITY WORKING

19 GROUP.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 

21 shall establish within the Advisory Committee a pas22 senger carrier security working group to provide rec23 ommendations for successful implementation of ini24 tiatives relating to passenger rail, over-the-road bus, 

25 and public transportation security proposed by the 


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1 Transportation Security Administration in accord2 ance with statutory requirements, including relevant 

3 grant programs and security training provisions. 

4 ‘‘(2) MEETINGS.—The working group shall 

5 meet at least quarterly and submit information, in6 cluding recommendations, regarding the Transpor7 tation Security Administration’s initiatives relating 

8 to passenger rail, over-the-road bus, and public 

9 transportation security, including grant, training, in10 spection, or other relevant programs authorized in 

11 titles XIII and XIV, and subtitle C of title XV of 

12 this Act. 

13 ‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The working group shall 

14 be appointed by the Assistant Secretary and com15 posed of members from the Advisory Committee 

16 with expertise in public transportation, over-the-road 

17 bus, or passenger rail systems and operations, and 

18 shall be co-chaired by a Government and industry 

19 official. 

20 ‘‘(4) REPORTS.—The working group shall pre21 pare and submit reports to the Assistant Secretary 

22 in accordance with this paragraph that provide rec23 ommendations as described in paragraphs (1) and 

24 (2), for inclusion in the annual report. 

25 ‘‘(e) FREIGHT RAIL SECURITY WORKING GROUP.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 

2 shall establish within the Advisory Committee a 

3 freight rail security working group to provide rec4 ommendations for successful implementation of ini5 tiatives relating to freight rail security proposed by 

6 the Transportation Security Administration in ac7 cordance with statutory requirements, including rel8 evant grant programs and security training provi9 sions. 

10 ‘‘(2) MEETINGS.—The working group shall 

11 meet at least quarterly and submit information, in12 cluding recommendations, regarding freight rail se13 curity to the Advisory Committee for inclusion in the 

14 annual report. The submissions shall include rec15 ommendations to improve the Transportation Secu16 rity Administration’s initiatives relating to freight 

17 rail security, including grant, training, inspection, or 

18 other relevant programs authorized in titles XIII 

19 and XV of this Act. 

20 ‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The working group shall 

21 include members from the Advisory Committee with 

22 expertise in freight rail systems and operations, and 

23 shall be co-chaired by a Government and industry 

24 official. 


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1 ‘‘(4) REPORTS.—The working group shall pre2 pare and submit reports to the Assistant Secretary 

3 in accordance with this paragraph that provide rec4 ommendations as described in paragraphs (1) and 

5 (2), for inclusion in the annual report’’. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con7 tents set forth in section 1(b) of the Implementing Rec8 ommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (Pub9 lic Law 110–53) is amended by inserting after the item 

10 relating to section 1310 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 1311. Surface Transportation Security Advisory Committee.’’. 

11 SEC. 6. HUMAN CAPITAL PLAN FOR SURFACE TRANSPOR12 TATION SECURITY PERSONNEL. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

14 date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary 

15 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

16 a human capital plan for hiring, initial and recurrent 

17 training, managing, and compensating surface transpor18 tation security personnel, including surface transportation 

19 security inspectors. 

20 (b) CONSULTATION.—In developing the human cap21 ital plan, the Assistant Secretary shall consult with the 

22 Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department of Home23 land Security, the Director of the Surface Transportation 

24 Security Inspection Office, the Inspector General of the 


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1 Department of Homeland Security, and the Comptroller 

2 General. 

3 (c) APPROVAL.—Prior to submission, the human cap4 ital plan shall be reviewed and approved by the Chief 

5 Human Capital Officer of the Department of Homeland 

6 Security. 

7 (d) WORKFORCE STUDY.—Not later than 180 days 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Chief Human 

9 Capital Officer of the Department of Homeland Security 

10 shall conduct a workforce study of the Transportation Se11 curity Inspection Program to assess full-time equivalent 

12 personnel requirements for transportation security inspec13 tors. The workforce study shall evaluate the extent to 

14 which the Assistant Secretary has— 

15 (1) addressed recommendations issued by the 

16 Comptroller General of the United States and the 

17 Inspector General of the Department of Homeland 

18 Security regarding the management of the transpor19 tation security inspector workforce; and 

20 (2) established projections for full-time equiva21 lent personnel requirements to execute responsibil22 ities, including training and security assessments, 

23 with respect to public transportation agencies, rail 

24 carriers, and intercity bus carriers. 


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1 SEC. 7. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY TRAINING. 

2 (a) STATUS REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall sub4 mit a report to the appropriate congressional committees 

5 on the status of the Department’s implementation of sec6 tions 1408, 1517, and 1534 of the Implementing Rec7 ommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (6 

8 U.S.C. 1137, 1167, and 1184), including detailed time9 frames for development and issuance of the transportation 

10 security training regulations required under such sections. 

11 (b) PRIVATE PROVIDERS.—Not later than one year 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Sec13 retary shall identify criteria and establish a process for 

14 approving and maintaining a list of approved private 

15 third-party providers of security training with whom sur16 face transportation entities may enter into contracts, as 

17 needed, for the purpose of satisfying security training re18 quirements of the Department of Homeland Security, in19 cluding requirements developed under sections 1408, 

20 1517, and 1534 of the Implementing Recommendations 

21 of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (6 U.S.C. 1137, 

22 1167, and 1184), in accordance with section 103 of this 

23 Act. 

24 SEC. 8. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

25 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) According to the Worldwide Incidents 

2 Tracking System maintained by the National 

3 Counter Terrorism Center, from January 2004 to 

4 July 2008, 530 terrorist attacks were waged world5 wide against mass transit systems, resulting in over 

6 2,000 deaths and over 9,000 injuries. 

7 (2) Rail and mass transit systems are an at8 tractive target for terrorists and terrorist organiza9 tions as evidenced by the March 2004 attack on the 

10 Madrid, Spain system, the July 2005 attack on the 

11 London, England system, the July 2006 and No12 vember 2008 attacks on the Mumbai, India system, 

13 and the March 2010 attack on the Moscow, Russia 

14 system. 

15 (3) In 2009, United States law enforcement en16 tities uncovered and disrupted a major plot by an al 

17 Qaeda terrorist to attack the New York City subway 

18 system. 

19 (4) Each weekday 11,300,000 passengers de20 pend on our Nation’s mass transit systems as a 

21 means of transportation. 

22 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con23 gress that— 

24 (1) our Nation’s rail and mass transit systems 

25 are critical infrastructure that facilitate our Nation’s 


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1 economy, and the Department of Homeland Security 

2 has a critical role to play to help protect this critical 

3 infrastructure against terrorist attack and other se4 curity threats; 

5 (2) the Transportation Security Grant Pro6 gram, as administered by the Department of Home7 land Security, provides critical resources to transit 

8 agencies in high-risk areas for operational security 

9 enhancements and on-the-ground efforts to reduce 

10 the consequences of a terrorist attack; and 

11 (3) funding for the Transportation Security 

12 Grant Program should be restored from the fiscal 

13 year 2011 reductions to ensure that transit agencies 

14 in high-risk areas have adequate resources to protect 

15 their systems and passengers from terrorist threats. 

16 SEC. 9. TRANSPORTATION SECURITY GRANT PROGRAM. 

17 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con18 gress that grants under the Transportation Security 

19 Grant Program, as administered by the Department of 

20 Homeland Security, should be provided to high-risk sur21 face transportation systems in a manner that supports re22 gional security cooperation. 

23 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

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1 priate congressional committees report on the roles and 

2 responsibilities of the Transportation Security Administra3 tion, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and any 

4 other relevant component of the Department of Homeland 

5 Security in administering security assistance grants under 

6 section 1406 of the Implementing Recommendations of 

7 the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (6 U.S.C. 1135). 

8 (c) CONTENTS.—The report shall— 

9 (1) describe the roles and responsibilities of the 

10 Transportation Security Administration and Federal 

11 Emergency Management Agency, at different stages 

12 of the grant process, including the allocation stage, 

13 the award stage, and the distribution stage; 

14 (2) identify areas in which relevant components 

15 of the Department, including the Transportation Se16 curity Administration and Federal Emergency Man17 agement Agency, may better integrate or coordinate 

18 their activities in order to streamline the grant ad19 ministration process and improve the efficiency of 

20 the project approval process for grantees; 

21 (3) assess the current state of public transpor22 tation and passenger rail security expertise pos23 sessed by relevant personnel involved in the grant 

24 administration or project approval processes carried 

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1 cluding the Transportation Security Administration 

2 and Federal Emergency Management Agency; and 

3 (4) include recommendations for how each rel4 evant component of the Department, including the 

5 Transportation Security Administration, may further 

6 clarify, coordinate, or maximize its roles and respon7 sibilities in administering grant funds and approving 

8 grant projects under such section 1406. 

9 SEC. 10. PASSENGER RAIL SECURITY DEMONSTRATION 

10 PROJECT. 

11 (a) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.—The Assistant Sec12 retary, in consultation with the Under Secretary for 

13 Science and Technology of the Department of Homeland 

14 Security, may conduct a demonstration project in a pas15 senger rail system to test and assess the feasibility and 

16 effectiveness of technologies to strengthen the security of 

17 passenger rail systems against terrorist attacks involving 

18 the use of improvised explosive devices. 

19 (b) SECURITY TECHNOLOGIES.—Any demonstration 

20 project under this section shall test and assess tech21 nologies, such as canines and commercially available tech22 nologies, to— 

23 (1) detect improvised explosive devices on sta24 tion platforms, through the use of foreign object de25 tection programs in conjunction with cameras; and 


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1 (2) defeat improvised explosive devices left on 

2 rail tracks. 

3 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 days 

4 after completion of the demonstration project under this 

5 section, the Assistant Secretary shall submit a report to 

6 the appropriate congressional committees on the results 

7 of the demonstration project. 

8 SEC. 11. EXPLOSIVES DETECTION CANINE TEAMS. 

9 Section 1307 of the Implementing Recommendations 

10 of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (6 U.S.C. 1116) is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (b)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking 

14 ‘‘2010’’ and inserting ‘‘2011’’; and 

15 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

16 paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Sec19 retary shall increase the number of canine 

20 teams certified by the Transportation Security 

21 Administration for the purpose of passenger 

22 rail and public transportation security activities 

23 to not less than 200 canine teams by the end 

24 of fiscal year 2011. 


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1 ‘‘(B) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The 

2 Assistant Secretary shall expand the use of ca3 nine teams to enhance passenger rail and public 

4 transportation security by entering into cooper5 ative agreements with passenger rail and public 

6 transportation agencies eligible for security as7 sistance under section 1406 of this Act for the 

8 purpose of deploying and maintaining canine 

9 teams to such agencies for use in passenger rail 

10 or public transportation security activities and 

11 providing for assistance in an amount not less 

12 than $75,000 for each canine team deployed, to 

13 be adjusted by the Assistant Secretary for infla14 tion. 

15 ‘‘(C) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA16 TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro17 priated to the Assistant Secretary such sums as 

18 may be necessary to carry out this paragraph 

19 for fiscal years 2012 and 2013.’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (d)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘use’’ and 

22 inserting the following: ‘‘deploy in a risk-based 

23 manner’’; 

24 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’; 


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1 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking the pe2 riod at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘; 

3 and’’; and 

4 (D) by adding at the end the following new 

5 paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(5) expand the use of canine teams trained to 

7 detect vapor wave trails in passenger rail and public 

8 transportation security environments, as the Sec9 retary, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary, 

10 determines appropriate.’’; 

11 (3) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘, if appro12 priate,’’ and inserting ‘‘, to the extent practicable,’’; 

13 and 

14 (4) by striking subsection (f) and inserting the 

15 following new subsection (f): 

16 ‘‘(f) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

17 of the enactment of the Surface Transportation and Mass 

18 Transit Security Act of 2011, the Comptroller General of 

19 the United States shall submit to the appropriate congres20 sional committees a report on— 

21 ‘‘(1) utilization of explosives detection canine 

22 teams to strengthen security in passenger rail and 

23 public transportation environments; 

24 ‘‘(2) the capacity of the national explosive de25 tection canine team program as a whole; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) how the Assistant Secretary could better 

2 support State and local passenger rail and public 

3 transportation entities in maintaining certified ca4 nine teams for the life of the canine, including by 

5 providing financial assistance.’’. 

6 SEC. 12. MASS TRANSIT AND OTHER SURFACE TRANSPOR7 TATION SECURITY AWARENESS PROGRAM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title XV of the Im9 plementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act 

10 of 2007 (6 U.S.C. 1181 et seq.) is amended by adding 

11 at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 1543. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY AWARE13 NESS PROGRAM. 

14 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) According to the Federal Highway Admin16 istration, the Nation’s highway transportation sys17 tem includes approximately 4 million miles of road18 ways, 600,000 bridges, and 50 tunnels of more than 

19 500 meters in length, supports 86 percent of all per20 sonal travel and 80 percent of the Nation’s freight, 

21 and serves as a key component in national defense 

22 mobility. 

23 ‘‘(2) The United States highway system is in24 herently vulnerable to terrorist attack because of its 

25 inherent openness, where vehicles and their operaVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:15 May 26, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1900.IH H1900

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1 tors can move freely and virtually without restric2 tion. 

3 ‘‘(3) The Transportation Security Administra4 tion’s voluntary surface and mass transportation se5 curity awareness program, known as the First Ob6 server Program, leverages the skills and experience 

7 of transportation professionals, including truck driv8 ers, and empowers them to act as ‘first observers’ in 

9 reporting suspicious activities to Federal security au10 thorities. 

11 ‘‘(4) The Transportation Security Administra12 tion credits the First Observer Program with helping 

13 to disrupt the hijacking of an inter-state bus trav14 eling from Richmond, Virginia, to Durham, North 

15 Carolina, and a potential terrorist plot involving the 

16 purchase and transport of suspiciously large quan17 tities of hazardous chemicals. 

18 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENT TO CARRY OUT FIRST OB19 SERVER PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall carry out a First 

20 Observer Program, under which mass transit and other 

21 surface transportation professionals and related stake22 holders may report to the Assistant Secretary suspicious 

23 activities or security threats that may be related to a po24 tential transportation security incident or act of terrorism. 


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1 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—Under the First 

2 Observer Program the Assistant Secretary shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) maintain a call center, on a 24-hour basis, 

4 to which a surface transportation professionals or 

5 related stakeholder can report suspicious activities 

6 or security threats that may be related to a potential 

7 transportation security incident or act of terrorism; 

8 ‘‘(2) evaluate reports received from surface 

9 transportation professionals and transmit informa10 tion, as appropriate, to relevant State, local, tribal 

11 law enforcement and private sector partners; 

12 ‘‘(3) disburse voluntary guidance to private sec13 tor partners, including motor coach operators, school 

14 bus operators, trucking companies, parking facility 

15 operators, professional athletic venue operators, port 

16 operators, indirect air carriers, on how to identify 

17 and report a suspicious activity or security threat 

18 that may be related to a potential transportation se19 curity incident or act of terrorism; and 

20 ‘‘(4) publicize the security awareness program 

21 to private sector partners and encourage surface 

22 transportation professionals or related stakeholder to 

23 participate in the program. 

24 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.—Not later than one-year after enact25 ment of the Surface Transportation and Mass Transit SeVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:15 May 26, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1900.IH H1900

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1 curity Act of 2011, the Assistant Secretary shall submit 

2 to the appropriate congressional committees information 

3 on the Assistant Secretary’s activities under this section 

4 including information on the extent to which private sector 

5 partners participated in the program, the number reports 

6 received at the call center, the disposition of those reports, 

7 and the impact of the program on the Assistant Sec8 retary’s efforts to secure surface transportation modes. 

9 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

11 $5,000,000 annually for the necessary expenses of the 

12 First Observer Program.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con14 tents set forth in section 1(b) of the Implementing Rec15 ommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 is 

16 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

17 1542 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 1543. Surface transportation security awareness program.’’. 

18 SEC. 13. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

20 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT21 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com22 mittees’’ means the Committee on Homeland Secu23 rity of the House of Representatives and any com24 mittee of the House of Representatives or the Senate 

25 having legislative jurisdiction under the rules of the 


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1 House of Representatives or Senate, respectively, 

2 over the matter concerned. 

3 (2) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist4 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 

5 Homeland Security (Transportation Security Admin6 istration). 

7 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

8 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

Æ 


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