I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 153 

To provide increased rail and public transportation security. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 4, 2005 

Mr. MENENDEZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committee on 

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

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide increased rail and public 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 and Public Transportation 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. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Rail transportation security risk assessment. 

Sec. 4. Rail security. 

Sec. 5. Study of foreign rail transport security programs. 

Sec. 6. Passenger, baggage, and cargo screening. 
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Sec. 7. Certain personnel limitations not to apply. 

Sec. 8. Fire and life safety improvements. 

Sec. 9. Transportation security. 

Sec. 10. Intelligence sharing. 

Sec. 11. Research, development, and demonstration. 

Sec. 12. Amtrak plan to assist families of passengers involved in rail passenger 

accidents. 

Sec. 13. Systemwide Amtrak security upgrades. 

Sec. 14. Freight and passenger rail security upgrades. 

Sec. 15. Department of Transportation oversight. 

Sec. 16. Welded rail and tank car safety improvements. 

Sec. 17. Northern Border rail passenger report. 

Sec. 18. Mass transportation system security improvements. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Since September 11, 2001, the Federal 

4 Government has spent $4,500,000,000 annually to 

5 protect the Nation’s 2,000,000 air travelers, and 

6 only $75,000,000 to secure the Nation’s rail and 

7 public transit systems which carry 32,000,000 pas8 sengers annually. 

9 (2) The Nation’s rail and public transit systems 

10 carry 16 times more passengers every day than the 

11 airlines, yet the Federal Government has spent 90 

12 times more funding for airline security. 

13 (3) Between fiscal years 2003 and 2004 the 

14 Department of Homeland Security has reduced tran15 sit security funding by 22 percent. 

16 (4) Safety and security of the Nation’s freight 

17 railroads and intercity passenger rail systems and 

18 public transit systems are critical to the Nation’s 

19 economy. 
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1 (5) As demonstrated by the recent terrorist at2 tacks on commuter trains in Madrid, Spain, a real 

3 and imminent threat exists and appropriate security 

4 measures must be taken immediately. 

5 (6) The safety of the 32,000,000 Americans 

6 who use the Nation’s public transit systems is the 

7 responsibility of the Federal Government. 

8 (7) The Nation’s rail and public transit systems 

9 have identified $6,000,000,000 in critical security 

10 needs. 

11 (8) Authorized and proposed funding provided 

12 in the annual appropriations measures and the reau13 thorization of the Transportation Efficiency Act for 

14 the 21st Century for the capital and operating needs 

15 of transit systems cannot be used to address these 

16 critical security needs without severely reducing the 

17 level of service provided. 

18 SEC. 3. RAIL TRANSPORTATION SECURITY RISK ASSESS19 MENT. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

21 (1) VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT.—The Under 

22 Secretary of Homeland Security for Border and 

23 Transportation Security, in consultation with the 

24 Secretary of Transportation, shall complete a vulner25 ability assessment of freight and passenger rail 
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1 transportation (encompassing railroad carriers, as 

2 that term is defined in section 20102(2) of title 49, 

3 United States Code). The assessment shall include— 

4 (A) identification and evaluation of critical 

5 assets and infrastructures; 

6 (B) identification of threats to those assets 

7 and infrastructures; 

8 (C) identification of vulnerabilities that are 

9 specific to the transportation of hazardous ma10 terials via railroad; and 

11 (D) identification of security weaknesses in 

12 passenger and cargo security, transportation in13 frastructure, protection systems, procedural 

14 policies, communications systems, employee 

15 training, emergency response planning, and any 

16 other area identified by the assessment. 

17 (2) EXISTING PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR

18 EFFORTS.—The assessment shall take into account 

19 actions taken or planned by both public and private 

20 entities to address identified security issues and as21 sess the effective integration of such actions. 

22 (3) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Based on the assess23 ment conducted under paragraph (1), the Under 

24 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 

25 Transportation, shall develop prioritized rec-
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1 ommendations for improving rail security, including 

2 any recommendations the Under Secretary has for— 

3 (A) improving the security of rail tunnels, 

4 rail bridges, rail switching areas, other rail in5 frastructure and facilities, information systems, 

6 and other areas identified by the Under Sec7 retary as posing significant rail-related risks to 

8 public safety and the movement of interstate 

9 commerce, taking into account the impact that 

10 any proposed security measure might have on 

11 the provision of rail service; 

12 (B) deploying weapon detection equipment; 

13 (C) training employees in terrorism pre14 vention, passenger evacuation, and response ac15 tivities; 

16 (D) conducting public outreach campaigns 

17 on passenger railroads; 

18 (E) deploying surveillance equipment; and 

19 (F) identifying the immediate and long20 term economic impact of measures that may be 

21 required to address those risks. 

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

23 (c) shall include— 

24 (A) a plan, developed in consultation with 

25 the freight and intercity passenger railroads, 
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1 and State and local governments, for the Fed2 eral Government to provide increased security 

3 support at high or severe threat levels of alert; 

4 and 

5 (B) a plan for coordinating rail security 

6 initiatives undertaken by the public and private 

7 sectors. 

8 (b) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the assessment 

9 required by subsection (a), the Under Secretary of Home10 land Security for Border and Transportation Security 

11 shall consult with rail management, rail labor, owners or 

12 lessors of rail cars used to transport hazardous materials, 

13 shippers of hazardous materials, public safety officials (in14 cluding those within other agencies and offices within the 

15 Department of Homeland Security) and other relevant 

16 parties. 

17 (c) REPORT.— 

18 (1) CONTENTS.—Within 120 days after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary 

20 shall transmit to the Committee on Transportation 

21 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

22 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

23 Transportation of the Senate a report containing the 

24 assessment and prioritized recommendations re-
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1 quired by subsection (a) and an estimate of the cost 

2 to implement such recommendations. 

3 (2) FORMAT.—The Under Secretary may sub4 mit the report in both classified and redacted for5 mats if the Under Secretary determines that such 

6 action is appropriate or necessary. 

7 (d) ANNUAL UPDATES.—The Under Secretary, in 

8 consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall 

9 update the assessment and recommendations annually and 

10 transmit a report, which may be submitted in both classi11 fied and redacted formats, to the Committees named in 

12 subsection (c)(1), containing the updated assessment and 

13 recommendations. 

14 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are authorized to be appropriated to the Under Secretary 

16 of Homeland Security for Border and Transportation Se17 curity $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 for the purpose of 

18 carrying out this section. 

19 SEC. 4. RAIL SECURITY. 

20 (a) RAIL POLICE OFFICERS.— 

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

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

23 ‘‘§ 28101. Rail and State public transit police officers 

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

25 the Secretary of Transportation, a rail or public transit 
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1 system police officer who is employed by a rail carrier or 

2 a public transportation system and certified or commis3 sioned as a police officer under the laws of a State may 

4 enforce the laws of any jurisdiction in which the rail car5 rier or public transit system owns property or provides 

6 service, to the extent of the authority of a police officer 

7 certified or commissioned under the laws of that jurisdic8 tion, to protect— 

9 ‘‘(1) employees, passengers, or patrons of the 

10 rail carrier or public transit system; 

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

12 leased, operated, or maintained by the rail carrier or 

13 public transit system; 

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

15 commerce in the possession of the rail carrier or 

16 public transit system; and 

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

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

19 defense. 

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

21 transit’ has the meaning given that term by section 

22 5302(a) of this title.’’. 

23 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The 

24 item relating to section 28101 in the table of sec-
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1 tions for chapter 281 of title 49, United States 

2 Code, is amended to read as follows: 

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

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

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

5 Transportation, in consultation with the Under Secretary 

6 of Homeland Security for Border and Transportation Se7 curity, shall review existing rail regulations of the Depart8 ment of Transportation for the purpose of identifying 

9 areas in which those regulations need to be revised to im10 prove rail security. 

11 SEC. 5. STUDY OF FOREIGN RAIL TRANSPORT SECURITY 

12 PROGRAMS. 

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

14 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

15 General shall complete a study of the rail passenger trans16 portation security programs that are carried out for rail 

17 transportation systems in Japan, member nations of the 

18 European Union, and other foreign countries. 

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

20 identify effective rail transportation security measures 

21 that are in use in foreign rail transportation systems, in22 cluding innovative measures and screening procedures de23 termined effective. 

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

25 a report on the results of the study to the Committee on 
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1 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep2 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

3 and Transportation of the Senate. The report shall include 

4 the Comptroller General’s assessment regarding whether 

5 it is feasible to implement within the United States any 

6 of the same or similar security measures that are deter7 mined effective under the study. 

8 SEC. 6. PASSENGER, BAGGAGE, AND CARGO SCREENING. 

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

10 Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Border and 

11 Transportation Security, in cooperation with the Secretary 

12 of Transportation, shall— 

13 (1) analyze the cost and feasibility of requiring 

14 security screening for passengers, baggage, and mail 

15 on passenger trains; and 

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

17 with any recommendations that the Under Secretary 

18 may have for implementing a rail security screening 

19 program to the Committee on Transportation and 

20 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and 

21 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans22 portation of the Senate within 1 year after the date 

23 of enactment of this Act. 

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

25 subsection (a), the Under Secretary shall complete a pilot 
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1 program of random security screening of passengers and 

2 baggage at 5 passenger rail stations served by Amtrak se3 lected by the Under Secretary. In conducting the pilot pro4 gram, the Under Secretary shall— 

5 (1) test a wide range of explosives detection 

6 technologies, devices, and methods; 

7 (2) require that intercity rail passengers 

8 produce government-issued photographic identifica9 tion which matches the name on the passenger’s 

10 tickets prior to boarding trains; and 

11 (3) attempt to achieve a distribution of partici12 pating train stations in terms of geographic location, 

13 size, passenger volume, and whether the station is 

14 used by commuter rail passengers as well as Amtrak 

15 passengers. 

16 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated to the Under Secretary 

18 of Homeland Security for Border and Transportation Se19 curity to carry out this section $5,000,000 for fiscal year 

20 2006. 

21 SEC. 7. CERTAIN PERSONNEL LIMITATIONS NOT TO APPLY. 

22 Any statutory limitation on the number of employees 

23 in the Transportation Security Administration of the De24 partment of Transportation, before or after its transfer 

25 to the Department of Homeland Security, does not apply 
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1 to the extent that any such employees are responsible for 

2 implementing the provisions of this Act. 

3 SEC. 8. FIRE AND LIFE SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS. 

4 (a) LIFE SAFETY NEEDS.—The Secretary of Trans5 portation is authorized to make grants to Amtrak for the 

6 purpose of making fire and life-safety improvements to 

7 tunnels on the Northeast Corridor in New York, New 

8 York, Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, District of 

9 Columbia. 

10 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

12 Transportation for the purposes of carrying out subsection 

13 (a) the following amounts: 

14 (1) For the 6 New York tunnels to provide ven15 tilation, electrical, and fire safety technology up16 grades, emergency communication and lighting sys17 tems, and emergency access and egress for pas18 sengers— 

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

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

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

22 (D) $170,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

23 and 

24 (E) $170,000,000 for fiscal year 2010. 
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1 (2) For the Baltimore Potomac tunnel and the 

2 Union tunnel, together, to provide adequate drain3 age, ventilation, communication, lighting, and pas4 senger egress upgrades— 

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

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

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

8 (D) $17,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; and 

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

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

11 Union Station tunnels to improve ventilation, com12 munication, lighting, and passenger egress up13 grades— 

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

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

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

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

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

19 (c) INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES.—There are au20 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Transpor21 tation for fiscal year 2006 $3,000,000 for the preliminary 

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

23 to augment the capacity of the existing Baltimore tunnels. 
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1 (d) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS.— 

2 Amounts appropriated pursuant to this section shall re3 main available until expended. 

4 (e) PLAN REQUIRED.—The Secretary may not make 

5 amounts available to Amtrak for obligation or expenditure 

6 under subsection (a)— 

7 (1) until Amtrak has submitted to the Sec8 retary, and the Secretary has approved, an engineer9 ing and financial plan for such projects; and 

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

11 this section, the Secretary has approved a project 

12 management plan prepared by Amtrak addressing 

13 project budget, construction schedule, recipient staff 

14 organization, document control and record keeping, 

15 change order procedure, quality control and assur16 ance, periodic plan updates, periodic status reports, 

17 and such other matter the Secretary deems appro18 priate. 

19 SEC. 9. TRANSPORTATION SECURITY. 

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

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

22 Transportation and the Under Secretary of Homeland Se23 curity for Border and Transportation Security shall exe24 cute a memorandum of agreement governing the roles and 

25 responsibilities of the Department of Transportation and 
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1 the Department of Homeland Security, respectively, in ad2 dressing railroad transportation security matters, includ3 ing the processes the departments will follow to promote 

4 communications, efficiency, and nonduplication of effort. 

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

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

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

8 including security,’’. 

9 SEC. 10. INTELLIGENCE SHARING. 

10 (a) INTELLIGENCE SHARING.—The Secretary of 

11 Homeland Security shall ensure that the Department of 

12 Transportation receives appropriate and timely notifica13 tion of all credible terrorist threats against public trans14 portation assets in the United States. 

15 (b) INFORMATION SHARING ANALYSIS CENTER.— 

16 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Department of 

17 Homeland Security shall fund the reasonable costs 

18 of the Information Sharing and Analysis Center for 

19 Public Transportation (referred to in this subsection 

20 as the ‘‘ISAC’’) established pursuant to Presidential 

21 Directive 63 to protect critical infrastructure. 

22 (2) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AGENCY PARTICI23 PATION.—The Secretary of Homeland Security— 

24 (A) shall require those public transpor25 tation agencies that the Secretary determines to 
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1 be at significant risk of terrorist attack to par2 ticipate in the ISAC; 

3 (B) shall encourage all other public trans4 portation agencies to participate in the ISAC; 

5 and 

6 (C) shall not charge any public transpor7 tation agency a fee for participation in the 

8 ISAC. 

9 SEC. 11. RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND DEMONSTRA10 TION. 

11 (a) RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND DEMONSTRA12 TION GRANTS.— 

13 (1) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of 

14 Homeland Security, in consultation with the Federal 

15 Transit Administration, shall award grants to public 

16 or private entities to conduct research into, and 

17 demonstration of, technologies and methods to re18 duce and deter terrorist threats against public trans19 portation systems. 

20 (2) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants awarded under 

21 paragraph (1) may be used for— 

22 (A) researching chemical, biological, radio23 logical, or explosive detection systems that do 

24 not significantly impede passenger access; 

25 (B) researching imaging technologies; 
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1 (C) conducting product evaluations and 

2 testing; and 

3 (D) researching other technologies or 

4 methods for reducing or deterring terrorist at5 tacks against public transportation systems, or 

6 mitigating damage from such attacks. 

7 (3) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Each entity 

8 that receives a grant under this subsection shall re9 port annually to the Department of Homeland Secu10 rity on the use of grant funds received under this 

11 subsection. 

12 (4) RETURN OF MISSPENT GRANT FUNDS.—If 

13 the Secretary of Homeland Security determines that 

14 a grantee used any portion of the grant funds re15 ceived under this subsection for a purpose other 

16 than the allowable uses specified under paragraph 

17 (2), the grantee shall return any amount so used to 

18 the Treasury of the United States. 

19 (5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

20 There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

21 Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Border 

22 and Transportation Security $200,000,000 for fiscal 

23 year 2006 to carry out the purposes of this sub24 section. Amounts appropriated pursuant to this 

25 paragraph shall remain available until expended. 
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1 (b) RAIL SECURITY RESEARCH AND DEVELOP2 MENT.— 

3 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF RESEARCH AND DE4 VELOPMENT PROGRAM.—The Under Secretary of 

5 Homeland Security for Border and Transportation 

6 Security, in conjunction with the Secretary of Trans7 portation, shall carry out a research and develop8 ment program for the purpose of improving freight 

9 and intercity passenger rail security, including re10 search and development projects to— 

11 (A) reduce the vulnerability of passenger 

12 trains, stations, and equipment to explosives; 

13 (B) test new emergency response tech14 niques and technologies; 

15 (C) develop improved freight technologies, 

16 including— 

17 (i) technologies for sealing rail cars; 

18 (ii) automatic inspection of rail cars; 

19 (iii) communication-based train con20 trols; and 

21 (iv) emergency response training; 

22 (D) test wayside detectors that can detect 

23 tampering with railroad equipment; and 
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1 (E) support enhanced security for the 

2 transportation of hazardous materials by rail, 

3 including— 

4 (i) technologies to detect a breach in 

5 a tank car and transmit information about 

6 the integrity of tank cars to the train crew; 

7 (ii) research to improve tank car in8 tegrity, with a focus on tank cars that 

9 carry toxic-inhalation chemicals; and 

10 (iii) techniques to transfer hazardous 

11 materials from rail cars that are damaged 

12 or otherwise represent an unreasonable 

13 risk to human life or public safety. 

14 (2) COORDINATION WITH OTHER RESEARCH

15 INITIATIVES.—The Under Secretary of Homeland 

16 Security for Border and Transportation Security 

17 shall ensure that the research and development pro18 gram authorized by this subsection is coordinated 

19 with other research and development initiatives at 

20 the Department of Homeland Security and the De21 partment of Transportation. 

22 (3) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The Under Secretary of 

23 Homeland Security for Border and Transportation 

24 Security shall carry out any research and develop25 ment project authorized by this subsection through 
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1 a reimbursable agreement with the Secretary of 

2 Transportation if the Secretary of Transportation— 

3 (A) is already sponsoring a research and 

4 development project in a similar area; or 

5 (B) has a unique facility or capability that 

6 would be useful in carrying out the project. 

7 (4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

8 There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

9 Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Border 

10 and Transportation Security $50,000,000 for each 

11 of fiscal years 2006 and 2007 to carry out the pur12 poses of this subsection. Amounts appropriated pur13 suant to this paragraph shall remain available until 

14 expended. 

15 SEC. 12. AMTRAK PLAN TO ASSIST FAMILIES OF PAS16 SENGERS INVOLVED IN RAIL PASSENGER AC17 CIDENTS. 

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

19 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘§ 24316. Plans to address needs of families of pas22 sengers involved in rail passenger acci23 dents 

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

25 months after the date of the enactment of the Rail and 
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1 Public Transit Security Act of 2004, Amtrak shall submit 

2 to the Chairman of the National Transportation Safety 

3 Board a plan for addressing the needs of the families of 

4 passengers involved in any rail passenger accident involv5 ing an Amtrak intercity train and resulting in a loss of 

6 life. 

7 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—The plan to be sub8 mitted by Amtrak under subsection (a) shall include, at 

9 a minimum, the following: 

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

11 and provide to the National Transportation Safety 

12 Board, immediately upon request, a list (which is 

13 based on the best available information at the time 

14 of the request) of the names of the passengers 

15 aboard the train (whether or not such names have 

16 been verified), and will periodically update the list. 

17 The plan shall include a procedure, with respect to 

18 unreserved trains and passengers not holding res19 ervations on other trains, for Amtrak to use reason20 able efforts to ascertain the number and names of 

21 passengers aboard a train involved in an accident. 

22 ‘‘(2) A plan for creating and publicizing a reli23 able, toll-free telephone number within 4 hours after 

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

25 handle calls from the families of the passengers. 
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1 ‘‘(3) A process for notifying the families of the 

2 passengers, before providing any public notice of the 

3 names of the passengers, by suitably trained individ4 uals. 

5 ‘‘(4) A process for providing the notice de6 scribed in paragraph (3) to the family of a pas7 senger as soon as Amtrak has verified that the pas8 senger was aboard the train (whether or not the 

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

10 ‘‘(5) A process by which the family of each pas11 senger will be consulted about the disposition of all 

12 remains and personal effects of the passenger within 

13 Amtrak’s control; that any possession of the pas14 senger within Amtrak’s control will be returned to 

15 the family unless the possession is needed for the ac16 cident investigation or any criminal investigation; 

17 and that any unclaimed possession of a passenger 

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

19 passenger carrier for at least 18 months. 

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

21 families of nonrevenue passengers will be the same 

22 as the treatment of the families of revenue pas23 sengers. 

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

25 adequate training to its employees and agents to 
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1 meet the needs of survivors and family members fol2 lowing an accident. 

3 ‘‘(c) USE OF INFORMATION.—The National Trans4 portation Safety Board and Amtrak may not release to 

5 any person information on a list obtained under subsection 

6 (b)(1) but may provide information on the list about a 

7 passenger to the family of the passenger to the extent that 

8 the Board or Amtrak considers appropriate. 

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

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

11 or State court arising out of the performance of Amtrak 

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

13 information concerning a train reservation, pursuant to a 

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

15 such liability was caused by Amtrak’s conduct. 

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

17 Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the 

18 actions that Amtrak may take, or the obligations that Am19 trak may have, in providing assistance to the families of 

20 passengers involved in a rail passenger accident. 

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

22 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

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

24 year 2006 to carry out this section. Amounts appropriated 
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1 pursuant to this subsection shall remain available until ex2 pended.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal4 ysis for chapter 243 of title 49, United States Code, is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

6 SEC. 13. SYSTEMWIDE AMTRAK SECURITY UPGRADES. 

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

8 Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Border and 

9 Transportation Security is authorized to make grants, 

10 through the Secretary of Transportation, to Amtrak— 

11 (1) to secure major tunnel access points and en12 sure tunnel integrity in New York, Baltimore, and 

13 Washington, District of Columbia; 

14 (2) to secure Amtrak trains; 

15 (3) to secure Amtrak stations; 

16 (4) to obtain a watch list identification system 

17 approved by the Under Secretary; 

18 (5) to obtain train tracking and communica19 tions systems that are coordinated to the maximum 

20 extent possible; 

21 (6) to hire additional police and security offi22 cers, including canine units; and 

23 (7) to expand emergency preparedness efforts. 
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1 (b) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary of Transportation 

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

3 unless the projects are contained in a systemwide security 

4 plan approved by the Under Secretary, in consultation 

5 with the Secretary of Transportation, and meet the re6 quirements of section 8(e)(2). 

7 (c) EQUITABLE GEOGRAPHIC ALLOCATION.—The 

8 Secretary shall ensure that, subject to meeting the highest 

9 security needs on Amtrak’s entire system, stations and fa10 cilities located outside of the Northeast Corridor receive 

11 an equitable share of the security funds authorized by this 

12 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 $62,500,000 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. 14. 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, and, through the Secretary of Transpor2 tation, to Amtrak, for full or partial reimbursement of 

3 costs incurred in the conduct of activities to prevent or 

4 respond to acts of terrorism, sabotage, or other intercity 

5 passenger rail and freight rail security threats, includ6 ing— 

7 (1) security and redundancy for critical commu8 nications, computer, and train control systems essen9 tial for secure rail operations; 

10 (2) accommodation of cargo or passenger 

11 screening equipment at the United States-Mexico 

12 border or the United States-Canada border; 

13 (3) the security of hazardous material transpor14 tation by rail; 

15 (4) secure intercity passenger rail stations, 

16 trains, and infrastructure; 

17 (5) structural modification or replacement of 

18 pressurized tank cars to improve their resistance to 

19 acts of terrorism; 

20 (6) employee security awareness, preparedness, 

21 passenger evacuation, and emergency response train22 ing; 

23 (7) public security awareness campaigns for 

24 passenger train operations; and 
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1 (8) other improvements recommended by the re2 port required by section 3, including infrastructure, 

3 facilities, and equipment upgrades. 

4 (b) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The Under Secretary shall 

5 adopt necessary procedures, including audits, to ensure 

6 that grants made under this section are expended in ac7 cordance with the purposes of this Act and the priorities 

8 and other criteria developed by the Under Secretary. 

9 (c) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary of Transportation 

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

11 unless Amtrak meets the conditions set forth in section 

12 11(a)(2) of this Act. 

13 (d) TANK CAR REPLACEMENT INCENTIVE.—A grant 

14 under subsection (a)(5) may be for up to 15 percent of 

15 the cost of the modification or replacement of a pressur16 ized tank car. 

17 (e) ALLOCATION BETWEEN RAILROADS AND OTH18 ERS.—Unless as a result of the assessment required by 

19 section 3 the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for 

20 Border and Transportation Security determines that crit21 ical rail transportation security needs require reimburse22 ment in greater amounts to any eligible entity, no grants 

23 under this section may be made— 

24 (1) in excess of $65,000,000 to Amtrak; or 
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1 (2) in excess of $100,000,000 for the purposes 

2 described in paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection 

3 (a). 

4 (f) PROCEDURES FOR GRANT AWARD.—The Under 

5 Secretary shall prescribe procedures and schedules for the 

6 awarding of grants under this section, including applica7 tion and qualification procedures (including a requirement 

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

9 decision on applicant eligibility. The procedures shall in10 clude the execution of a grant agreement between the 

11 grant recipient and the Under Secretary. The Under Sec12 retary shall issue a final rule establishing the procedures 

13 not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this 

14 Act. 

15 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

16 are authorized to be appropriated to the Under Secretary 

17 of Homeland Security for Border and Transportation Se18 curity $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 to carry out the 

19 purposes of this section. Amounts appropriated pursuant 

20 to this subsection shall remain available until expended. 

21 SEC. 15. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION OVERSIGHT. 

22 (a) SECRETARIAL OVERSIGHT.—The Secretary of 

23 Transportation may use up to 0.5 percent of amounts ap24 propriated for Amtrak for capital projects under this Act 

25 to enter into contracts for the review of proposed capital 
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1 projects and related program management plans and to 

2 oversee construction of such projects. 

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

4 amounts available under subsection (a) of this subsection 

5 to make contracts for safety, procurement, management, 

6 and financial compliance reviews and audits of a recipient 

7 of amounts under subsection (a). 

8 SEC. 16. WELDED RAIL AND TANK CAR SAFETY IMPROVE9 MENTS. 

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

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Railroad Ad12 ministration shall— 

13 (1) require each railroad using continuous weld14 ed rail track to include procedures (in its program 

15 filed with the Administration) that improve the iden16 tification of cracks in rail joint bars; 

17 (2) instruct Administration track inspectors to 

18 obtain copies of the most recent continuous welded 

19 rail programs of each railroad within the inspectors’ 

20 areas of responsibility and require that inspectors 

21 use those programs when conducting track inspec22 tions; and 

23 (3) establish a program to periodically review 

24 continuous welded rail joint bar inspection data from 

25 railroads and Administration track inspectors and, 
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1 whenever the Administration determines that it is 

2 necessary or appropriate, require railroads to in3 crease the frequency or improve the methods of in4 spection of joint bars in continuous welded rail. 

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

6 Administration shall— 

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

8 of this Act, validate the predictive model it is devel9 oping to quantify the maximum dynamic forces act10 ing on railroad tank cars under accident conditions; 

11 and 

12 (2) within 18 months after the date of enact13 ment of this Act, initiate a rulemaking to develop 

14 and implement appropriate design standards for 

15 pressurized tank cars. 

16 (c) OLDER TANK CAR IMPACT RESISTANCE ANAL17 YSIS AND REPORT.—Within 2 years after the date of en18 actment of this Act, the Federal Railroad Administration, 

19 in coordination with the National Transportation Safety 

20 Board, shall— 

21 (1) conduct a comprehensive analysis to deter22 mine the impact resistance of the steels in the shells 

23 of pressure tank cars constructed before 1989; and 

24 (2) transmit a report to the Committee on 

25 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
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1 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

2 Science, and Transportation of the Senate with rec3 ommendations for measures to eliminate or mitigate 

4 the risk of catastrophic failure. 

5 SEC. 17. NORTHERN BORDER RAIL PASSENGER REPORT. 

6 Within 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

7 Act, the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Bor8 der and Transportation Security, in consultation with the 

9 heads of other appropriate Federal departments and agen10 cies and Amtrak, shall transmit a report to the Committee 

11 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

12 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

13 Science, and Transportation of the Senate that contains— 

14 (1) a description of the current system for 

15 screening passengers and baggage on passenger rail 

16 service between the United States and Canada; 

17 (2) an assessment of the current program to 

18 provide preclearance of airline passengers between 

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

20 Agreement on Air Transport Preclearance between 

21 the Government of Canada and the Government of 

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

23 2001; 

24 (3) an assessment of the current program to 

25 provide preclearance of freight railroad traffic be-
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1 tween the United States and Canada as outlined in 

2 the ‘‘Declaration of Principle for the Improved Secu3 rity of Rail Shipments by Canadian National Rail4 way and Canadian Pacific Railway from Canada to 

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

6 (4) information on progress by the Department 

7 of Homeland Security and other Federal agencies to8 wards finalizing a bilateral protocol with Canada 

9 that would provide for preclearance of passengers on 

10 trains operating between the United States and Can11 ada; 

12 (5) a description of legislative, regulatory, 

13 budgetary, or policy barriers within the United 

14 States Government to providing prescreened pas15 senger lists for rail passengers travelling between the 

16 United States and Canada to the Department of 

17 Homeland Security; 

18 (6) a description of the position of the Govern19 ment of Canada and relevant Canadian agencies 

20 with respect to preclearance of such passengers; and 

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

22 law necessary to provide for prescreening of such 

23 passengers and providing prescreened passenger lists 

24 to the Department of Homeland Security. 
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1 SEC. 18. MASS TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM SECURITY IM2 PROVEMENTS. 

3 (a) GRANT PROGRAMS.—The Under Secretary of 

4 Homeland Security for Border and Transportation Secu5 rity may make operating grants under subsection (e) and 

6 capital grants under subsection (f). 

7 (b) CONSISTENCY WITH ASSESSMENT.—The Under 

8 Secretary shall require that all operating grants made 

9 under subsection (e) and capital grants made under sub10 section (f) shall be consistent with the most recent find11 ings and recommendations of the Federal Transit Admin12 istration criticality and vulnerability assessments. 

13 (c) PROCEDURES FOR GRANT AWARDS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 

15 establish procedures, schedules, and requirements 

16 for making grants under this section, including ap17 plication and qualification procedures. 

18 (2) AGREEMENTS.—Except as provided in sub19 section (f)(3)(D), the procedures shall include the 

20 execution of a grant agreement between the grant 

21 recipient and the Under Secretary. 

22 (3) FINAL RULE.—The Under Secretary shall 

23 issue a final rule establishing the procedures not 

24 later than 90 days after the date of enactment of 

25 this Act. 
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1 (d) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The Under 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 section and the prior5 ities and other criteria developed by the Under Secretary. 

6 (e) SECURITY IMPROVEMENT OPERATING GRANTS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary may 

8 make operating grants to eligible transit agencies to 

9 prevent or respond to threats or acts of terrorism, 

10 including— 

11 (A) sabotage, hijackings, and hostage situ12 ations; 

13 (B) seizure and control of communications, 

14 signal, power and systems control infrastruc15 ture; 

16 (C) chemical, biological, radiological, nu17 clear, or explosive device attacks; or 

18 (D) other security threats. 

19 (2) PREVENTION AND RESPONSE.—Prevention 

20 and response measures referred to in paragraph (1) 

21 may include— 

22 (A) increased transit police and security 

23 personnel, deployment expenses including over24 time, training, K–9 units, and helicopter pa25 trols; 
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1 (B) inter-operable communications systems 

2 between and within transit agencies, local gov3 ernmental agencies, state governmental agen4 cies, and other transit systems and railroads; 

5 (C) operational redundancy and increased 

6 protection for critical communications, com7 puter, and train control systems, assets and in8 frastructure essential for public transit oper9 ations; 

10 (D) increased security for light rail, heavy 

11 rail and bus stations, rights of way, mainte12 nance and storage facilities, trains, grade cross13 ings, critical locations, and other assets and in14 frastructure; 

15 (E) increased employee security prepared16 ness through training on observing and report17 ing suspicious activities and objects, passenger 

18 evacuation, and emergency response procedures; 

19 (F) public security awareness campaigns 

20 for public transit passengers; and 

21 (G) other improvements indicated by cur22 rent best practices and technological innova23 tions, risk response, needs, capabilities and sys24 tem security assessments. 
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1 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS AND

2 APPORTIONMENTS.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to 

4 be appropriated to the Secretary of Homeland 

5 Security, for use by the Under Secretary, to 

6 carry out of this subsection $800,000,000 for 

7 each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010. 

8 (B) APPORTIONMENT.—Except as provided 

9 in subparagraph (C), of the funds made avail10 able under subparagraph (A)— 

11 (i) 80 percent shall be apportioned to 

12 each eligible transit agency (as defined in 

13 subsection (g)(1)) in an amount equal to 

14 the total apportioned under this subsection 

15 for a fiscal year multiplied by the ratio 

16 equal to the annual passenger miles of the 

17 eligible transit agency divided by the total 

18 passenger miles of all eligible transit agen19 cies; and 

20 (ii) 20 percent shall be apportioned to 

21 each eligible transit agency in an amount 

22 equal to the total apportioned under this 

23 subsection for a fiscal year multiplied by 

24 the ratio equal to the annual fixed guide25 way miles of the eligible transit agency di-
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1 vided by the total passenger fixed guideway 

2 miles of all eligible transit agencies. 

3 (C) LIMITATION.—No eligible transit agen4 cy may receive more than 10 percent of the cur5 rent fiscal year’s appropriation in a fiscal year, 

6 excluding high priority projects described in 

7 subsection (f) or, at the discretion of the Under 

8 Secretary, if an elevated threat (red) level re9 quires extreme deployment of personnel or 

10 equipment. 

11 (f) SECURITY IMPROVEMENT CAPITAL GRANTS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary may 

13 make capital grants to eligible transit agencies to 

14 prevent or respond to threats or acts of terrorism, 

15 including— 

16 (A) sabotage, hijackings, and hostage situ17 ations; 

18 (B) seizure and control of communications, 

19 signal, power and systems control infrastruc20 ture; 

21 (C) chemical, biological, radiological, nu22 clear or explosive device attacks; or 

23 (D) other security threats. 
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1 (2) PREVENTION AND RESPONSE.—Prevention 

2 and response measures referred to in paragraph (1) 

3 may include— 

4 (A) operational redundancy and increased 

5 protection for critical communications, com6 puter, and train control systems assets and 

7 other infrastructure essential for public transit 

8 operations; 

9 (B) security surveillance equipment for 

10 trains, light rail, buses, stations, tunnels, 

11 bridges, control centers, maintenance and stor12 age facilities, grade crossings, and other critical 

13 locations and infrastructure; 

14 (C) train, light rail, and bus tracking Glob15 al Positioning System; 

16 (D) protection and detection equipment for 

17 biological, chemical, radiological, nuclear, and 

18 explosive device threats; 

19 (E) modifications to stations, depots, 

20 trains, rights of way, maintenance and storage 

21 facilities, light rail, buses, and other assets and 

22 infrastructure to increase security prevention 

23 measures and improve emergency response ef24 forts; and 
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1 (F) other improvements indicated by cur2 rent best practices and technological innovation, 

3 risk response, needs capabilities and system se4 curity assessments. 

5 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to 

7 be appropriated to the Secretary of Homeland 

8 Security, for use by the Under Secretary, to 

9 carry out this subsection $1,040,000,000 for 

10 each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010. 

11 (B) SET ASIDE FOR CRITICAL HIGH RISK

12 LOCATIONS.—Of the funds made available 

13 under subparagraph (A), the Under Secretary 

14 shall make available to eligible transit agencies 

15 not more than 20 percent of that fiscal year’s 

16 appropriation for high priority discretionary 

17 grants (determined by the Under Secretary of 

18 Homeland Defense in consultation with the Ad19 ministrator of the Federal Transit Administra20 tion) based on a threat-based risk management 

21 analysis in which assessment for criticality, 

22 threat, vulnerability, impact and risk are con23 sidered. 

24 (C) REQUIREMENTS.—The Under Sec25 retary shall make a grant under subparagraph 
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1 (B) only if there is a specific, recognized, or 

2 identified threat to an area that— 

3 (i) has been targeted, 

4 (ii) has the potential to be targeted, 

5 or 

6 (iii) is in the national interest. 

7 (D) AWARDS.—An eligible transit agency 

8 may apply for a grant under subparagraph (B) 

9 for a specific project or the Secretary may 

10 make an award, without an application being 

11 submitted, based on the national interest. 

12 (E) APPORTIONMENT.—Except as provided 

13 in subparagraph (F), of the funds that remain 

14 after the set aside under subparagraph (B)— 

15 (i) 80 percent shall be apportioned to 

16 each eligible transit agency in an amount 

17 equal to the total apportioned under this 

18 subsection for a fiscal year multiplied by 

19 the ratio equal to the annual passenger 

20 miles of the eligible transit agency divided 

21 by the total passenger miles of all eligible 

22 transit agencies; and 

23 (ii) 20 percent shall be apportioned to 

24 each eligible transit agency in an amount 

25 equal to the total apportioned under this 
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1 subsection for a fiscal year multiplied by 

2 the ratio equal to the annual fixed guide3 way miles of the eligible transit agency di4 vided by the total passenger fixed guideway 

5 miles of all eligible transit agencies. 

6 (F) LIMITATION.—No eligible transit agen7 cy may receive more than 10 percent of the 

8 amount made available under subparagraph (A) 

9 in a fiscal year, excluding high priority projects 

10 described in subparagraph (B) or, at the discre11 tion of the Under Secretary, if an elevated 

12 threat (red) level requires extreme deployment 

13 of personnel or equipment. 

14 (g) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section the 

15 following definitions shall apply: 

16 (1) ELIGIBLE TRANSIT AGENCY.—The term ‘‘el17 igible transit agency’’ means a designated recipient 

18 of public transit assistance as defined under section 

19 5307(a)(2) of title 49, United States Code, serving 

20 an urbanized area. 

21 (2) MASS TRANSPORTATION.—The term ‘‘public 

22 transit’’ has the same meaning as such term has in 

23 section 5302(a) of title 49, United States Code. 
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1 (3) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under 

2 Secretary’’ means the Under Secretary of Homeland 

3 Security for Border and Transportation Security. 

Æ