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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 136 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 136

To expand the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium to include the 
                   Transportation Technology Center.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 4, 2007

  Mr. Allard introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To expand the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium to include the 
                   Transportation Technology Center.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Domestic Preparedness 
Consortium Expansion Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the Transportation Technology Center is a federally-
        owned multi-modal testing and training facility in Pueblo, 
        Colorado;
            (2) this unique facility offers a significant opportunity 
        to enhance technology and training that will improve the 
        ability of the Nation to prevent, minimize, and respond to 
        potential terrorist attacks similar to those which recently 
        occurred in London and Madrid;
            (3) the distinctive environment of the Transportation 
        Technology Center allows testing and training activities to be 
        carried out at a remote Colorado location without disruption to 
        the flow of passenger and rail traffic in and around urban 
        areas;
            (4) the Emergency Response Training Center was established 
        in 1985 at the Transportation Technology Center to instruct the 
        transportation industry, chemical shippers, fire departments, 
        emergency responders, and police services how to respond to 
        hazardous materials incidents safely and effectively;
            (5) the Emergency Response Training Center is regarded as 
        the unofficial ``graduate school'' of hazardous materials 
        training because of the focus on hands-on, true to life, 
        training exercises on actual rail vehicles, including tank cars 
        and passenger rail cars;
            (6) the Emergency Response Training Center is uniquely 
        positioned to teach emergency response for railway-related 
        emergencies with 69 railway freight cars, 15 railroad passenger 
        cars, 25 highway cargo tanks, van trailers, and intermodal 
        containers, and computer work stations equipped with the latest 
        emergency response software;
            (7) the Passenger Railcar Security and Integrity Training 
        Facility is currently being developed at Transportation 
        Technology Center to test various inspection, response, and 
        remediation techniques effectiveness for mitigation to 
        incidents involving passenger railcars;
            (8) this facility focuses on chemical, biological, 
        radiological, nuclear, or explosive incidents and other 
        activities associated with potential terrorist events;
            (9) this public private partnership facility offers a well-
        established infrastructure, a host of emergency preparedness 
        training experts, and the support of the American Public 
        Transit Association, the Association of American Railroads, the 
        Federal Railroad Administration, the Federal Transit Authority, 
        and the Colorado Senate;
            (10) railroad tunnels and underground stations have been 
        identified as particularly high-risk targets for terrorists 
        because of the potential for large passenger volumes, confined 
        spaces, relatively unrestricted access, and the possibility for 
        network disruptions with significant economic, political and 
        social impact;
            (11) security experts have identified a number of 
        technology and training needs to prevent attacks on tunnels and 
        to mitigate and remediate the consequences of such attacks, 
        including detection systems, dispersal control, and 
        decontamination techniques; and
            (12) the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium does not 
        currently include a facility that is uniquely focused on 
        emergency preparedness within the railroad and mass transit 
        environment.

SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF THE NATIONAL DOMESTIC PREPAREDNESS CONSORTIUM.

    The National Domestic Preparedness Consortium shall include the 
Transportation Technology Center located in Pueblo, Colorado.
                                 <all>
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