110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1401

AN ACT

To improve the security of railroads, public transportation, 

and over-the-road buses in the United States, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Rail and Public Transportation Security Act of 2007’’. 

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

5 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. No preemption of State law. 

TITLE I—RAIL AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SECURITY 

Sec. 101. National strategy for rail and public transportation security. 

Sec. 102. Assignment of providers of covered transportation to risk-based tiers. 

Sec. 103. Rail and public transportation assessments and plans. 

Sec. 104. Information sharing plan. 

Sec. 105. Rail security assistance. 

Sec. 106. Public transportation security assistance. 

Sec. 107. Over-the-road bus security assistance. 

Sec. 108. Fire and life safety improvements. 

Sec. 109. Security training program. 

Sec. 110. Security exercises. 

Sec. 111. Security research and development. 

Sec. 112. Whistleblower protections. 

Sec. 113. Increase in surface transportation security inspectors. 

Sec. 114. National domestic preparedness consortium. 

Sec. 115. Authorization of Visible Intermodal Protection Response Teams. 

Sec. 116. National Transportation Security Center of Excellence. 

Sec. 117. TSA personnel limitations. 

Sec. 118. Homeland security grants. 

Sec. 119. Threat assessment screening. 

Sec. 120. Background checks for covered individuals. 

Sec. 121. Task force on disqualifying crimes. 

Sec. 122. Penalties. 

Sec. 123. School bus transportation security. 

Sec. 124. Enhanced security measures for shipments of security sensitive materials. 

Sec. 125. Technology standards and clearinghouse to improve security of covered transportation. 

Sec. 126. Rail tank car security testing. 

Sec. 127. Rail radiological and nuclear detection. 

Sec. 128. Requirement to provide preference to qualified anti-terrorism technologies. 

Sec. 129. Promoting liability protections for providers of covered transportation 

and related technologies. 

Sec. 130. International rail security program. 

Sec. 131. Terrorist watchlist and immigration status review at high-risk transportation sites. 

Sec. 132. Review of grant-making efficiency. 

Sec. 133. Roles of the Department of Homeland Security and the Department 

of Transportation. 
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Sec. 134. Assessment and report. 

Sec. 135. Study of foreign rail security practices. 

Sec. 136. Alternative material sources. 

Sec. 137. Immunity for reporting suspicious activities and mitigating terrorist 

threats relating to transportation security. 

TITLE II—SECURE TRANSPORTATION THROUGH INCREASED USE 

OF CANINE DETECTION TEAMS 

Sec. 201. Increasing the number of canine detection teams for transportation 

security. 

Sec. 202. National explosives detection canine team program increase. 

Sec. 203. Transportation security administration breeding program increase.

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

3 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT4 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com5 mittees’’ has the meaning that term has in section 

6 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 

7 101) and includes the Committees on Homeland Se8 curity and Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

9 House of Representatives and the Committees on 

10 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and 

11 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen12 ate. 

13 (2) APPROPRIATE STAKEHOLDERS.—The term 

14 ‘‘appropriate stakeholders’’ means—

15 (A) providers of covered transportation; 

16 (B) organizations representing providers of 

17 covered transportation; 
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1 (C) nonprofit employee labor organizations 

2 representing railroad, public transportation, or 

3 over-the-road bus workers; 

4 (D) shippers of hazardous material; 

5 (E) manufacturers of railroad cars, public 

6 transportation cars and buses, and over-the7 road buses; 

8 (F) State departments of transportation, 

9 regional agencies, and metropolitan planning 

10 organizations; 

11 (G) public safety officials; 

12 (H) law enforcement and fire service offi13 cials; and 

14 (I) other relevant persons. 

15 (3) COVERED TRANSPORTATION.—The term 

16 ‘‘covered transportation’’ means transportation pro17 vided by a railroad carrier, a provider of public 

18 transportation, or an over-the-road bus. 

19 (4) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

20 means the Department of Homeland Security. 

21 (5) DESIGNATED RECIPIENT.—The term ‘‘des22 ignated recipient’’ has the meaning that the term 

23 has in section 5307(a) of title 49, United States 

24 Code. 
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1 (6) PROVIDER OF COVERED TRANSPOR2 TATION.—The term ‘‘provider of covered transpor3 tation’’ means—

4 (A) with respect to transportation provided 

5 by a railroad carrier, the railroad carrier; 

6 (B) with respect to public transportation, 

7 the designated recipient; and 

8 (C) with respect to transportation provided 

9 by an over-the-road bus, the private operator. 

10 (7) OVER-THE-ROAD BUS.—The term ‘‘over-the11 road bus’’ means a bus characterized by an elevated 

12 passenger deck located over a baggage compartment. 

13 (8) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.—The term 

14 ‘‘public transportation’’ has the meaning that term 

15 has in section 5302(a) of title 49, United States 

16 Code. 

17 (9) RAILROAD.—The term ‘‘railroad’’ has the 

18 meaning that term has in section 20102 of title 49, 

19 United States Code. 

20 (10) RAILROAD CARRIER.—The term ‘‘railroad 

21 carrier’’ has the meaning that term has in section 

22 20102 of title 49, United States Code. 

23 (11) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

24 means the Secretary of Homeland Security. 
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1 (12) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any one 

2 of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto 

3 Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Is4 lands, Guam, American Samoa, and any other terri5 tory or possession of the United States. 

6 (13) TERRORISM.—The term ‘‘terrorism’’ has 

7 the meaning that term has in section 2 of the Home8 land Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101). 

9 (14) TRANSPORTATION.—The term ‘‘transpor10 tation’’, as used with respect to an over-the-road11 bus, means the movement of passengers or property 

12 by an over-the-road-bus—

13 (A) in the jurisdiction of the United States 

14 between a place in a State and a place outside 

15 the State (including a place outside the United 

16 States); or 

17 (B) in a State that affects trade, traffic, 

18 and transportation described in subparagraph 

19 (A). 

20 (15) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United 

21 States’’ means the 50 States, the District of Colum22 bia, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the 

23 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and any 

24 other territory or possession of the United States. 
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1 SEC. 3. NO PREEMPTION OF STATE LAW. 

2 (a) NO PREEMPTION OF STATE LAW.—Nothing in 

3 section 20106 of title 49, United States Code, preempts 

4 a State cause of action, or any damages recoverable in 

5 such an action, including negligence, recklessness, and in6 tentional misconduct claims, unless compliance with State 

7 law would make compliance with Federal requirements im8 possible. Nothing in section 20106 of title 49, United 

9 States Code, confers Federal jurisdiction of a question for 

10 such a cause of action. 

11 (b) SECRETARIAL POWER.—Section 20106 of title 

12 49, United States Code, preempts only positive laws, regu13 lations, or orders by executive or legislative branch offi14 cials that expressly address railroad safety or security. 

15 The Secretary and the Secretary of Transportation have 

16 the power to preempt such positive enactments by sub17 stantially subsuming the same subject matter, pursuant 

18 to proper administrative procedures. 

19 TITLE I—RAIL AND PUBLIC 

20 TRANSPORTATION SECURITY 

21 SEC. 101. NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR RAIL AND PUBLIC 

22 TRANSPORTATION SECURITY. 

23 (a) MODAL PLAN.—Not later than 6 months after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall de25 velop and implement the modal plan for covered transpor26 tation as required by section 114(t)(1)(B) of title 49, 
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1 United States Code. The modal plan shall be entitled the 

2 ‘‘National Strategy for Rail and Public Transportation Se3 curity’’ and shall include, at a minimum—

4 (1) a description of the roles, responsibilities, 

5 and authorities of Federal, State, and local agencies, 

6 government sponsored entities, tribal governments, 

7 and appropriate stakeholders under the plan; 

8 (2) identification of, and a plan to address, 

9 gaps and unnecessary overlaps in the roles, respon10 sibilities, and authorities described in paragraph (1); 

11 (3) a methodology for how the Department will 

12 work with the entities described in paragraph (1), 

13 and make use of existing Federal expertise within 

14 the Department, the Department of Transportation, 

15 and other appropriate agencies; 

16 (4) a process for providing security clearances 

17 to facilitate intelligence and information sharing 

18 with the entities described in paragraph (1); 

19 (5) a description of—

20 (A) how the Department has reviewed ter21 rorist attacks on covered transportation 

22 throughout the world in the last 25 years; 

23 (B) the lessons learned from those reviews; 

24 and 
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1 (C) how those lessons are being used in 

2 current and future efforts to secure covered 

3 transportation; 

4 (6) a strategy and timeline for the Department, 

5 the Department of Transportation, other appro6 priate Federal agencies and private entities to re7 search and develop new technologies for securing 

8 covered transportation; 

9 (7) measurable goals, including objectives, 

10 mechanisms, and a schedule for enhancing the secu11 rity of covered transportation; 

12 (8) a framework for resuming the operation of 

13 covered transportation in the event of an act of ter14 rorism and prioritizing resumption of such oper15 ations; 

16 (9) a description of current and future public 

17 outreach and educational initiatives designed to in18 form the public on how to prevent, prepare for, re19 spond to, and recover from a terrorist attack on cov20 ered transportation; and 

21 (10) a process for coordinating covered trans22 portation security strategies and plans, including the 

23 National Infrastructure Protection Plan required by 

24 Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7; Execu25 tive Order: Strengthening Surface Transportation 
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1 Security dated December 5, 2006; the Memorandum 

2 of Understanding between the Department and the 

3 Department of Transportation on Roles and Respon4 sibilities dated September 28, 2004; the Annex to 

5 the Memorandum of Understanding between the De6 partment and the Department of Transportation on 

7 Roles and Responsibilities concerning railroad secu8 rity dated September 28, 2006, and the Annex to 

9 the Memorandum of Understanding between the De10 partment and the Department of Transportation on 

11 Roles and Responsibilities concerning Public Trans12 portation Security dated September 8, 2005. 

13 (b) ADEQUACY OF EXISTING PLANS AND STRATE14 GIES.—Nothing in this section shall prevent the Secretary 

15 from using existing plans and strategies, including those 

16 developed or implemented pursuant to section 114(t) of 

17 title 49, United States Code, or Homeland Security Presi18 dential Directive–7, in meeting the requirements of sub19 section (a). 

20 SEC. 102. ASSIGNMENT OF PROVIDERS OF COVERED 

21 TRANSPORTATION TO RISK-BASED TIERS. 

22 (a) ASSIGNMENT.—The Secretary shall assign each 

23 provider of covered transportation to one of the not less 

24 than three risk-based tiers established by the Secretary. 
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1 (b) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary 

2 may request, and the provider of covered transportation 

3 shall provide, information necessary for the Secretary to 

4 assign a provider of covered transportation to the appro5 priate tier under subsection (a). 

6 (c) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 60 days after the 

7 date a provider of covered transportation is assigned to 

8 a tier under this section, the Secretary shall notify the 

9 provider of the tier to which the provider is assigned and 

10 the reasons for such assignment. 

11 (d) HIGH- AND MEDIUM-RISK TIERS.—At least two 

12 of the tiers established by the Secretary under this section 

13 shall be tiers designated for high- and medium-risk pro14 viders of covered transportation. 

15 SEC. 103. RAIL AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ASSESS16 MENTS AND PLANS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months after 

18 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 

19 regulations that—

20 (1) require each provider of covered transpor21 tation assigned to a high- or medium-risk tier under 

22 section 102—

23 (A) to conduct a vulnerability assessment 

24 in accordance with subsections (b) and (c); and 
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1 (B) to prepare, submit to the Secretary for 

2 approval, and implement a security plan in ac3 cordance with this section that addresses secu4 rity performance requirements under subsection 

5 (f); and 

6 (2) establish standards, and guidelines for vul7 nerability assessments under subsection (c) and se8 curity plans under subsection (d) and for developing 

9 and implementing such security plans. 

10 (3) establish a security program for providers of 

11 covered transportation not assigned to a high or me12 dium-risk tier under section 102, including a process 

13 for providers to conduct vulnerability assessments 

14 and prepare and implement security plans, as deter15 mined appropriate by the Secretary. 

16 (b) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION.—Not later than 6 

17 months after the date of issuance of the regulations under 

18 subsection (a), the vulnerability assessments and security 

19 plans required by such regulations for a provider of cov20 ered transportation assigned to a high- or medium-risk 

21 tier shall be completed and submitted to the Secretary for 

22 review and approval. 

23 (c) VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENTS.—

24 (1) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall pro25 vide technical assistance and guidance to providers 
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1 of covered transportation in conducting vulnerability 

2 assessments under this section and shall require that 

3 each vulnerability assessment of a provider of cov4 ered transportation assigned to a high- or medium5 risk tier under section 102 include, at a minimum—

6 (A) identification and evaluation of critical 

7 covered transportation assets and infrastruc8 tures of the provider, including platforms, sta9 tions, bus and intermodal terminals, tunnels, 

10 bridges, switching and storage areas, and infor11 mation systems; 

12 (B) identification of the threats to those 

13 assets and infrastructures; 

14 (C) identification of the security weak15 nesses of the covered transportation in—

16 (i) physical security; 

17 (ii) passenger and cargo security; 

18 (iii) programmable electronic devices, 

19 computers, or other automated systems 

20 which are used in providing the transpor21 tation; 

22 (iv) alarms, cameras, and other pro23 tection systems; 

24 (v) communications systems, including 

25 dispatching services and mobile service 
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1 equipment systems, to provide access to 

2 emergency services in underground fixed 

3 guideway systems; 

4 (vi) utilities; 

5 (vii) emergency response planning; 

6 (viii) employee training; and 

7 (ix) such other matters as the Sec8 retary determines appropriate; and 

9 (D) identification of redundant and backup 

10 systems required to ensure the continued oper11 ations of critical elements of the covered trans12 portation in the event of an attack or other in13 cident, including disruption of commercial elec14 tric power or communications network. 

15 (2) THREAT INFORMATION.—A provider of cov16 ered transportation conducting a vulnerability as17 sessment under this section shall incorporate in the 

18 assessment any threat information provided by the 

19 Secretary and other sources. 

20 (d) SECURITY PLANS.—

21 (1) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall pro22 vide technical assistance and guidance to providers 

23 of covered transportation in preparing and imple24 menting security plans under this section and shall 

25 require that each security plan of each provider of 
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1 covered transportation assigned a high- or medium2 risk under section 102 include, at a minimum—

3 (A) identification of a security coordinator 

4 having authority—

5 (i) to implement security actions 

6 under the plan; 

7 (ii) to coordinate security improve8 ments described in sections 105, 106, and 

9 107; and 

10 (iii) to receive immediate communica11 tions from appropriate Federal officials re12 garding covered transportation security; 

13 (B) plans for periodic exercises under sec14 tion 110 that include participation by local law 

15 enforcement agencies and emergency responders 

16 as appropriate; 

17 (C) a list of needed capital and operational 

18 improvements such as those described in sec19 tions 105, 106, and 107; 

20 (D) procedures to be implemented or used 

21 by the provider in response to a terrorist at22 tack, including evacuation and passenger com23 munication plans that include individuals with 

24 disabilities; 
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1 (E) identification of steps taken with State 

2 and local law enforcement agencies, emergency 

3 responders, and Federal officials to coordinate 

4 security measures and plans for response to a 

5 terrorist attack; 

6 (F) a strategy and timeline for conducting 

7 training under section 109, including recurrent 

8 training and periodic unannounced exercises for 

9 employees of the provider to be carried out 

10 under the plan to prevent, prepare for, or re11 spond to a terrorist attack; 

12 (G) enhanced security measures to be 

13 taken by the provider when the Secretary de14 clares a period of heightened security risk; 

15 (H) plans for redundant and backup sys16 tems required to ensure the continued operation 

17 of critical covered transportation elements of 

18 the provider in the event of a terrorist attack 

19 or other incident; 

20 (I) plans for locating, including by covert 

21 electronic devices, shipments of railroad cars 

22 transporting security sensitive materials or nu23 clear waste so that, if the assets are lost or sto24 len, the provider or law enforcement authorities 

25 may locate, track, and recover the assets; 
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1 (J) a strategy for implementing enhanced 

2 security for shipments of security sensitive ma3 terials under section 124; and 

4 (K) such other actions or procedures as 

5 the Secretary determines are appropriate to ad6 dress the covered transportation security of the 

7 provider to a terrorist attack. 

8 (2) SECURITY COORDINATOR REQUIREMENTS.—

9 The Secretary shall require that the individual serv10 ing as the security coordinator identified in para11 graph (1)(A) is a citizen of the United States. The 

12 Secretary may waive this requirement with respect 

13 to an individual if the Secretary determines that it 

14 is appropriate to do so based on a background check 

15 of the individual and a review of terrorist watch lists 

16 to ensure that the individual is not identified on any 

17 such terrorist watch list. 

18 (3) CONSISTENCY WITH OTHER PLANS.—The 

19 Secretary shall ensure that each security plan under 

20 this section is consistent with the requirements of 

21 the National Strategy for Rail and Public Transpor22 tation Security described in section 101. 

23 (e) PROVIDED BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary shall 

24 provide, in a timely manner to the maximum extent prac25 ticable under applicable authority and in the interest of 
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1 national security, to the provider of the covered transpor2 tation threat information that is relevant to the provider 

3 when preparing and submitting a vulnerability assessment 

4 and security plan, including an assessment of the most 

5 likely method that could be used by terrorists to exploit 

6 weaknesses in the covered transportation security and the 

7 likelihood of success by such terrorists. 

8 (f) SECURITY PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS.—The 

9 Secretary shall, by regulation, establish security perform10 ance requirements for the security plans required for pro11 viders of covered transportation. The regulations shall—

12 (1) require separate and increasingly stringent 

13 security performance requirements for security plans 

14 as the level of risk associated with the tier increases; 

15 and 

16 (2) permit each provider of covered transpor17 tation submitting a security plan to select a com18 bination of security measures that satisfy the secu19 rity performance requirements established by the 

20 Secretary under this subsection. 

21 (g) DEADLINE FOR REVIEW PROCESS.—Not later 

22 than 12 months after the date of the issuance of the regu23 lations under subsection (a), the Secretary shall—
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1 (1) review each vulnerability assessment and se2 curity plan submitted to the Secretary in accordance 

3 with subsection (b); 

4 (2) require amendments to any security plan 

5 that does not meet the requirements of this section, 

6 including the regulations issued under subsection 

7 (a); 

8 (3) approve any vulnerability assessment or se9 curity plan that meets the requirements of this sec10 tion, including such regulations; and 

11 (4) review each security plan periodically there12 after. 

13 (h) INTERIM SECURITY MEASURES.—The Secretary 

14 shall require, during the period before the deadline estab15 lished under subsection (b), each provider of covered 

16 transportation required to submit a security plan under 

17 subsection (b) to implement any necessary interim security 

18 measures to deter, mitigate, and respond to, to the max19 imum extent practicable, a transportation security inci20 dent with respect to the covered transportation or a sub21 stantive threat of such an incident until the security plan 

22 of the provider is approved. 

23 (i) NONDISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

25 construed to require the disclosure of a vulnerability 
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1 assessment or a security plan of a provider of cov2 ered transportation to the extent that such informa3 tion is exempted from mandatory disclosure under 

4 section 552 of title 5, United States Code. 

5 (2) OTHER OBLIGATIONS UNAFFECTED.—Noth6 ing in this section shall affect any obligation of the 

7 provider of covered transportation to submit or 

8 make available information to covered transportation 

9 employees, nonprofit employee labor organizations, 

10 or a Federal, State, or local government agency 

11 under, or otherwise to comply with, any other law. 

12 (3) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION TO CON13 GRESS.—Nothing in this section shall be construed 

14 as authorizing the withholding of any information 

15 from Congress. 

16 (4) DISCLOSURE OF INDEPENDENTLY FUR17 NISHED INFORMATION.—Nothing in this section 

18 shall be construed as affecting any authority or obli19 gation of a Federal agency to disclose any record or 

20 information that the Federal agency obtains from a 

21 provider of covered transportation under any other 

22 law. 

23 (j) PENALTIES.—

24 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may im2 pose an administrative penalty of not more than 

3 $100,000 for failure to comply with this sec4 tion, including regulations issued under sub5 section (a). 

6 (B) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO RE7 QUEST HEARING.—Before imposing a penalty 

8 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 

9 provide to the person against whom the penalty 

10 is to be imposed—

11 (i) written notice of the proposed pen12 alty; and 

13 (ii) the opportunity to request, not 

14 later than 30 days after the date on which 

15 the person receives the notice, a hearing on 

16 the proposed penalty. 

17 (C) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may 

18 issue regulations establishing the procedures for 

19 administrative hearings and appropriate review 

20 of penalties imposed under this Act, including 

21 deadlines. 

22 (2) CIVIL PENALTIES.—

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

24 bring an action in a United States district court 

25 against any provider of covered transportation 
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1 that violates or fails to comply with this Act, in2 cluding regulations issued under subsection (a), 

3 or a security plan approved by the Secretary 

4 under this section. 

5 (B) RELIEF.—In any action under this 

6 Act, a court may issue an order for injunctive 

7 relief and may impose a civil penalty of not 

8 more than $75,000 for each day on which a vio9 lation occurs or a failure to comply continues. 

10 (3) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—A provider of cov11 ered transportation who intentionally violates this 

12 section, including regulations issued under sub13 section (a), shall be fined not more than $50,000 for 

14 each day of such violation, imprisoned for not more 

15 than 2 years, or both. 

16 (k) EXISTING PROCEDURES, PROTOCOLS AND

17 STANDARDS.—

18 (1) DETERMINATION.—In response to a peti19 tion by a provider of covered transportation or at 

20 the discretion of the Secretary, the Secretary may 

21 recognize existing procedures, protocols, and stand22 ards of a provider of covered transportation that the 

23 Secretary determines to meet all or part of the re24 quirements of this section, including regulations 
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1 issued under subsection (a), regarding vulnerability 

2 assessments and security plans. 

3 (2) ELECTION.—Upon review and written de4 termination by the Secretary that existing proce5 dures, protocols, or standards of a provider of cov6 ered transportation satisfy all of the requirements of 

7 this section, including regulations issued under sub8 section (a), the provider may elect to comply with 

9 those procedures, protocols, or standards instead of 

10 the requirements of this section. 

11 (3) PARTIAL APPROVAL.—If the Secretary de12 termines that the existing procedures, protocols, or 

13 standards of a provider of covered transportation 

14 satisfy only part of the requirements of this section, 

15 including regulations issued under subsection (a), 

16 the Secretary may accept such submission, but shall 

17 require submission by the provider of any additional 

18 information relevant to the vulnerability assessment 

19 and security plan of the provider to ensure that the 

20 remaining requirements of this section are fulfilled. 

21 (4) NOTIFICATION.—If the Secretary deter22 mines that particular existing procedures, protocols, 

23 or standards of a provider of covered transportation 

24 under this subsection do not satisfy the require25 ments of this section, including regulations issued 
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1 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall provide to 

2 such provider a written notification that includes an 

3 explanation of the reasons why the determination 

4 could not be made. 

5 (5) REVIEW.—Nothing in this subsection shall 

6 relieve the Secretary of the obligation—

7 (A) to review the vulnerability assessment 

8 and security plan submitted by a provider of 

9 covered transportation under this section; and 

10 (B) to approve or disapprove each submis11 sion on an individual basis. 

12 (l) PERIODIC REVIEW BY PROVIDER OF COVERED

13 TRANSPORTATION REQUIRED.—

14 (1) SUBMISSION OF REVIEW.—Not later than 3 

15 years after the date on which a vulnerability assess16 ment or security plan required to be submitted to 

17 the Secretary under subsection (b) is submitted, and 

18 at least once every 5 years thereafter (or on such a 

19 schedule as the Secretary may establish by regula20 tion), the provider of covered transportation who 

21 submitted the vulnerability assessment or security 

22 plan shall also submit to the Secretary a review of 

23 the adequacy of the vulnerability assessment or secu24 rity plan that includes a description of any material 
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1 changes made to the vulnerability assessment or se2 curity plan. 

3 (2) REVIEW OF REVIEW.—Not later than 180 

4 days after the date on which a review is submitted, 

5 the Secretary shall review the review and notify the 

6 provider of covered transportation submitting the re7 view of the Secretary’s approval or disapproval of 

8 such review. 

9 (m) SHARED FACILITIES.—The Secretary may per10 mit under this section the development and implementa11 tion of coordinated vulnerability assessments and security 

12 plans to the extent 2 or more providers of covered trans13 portation have shared facilities (such as tunnels, bridges, 

14 or stations, or facilities) that are geographically close or 

15 otherwise co-located. 

16 (n) FERRY EXEMPTION.—This section does not apply 

17 to any ferry system for which a vulnerability assessment 

18 and security plan is required pursuant to chapter 701 of 

19 title 46, United States Code. 

20 (o) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

21 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation 

22 with the Secretary of Transportation, shall submit a re23 port to the appropriate congressional committees regard24 ing the feasibility of implementing name-based checks 
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1 against terrorist watch lists for all National Railroad Pas2 senger Corporation passengers. 

3 SEC. 104. INFORMATION SHARING PLAN. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop 

6 and submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

7 a railroad, public transportation, and over-the-road bus in8 formation sharing plan to ensure the development of both 

9 tactical and strategic intelligence products pertaining to 

10 the threats and vulnerabilities to covered transportation 

11 for dissemination to Federal, State, and local agencies, 

12 tribal governments, and appropriate stakeholders. 

13 (b) CONTENT OF PLAN.—The plan submitted under 

14 subsection (a) shall include—

15 (1) a description of how intelligence analysts in 

16 the Transportation Security Administration are co17 ordinating with other intelligence analysts in the De18 partment and other Federal, State, and local agen19 cies; 

20 (2) reasonable deadlines for the completion of 

21 any organizational changes within the Department 

22 to accommodate implementation of the plan; and 

23 (3) a description of resource needs for fulfilling 

24 the plan. 

25 (c) UPDATES.—
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1 (1) CERTIFICATION OF IMPLEMENTATION.—

2 After the plan is submitted under subsection (a), the 

3 Secretary shall certify to the appropriate congres4 sional committees when the plan has been imple5 mented. 

6 (2) ANNUAL REPORTS.—After the Secretary 

7 provides the certification under paragraph (1), the 

8 Secretary shall provide a report to the appropriate 

9 congressional committees each year thereafter on the 

10 following: 

11 (A) The number and brief description of 

12 each railroad, public transportation, and over13 the-road bus intelligence report created and dis14 seminated under the plan. 

15 (B) The classification of each report as 

16 tactical or strategic. 

17 (C) The numbers of different government, 

18 law enforcement, and public or private sector 

19 partners who the Department provided with 

20 each intelligence product. 

21 (d) ANNUAL SURVEYS.—The Secretary shall conduct 

22 an annual survey of the satisfaction of each of the recipi23 ents of railroad, public transportation, and over-the-road 

24 bus intelligence reports created and disseminated under 

25 the plan and include the results of the survey as part of 
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1 the corresponding annual report provided under sub2 section (c)(2). 

3 (e) CLASSIFICATION OF MATERIAL.—To the greatest 

4 extent possible, the Department shall provide appropriate 

5 stakeholders with information in an unclassified format. 

6 (f) SECURITY CLEARANCES.—The Department shall 

7 assist the appropriate Federal, State, regional, local, and 

8 tribal authorities, in addition to appropriate stakeholders, 

9 in obtaining the security clearances needed to receive clas10 sified covered transportation security information as nec11 essary if this information cannot be disseminated in an 

12 unclassified format. 

13 SEC. 105. RAIL SECURITY ASSISTANCE. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

15 program for making grants to eligible entities for security 

16 improvements described in subsection (b). 

17 (b) USES OF FUNDS.—A recipient of a grant under 

18 this section shall use the grant funds for one or more of 

19 the following: 

20 (1) Perimeter protection systems, including ac21 cess control, installation of improved lighting, fenc22 ing, and barricades at railroad facilities. 

23 (2) Technologies to reduce the vulnerability of 

24 railroad cars. 
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1 (3) Passenger railroad station security capital 

2 improvement projects that the Secretary determines 

3 enhance rail station security. 

4 (4) Security improvements to passenger rail5 road stations and other railroad transportation in6 frastructure, including stations and other railroad 

7 transportation infrastructure owned by State or local 

8 governments. 

9 (5) Tunnel protection systems. 

10 (6) Evacuation improvements. 

11 (7) Inspection technologies, including verified 

12 visual inspection technologies using hand-held read13 ers and discs. 

14 (8) Communications equipment, including 

15 equipment that is interoperable with Federal, State, 

16 and local agencies and tribal governments. 

17 (9) Chemical, biological, radiological, or explo18 sive detection, including canine patrols for such de19 tection. 

20 (10) Surveillance equipment. 

21 (11) Cargo or passenger screening equipment. 

22 (12) Railroad security inspection facilities and 

23 related infrastructure at United States international 

24 borders, including additional side railroad track nec-
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•HR 1401 EH

1 essary for passenger and freight train security in2 spection. 

3 (13) Emergency response equipment, including 

4 fire suppression and decontamination equipment, 

5 personal protective equipment, and defibrillators. 

6 (14) Global positioning or tracking and recovery 

7 equipment. 

8 (15) Redundant critical operations control sys9 tems. 

10 (16) Operating and capital costs associated 

11 with security awareness, preparedness, and response 

12 training, including training under section 109 and 

13 training developed by universities and institutions of 

14 higher education and by nonprofit employee labor 

15 organizations, for railroad employees, including 

16 front-line employees. 

17 (17) Live or simulated exercises described in 

18 section 110. 

19 (18) Overtime reimbursement for additional se20 curity personnel during periods of heightened secu21 rity as determined by the Secretary. 

22 (19) Public awareness campaigns for enhanced 

23 rail security. 
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1 (20) Operational costs for personnel assigned to 

2 full-time security or counterterrorism duties related 

3 to rail transportation. 

4 (21) Such other security improvements as the 

5 Secretary considers appropriate. 

6 (c) DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY RE7 SPONSIBILITIES.—In carrying out the responsibilities 

8 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall—

9 (1) determine the requirements for recipients of 

10 grants under this section, including application re11 quirements; 

12 (2) pursuant to subsection (f), determine who 

13 are the recipients of grants under this section; 

14 (3) pursuant to subsection (b), determine the 

15 uses for which grant funds may be used under this 

16 section; 

17 (4) establish priorities for uses of funds for 

18 grant recipients under this section; and 

19 (5) not later than 5 business days after making 

20 determinations under paragraphs (1) through (4), 

21 transfer grant funds under this section to the Sec22 retary of Transportation for distribution to the re23 cipients of grants determined by the Secretary under 

24 paragraph (2). 
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1 (d) DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RESPON2 SIBILITIES.—The Secretary of Transportation shall dis3 tribute grant funds under this section to the recipients of 

4 grants determined by the Secretary under subsection (f). 

5 (e) MONITORING AND AUDITING.—The Department 

6 of Homeland Security and the Department of Transpor7 tation jointly shall monitor and audit the use of funds 

8 under this section. 

9 (f) ELIGIBILITY.—A railroad carrier is eligible for a 

10 grant under this section if the carrier has completed a vul11 nerability assessment and developed a security plan that 

12 the Secretary has approved under section 103. Grant 

13 funds may only be used for permissible uses under sub14 section (b) to further a rail security plan. 

15 (g) MULTIYEAR AWARDS.—Pursuant to this section, 

16 the Secretary may issue multi-year grants for not longer 

17 than a 5-year period. 

18 (h) LETTERS OF INTENT.—

19 (1) ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may issue a let20 ter of intent to a recipient of a grant under this sec21 tion, to commit funding from future budget author22 ity of an amount, not more than the Federal Gov23 ernment’s share of the project’s cost, for a capital 

24 improvement project. 
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•HR 1401 EH

1 (2) SCHEDULE.—The letter of intent under this 

2 subsection shall establish a schedule under which the 

3 Secretary will reimburse the recipient for the Fed4 eral Government’s share of the project’s costs, as 

5 amounts become available, if the recipient, after the 

6 Secretary issues that letter, carries out the project 

7 without receiving amounts under a grant issued 

8 under this section. 

9 (3) NOTICE TO SECRETARY.—A recipient that 

10 has been issued a letter of intent under this section 

11 shall notify the Secretary of the recipient’s intent to 

12 carry out a project before the project begins. 

13 (4) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary 

14 shall transmit to the appropriate congressional com15 mittees a written notification at least 3 days before 

16 the issuance of a letter of intent under this sub17 section. 

18 (5) LIMITATIONS.—A letter of intent issued 

19 under this subsection is not an obligation of the 

20 Federal Government under section 1501 of title 31, 

21 United States Code, and the letter is not deemed to 

22 be an administrative commitment for financing. An 

23 obligation or administrative commitment may be 

24 made only as amounts are provided in authorization 

25 and appropriations laws. 
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1 (6) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

2 this section shall be construed to prohibit the obliga3 tion of amounts pursuant to a letter of intent under 

4 this section in the same fiscal year as the letter of 

5 intent is issued. 

6 (i) FEDERAL SHARE.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para8 graphs (2) and (3), a grant for a project under this 

9 section shall be for 80 percent of the net cost of the 

10 project. 

11 (2) SMALL PROJECT EXCEPTION.—If a grant 

12 under this section is for a project with a net cost of 

13 $25,000 or less, the Federal share for the grant 

14 shall be for 100 percent of such cost. 

15 (3) NATIONAL SECURITY EXCEPTION.—If the 

16 Secretary determines, upon written notice to the ap17 propriate congressional committees, that a higher 

18 Federal share for a grant under this section is nec19 essary to respond to an urgent threat to national se20 curity, the Secretary may increase the Federal share 

21 for the grant to up to 100 percent of the net cost 

22 of the project. 

23 (4) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection shall only 

24 apply to freight railroad carriers. 
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•HR 1401 EH

1 (j) SUBJECT TO CERTAIN STANDARDS.—A recipient 

2 of a grant under this section and section 108 shall be re3 quired to comply with the standards of section 24312 of 

4 title 49, United States Code, as in effect on January 1, 

5 2007, with respect to the project in the same manner as 

6 the National Railroad Passenger Corporation is required 

7 to comply with such standards for construction work fi8 nanced under an agreement made under section 24308(a) 

9 of that title. 

10 (k) LIMITATION ON USES OF FUNDS.—A grant made 

11 under this section may not be used—

12 (1) to supplant State or local funds; and 

13 (2) to make any State or local government cost14 sharing contribution under any other law. 

15 (l) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Each recipient of a grant 

16 under this section shall report annually to the Secretary 

17 on the use of grant funds. 

18 (m) GUIDELINES.—Before distribution of funds to 

19 recipients of grants under this section, the Secretary, shall 

20 issue guidelines to ensure that, to the extent that recipi21 ents of grants under this section use contractors or sub22 contractors, such recipients use small, minority, women23 owned, or disadvantaged businesses as contractors or sub24 contractors to the extent practicable. 

25 (n) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
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•HR 1401 EH

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

2 appropriated to the Secretary $600,000,000 for each 

3 of fiscal years 2008 through 2011 for making grants 

4 under this section. 

5 (2) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—Sums appro6 priated to carry out this section shall remain avail7 able until expended. 

8 SEC. 106. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ASSIST9 ANCE. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

11 program for making grants to an eligible public transpor12 tation designated recipient for security improvements de13 scribed in subsection (b). 

14 (b) USES OF FUNDS.—A recipient of a grant under 

15 subsection (a) shall use the grant funds for one or more 

16 of the following: 

17 (1) Perimeter protection systems, including ac18 cess control, installation of improved lighting, fenc19 ing, and barricades. 

20 (2) Security improvements to stations and other 

21 public transportation infrastructure, including sta22 tions and other public transportation infrastructure 

23 owned by State or local governments. 

24 (3) Tunnel protection systems. 

25 (4) Evacuation improvements. 
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•HR 1401 EH

1 (5) Inspection technologies, including verified 

2 visual inspection technologies using hand-held read3 ers and discs. 

4 (6) Communications equipment, including mo5 bile service equipment to provide access to emer6 gency services in an underground fixed guideway 

7 system. 

8 (7) Chemical, biological, or radiological or ex9 plosive detection, including canine patrols for such 

10 detection. 

11 (8) Surveillance equipment. 

12 (9) Emergency response equipment, including 

13 fire suppression and decontamination equipment, 

14 personal protective equipment, and defibrillators. 

15 (10) Purchase and placement of bomb-resistant 

16 trash cans throughout public transportation facili17 ties, including subway exits, entrances, and tunnels. 

18 (11) Global positioning or tracking and recovery 

19 equipment. 

20 (12) Redundant critical operations control sys21 tems. 

22 (13) Live or simulated exercises described in 

23 section 110. 

24 (14) Public awareness campaigns for enhanced 

25 public transportation security. 
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•HR 1401 EH

1 (15) Operating and capital costs associated 

2 with security awareness, preparedness, and response 

3 training, including training under section 109 and 

4 training developed by universities and institutions of 

5 higher education and by nonprofit employee labor 

6 organizations, for public transportation employees, 

7 including front-line employees. 

8 (16) Overtime reimbursement, including reim9 bursement of State, local, and tribal governments for 

10 costs, for additional security personnel during peri11 ods of heightened security as determined by the Sec12 retary. 

13 (17) Operational costs, including reimburse14 ment of State, local, and tribal governments for 

15 costs for personnel assigned to full-time security or 

16 counterterrorism duties related to public transpor17 tation. 

18 (18) Such other security improvements as the 

19 Secretary considers appropriate, including security 

20 improvements for newly completed public transpor21 tation systems that are not yet operable for pas22 senger use. 

23 (c) DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY RE24 SPONSIBILITIES.—In carrying out the responsibilities 

25 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall—
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•HR 1401 EH

1 (1) determine the requirements for recipients of 

2 grants under this section, including application re3 quirements; 

4 (2) pursuant to subsection (f), determine who 

5 are the recipients of grants under this section; 

6 (3) pursuant to subsection (b), determine the 

7 uses for which grant funds may be used under this 

8 section; 

9 (4) establish priorities for uses of funds for 

10 grant recipients under this section; and 

11 (5) not later than 5 business days after making 

12 determinations under paragraphs (1) through (4), 

13 transfer grant funds under this section to the Sec14 retary of Transportation for distribution to the re15 cipients of grants determined by the Secretary under 

16 paragraph (2). 

17 (d) DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RESPON18 SIBILITIES.—The Secretary of Transportation shall dis19 tribute grant funds under this section to the recipients of 

20 grants determined by the Secretary under subsection (f). 

21 (e) MONITORING AND AUDITING.—The Department 

22 of Homeland Security and the Department of Transpor23 tation shall jointly monitor and audit the use of funds 

24 under this section. 
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•HR 1401 EH

1 (f) ELIGIBILITY.—A designated recipient is eligible 

2 for a grant under this section if the recipient has com3 pleted a vulnerability assessment and developed a security 

4 plan that the Secretary has approved under section 103. 

5 Grant funds may only be used for permissible uses under 

6 subsection (b) to further a public transportation security 

7 plan. 

8 (g) SUBJECT TO CERTAIN TERMS AND CONDI9 TIONS.—Except as otherwise specifically provided in this 

10 section, a grant provided under this section shall be sub11 ject to the terms and conditions applicable to a grant 

12 made under section 5307 of title 49, United States Code, 

13 as in effect on January 1, 2007, and such other terms 

14 and conditions as are determined necessary by the Sec15 retary. 

16 (h) LIMITATION ON USES OF FUNDS.—Grants made 

17 under this section may not be used—

18 (1) to supplant State or local funds; and 

19 (2) to make any State or local government cost20 sharing contribution under any other law. 

21 (i) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Each recipient of a grant 

22 under this section shall report annually to the Secretary 

23 on the use of the grant funds. 

24 (j) GUIDELINES.—Before distribution of funds to re25 cipients of grants under this section, the Secretary shall 
41

•HR 1401 EH

1 issue guidelines to ensure that, to the extent that recipi2 ents of grants under this section use contractors or sub3 contractors, such recipients shall use small, minority, 

4 women-owned, or disadvantaged businesses as contractors 

5 or subcontractors to the extent practicable. 

6 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

8 appropriated to the Secretary to make grants under 

9 this section—

10 (A) $775,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

11 (B) $825,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

12 (C) $880,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and 

13 (D) $880,000,000 for fiscal year 2011. 

14 (2) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—Sums appro15 priated to carry out this section shall remain avail16 able until expended. 

17 SEC. 107. OVER-THE-ROAD BUS SECURITY ASSISTANCE. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

19 program for making grants for eligible private operators 

20 providing transportation by an over-the-road bus for secu21 rity improvements described in subsection (b). 

22 (b) USES OF FUNDS.—A recipient of a grant received 

23 under subsection (a) shall use the grant funds for one or 

24 more of the following: 
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•HR 1401 EH

1 (1) Constructing and modifying terminals, ga2 rages, facilities, or over-the-road buses to increase 

3 their security, including terminals and other over4 the-road bus facilities owned by State or local gov5 ernments. 

6 (2) Protecting or isolating the driver of an over7 the-road bus. 

8 (3) Acquiring, upgrading, installing, or oper9 ating equipment, software, or accessorial services for 

10 collection, storage, or exchange of passenger and 

11 driver information through ticketing systems or oth12 erwise and for information links with government 

13 agencies. 

14 (4) Installing cameras and video surveillance 

15 equipment on over-the-road buses and at terminals, 

16 garages, and over-the-road bus facilities. 

17 (5) Establishing and improving an emergency 

18 communications system linking drivers and over-the19 road buses to the recipient’s operations center or 

20 linking the operations center to law enforcement and 

21 emergency personnel. 

22 (6) Implementing and operating passenger 

23 screening programs for weapons and explosives. 

24 (7) Public awareness campaigns for enhanced 

25 over-the-road bus security. 
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•HR 1401 EH

1 (8) Operating and capital costs associated with 

2 security awareness, preparedness, and response 

3 training, including training under section 109 and 

4 training developed by universities and institutions of 

5 higher education and by nonprofit employee labor 

6 organizations, for over-the-road bus employees, in7 cluding front-line employees. 

8 (9) Chemical, biological, radiological, or explo9 sive detection, including canine patrols for such de10 tection. 

11 (10) Overtime reimbursement, including reim12 bursement of State, local, and tribal governments for 

13 costs, for additional security personnel during peri14 ods of heightened security as determined by the Sec15 retary. 

16 (11) Live or simulated exercises described in 

17 section 110. 

18 (12) Operational costs, including reimburse19 ment of State, local, and tribal governments for such 

20 costs, for personnel assigned to full-time security or 

21 counterterrorism duties related to over-the-road bus 

22 transportation. 

23 (13) Such other improvements as the Secretary 

24 considers appropriate. 
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•HR 1401 EH

1 (c) DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY RE2 SPONSIBILITIES.—In carrying out the responsibilities 

3 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall—

4 (1) determine the requirements for recipients of 

5 grants under this section, including application re6 quirements; 

7 (2) pursuant to subsection (f), determine who 

8 are the recipients of grants under this section; 

9 (3) pursuant to subsection (b), determine the 

10 uses for which grant funds may be used under this 

11 section; 

12 (4) establish priorities for uses of funds for 

13 grant recipients under this section; and 

14 (5) not later than 5 business days of making 

15 determinations under paragraphs (1) through (4), 

16 transfer grant funds under this section to the Sec17 retary of Transportation for distribution to the re18 cipients of grants determined by the Secretary under 

19 paragraph (2). 

20 (d) DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RESPON21 SIBILITIES.—The Secretary of Transportation shall dis22 tribute grant funds under this section to the recipients of 

23 grants determined by the Secretary under subsection (f). 

24 (e) MONITORING AND AUDITING.—The Department 

25 of Homeland Security and the Department of Transpor-
45

•HR 1401 EH

1 tation shall jointly monitor and audit the use of funds 

2 under this section. 

3 (f) ELIGIBILITY.—A private operator providing 

4 transportation by an over-the-road bus is eligible for a 

5 grant under this section if the operator has completed a 

6 vulnerability assessment and developed a security plan 

7 that the Secretary has approved under section 103. Grant 

8 funds may only be used for permissible uses under sub9 section (b) to further an over-the-road bus security plan. 

10 (g) SUBJECT TO CERTAIN TERMS AND CONDI11 TIONS.—Except as otherwise specifically provided in this 

12 section, a grant made under this section shall be subject 

13 to the terms and conditions applicable to subrecipients 

14 who provide intercity bus transportation under section 

15 5311(f) of title 49, United States Code, and such other 

16 terms and conditions as are determined necessary by the 

17 Secretary. 

18 (h) LIMITATION ON USES OF FUNDS.—A grant made 

19 under this section may not be used to—

20 (1) supplant State or local funds for activities; 

21 and 

22 (2) make any State or local government cost23 sharing contribution under any other law. 

24 (i) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Each recipient of a grant 

25 under this section shall report annually to the Secretary 
46

•HR 1401 EH

1 and the Secretary of Transportation on the use of such 

2 grant funds. 

3 (j) GUIDELINES.—Before distribution of funds to re4 cipients of grants under this section, the Secretary shall 

5 issue guidelines to ensure that to the extent that recipients 

6 of grants under this section use contractors or subcontrac7 tors, such recipients shall use small, minority, women8 owned, and disadvantaged businesses as contractors or 

9 subcontractors to the extent practicable. 

10 (k) AUTHORIZATION.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

12 appropriated to the Secretary to make grants under 

13 this section—

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

15 (B) $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

16 2009 through 2011. 

17 (2) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—Sums appro18 priated to carry out this section shall remain avail19 able until expended. 

20 SEC. 108. FIRE AND LIFE SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS. 

21 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

23 Transportation for making grants to the National Rail24 road Passenger Corporation, for the purpose of carrying 

25 out projects to make fire and life safety improvements to 
47

•HR 1401 EH

1 Amtrak tunnels on the Northeast Corridor the following 

2 amounts: 

3 (1) For the 6 tunnels in New York City, New 

4 York, to provide ventilation, electrical, and fire safe5 ty technology improvements, emergency communica6 tion and lighting systems, and emergency access and 

7 egress for passengers—

8 (A) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

9 (B) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

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

11 (D) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2011. 

12 (2) For the Baltimore & Potomac Tunnel and 

13 the Union Tunnel in Baltimore, Maryland, to pro14 vide adequate drainage and ventilation, communica15 tion, lighting, standpipe, and passenger egress im16 provements—

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

18 (B) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

19 (C) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and 

20 (D) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2011. 

21 (3) For the Union Station tunnels in the Dis22 trict of Columbia to provide ventilation, communica23 tion, lighting, and passenger egress improvements—

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

25 (B) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 
48

•HR 1401 EH

1 (C) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and 

2 (D) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2011. 

3 (b) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—Amounts appro4 priated pursuant to this section shall remain available 

5 until expended. 

6 (c) GUIDELINES.—Before distribution of funds to re7 cipients of grants under this section, the Secretary of 

8 Transportation shall issue guidelines to ensure that, to the 

9 extent that recipients of grants under this section use con10 tractors or subcontractors, such recipients shall use small, 

11 minority, women-owned, or disadvantaged businesses as 

12 the contractors or subcontractors to the extent practicable. 

13 SEC. 109. SECURITY TRAINING PROGRAM. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

15 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall—

16 (1) develop security training programs to pre17 pare all railroad, public transportation, and over-the18 road bus workers, including front-line employees, for 

19 potential threat conditions; and 

20 (2) issue detailed guidance for the program. 

21 (b) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall develop the 

22 guidance under subsection (a)(2) in consultation with—

23 (1) appropriate law enforcement, fire service, 

24 security, and terrorism experts; 
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•HR 1401 EH

1 (2) representatives of providers of covered 

2 transportation; and 

3 (3) nonprofit employee labor organizations rep4 resenting railroad, public transportation, over-the5 road bus workers, or emergency response personnel. 

6 (c) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The guidance developed 

7 under subsection (a)(2) shall require security training pro8 grams described in subsection (a) to include, at a min9 imum, elements to address the following: 

10 (1) Determination of the seriousness of any oc11 currence or threat. 

12 (2) Crew and passenger communication and co13 ordination. 

14 (3) Appropriate responses to defend oneself, in15 cluding using nonlethal defense devises. 

16 (4) Evacuation procedures for passengers and 

17 workers, including individuals with disabilities. 

18 (5) Live situational training exercises regarding 

19 various threat conditions, including tunnel evacu20 ation procedures. 

21 (6) Recognition and reporting of dangerous 

22 substances and suspicious packages, persons, and 

23 situations. 

24 (7) Understanding security incident procedures, 

25 including procedures for communicating with gov-
50

•HR 1401 EH

1 ernmental and nongovernmental emergency response 

2 providers and for on-scene interaction with such 

3 emergency response providers. 

4 (8) Operation and maintenance of security 

5 equipment and systems. 

6 (9) Other security training activities that the 

7 Secretary considers appropriate. 

8 (d) REQUIRED PROGRAMS.—

9 (1) DEVELOPMENT AND SUBMISSION TO SEC10 RETARY.—Not later than 60 days after the Sec11 retary issues guidance under subsection (a)(2), each 

12 provider of covered transportation shall develop a se13 curity training program in accordance with the guid14 ance developed under subsection (2) and submit the 

15 program to the Secretary for approval. 

16 (2) APPROVAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

17 receiving a security training program proposal under 

18 this subsection, the Secretary shall approve the pro19 gram or require the provider of covered transpor20 tation that developed the program to make any revi21 sions to the program that the Secretary considers 

22 necessary for the program to meet the guidance re23 quirements. 

24 (3) TRAINING.—Not later than 1 year after the 

25 Secretary approves a security training program pro-
51

•HR 1401 EH

1 posal under this subsection, the provider of covered 

2 transportation that developed the program shall 

3 complete the training of all workers covered under 

4 the program. 

5 (4) UPDATES.—The Secretary shall periodically 

6 review and update as appropriate the training guid7 ance issued under subsection (a)(2) to reflect new or 

8 changing security threats and require providers of 

9 covered transportation to revise their programs ac10 cordingly and provide additional training to their 

11 workers as necessary. 

12 (e) NATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAM.—The Secretary 

13 shall ensure that the training program developed under 

14 subsection (a) is a component of the National Training 

15 Program established under section 648 of the Department 

16 of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2007 (6 

17 U.S.C. 748). 

18 (f) FERRY EXEMPTION.—This section does not apply 

19 to any ferry system for which training is required to be 

20 conducted pursuant to section 70103 of title 46, United 

21 States Code. 

22 (g) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 

23 one year after the issuance of guidelines under subsection 

24 (a)(2), the Secretary shall conduct a survey regarding the 

25 satisfaction of workers regarding the effectiveness and 
52

•HR 1401 EH

1 adequacy of the training programs. In addition, the Sec2 retary shall submit a report to the appropriate congres3 sional committees regarding the results of the survey and 

4 the progress of providers of covered transportation in 

5 meeting the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (3) of 

6 subsection (d). 

7 SEC. 110. SECURITY EXERCISES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

9 program for conducting security exercises for covered 

10 transportation for the purpose of assessing and improving 

11 the capabilities of entities described in subsection (b) to 

12 prevent, prepare for, mitigate against, respond to, and re13 cover from acts of terrorism involving covered transpor14 tation. 

15 (b) COVERED ENTITIES.—Entities to be assessed 

16 under the program shall include—

17 (1) Federal, State, and local agencies and tribal 

18 governments; 

19 (2) employees and managers of providers of 

20 covered transportation; 

21 (3) governmental and nongovernmental emer22 gency response providers and law enforcement per23 sonnel, including railroad and transit police; and 

24 (4) any other organization or entity that the 

25 Secretary determines appropriate. 
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1 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall ensure 

2 that the program—

3 (1) working jointly with the Secretary of Trans4 portation, consolidates all existing security exercises 

5 for covered transportation administered by the De6 partment and the Department of Transportation; 

7 (2) requires, on a periodic basis, at the facilities 

8 a provider of covered transportation, exercises to be 

9 conducted that are—

10 (A) scaled and tailored to the needs of the 

11 facilities, including individuals with disabilities; 

12 (B) live, in the case of the most at-risk fa13 cilities to a terrorist attack; 

14 (C) coordinated with appropriate officials 

15 of covered transportation providers; 

16 (D) as realistic as practicable and based on 

17 current risk assessments, including credible 

18 threats, vulnerabilities, and consequences; and 

19 (E) consistent with the National Incident 

20 Management System, the National Response 

21 Plan, the National Infrastructure Protection 

22 Plan, the National Preparedness Guidance, the 

23 National Preparedness Goal, and other such na24 tional initiatives; 
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1 (3) provides that exercises described in para2 graph (2) will be—

3 (A) evaluated against clear and consistent 

4 performance measures; 

5 (B) assessed to learn best practices, which 

6 shall be shared with appropriate Federal, State, 

7 local, and tribal officials, governmental and 

8 nongovernmental emergency response providers, 

9 law enforcement personnel, including railroad 

10 and transit police, and appropriate stake11 holders; and 

12 (C) followed by remedial action in response 

13 to lessons learned; 

14 (4) includes exercises involving covered trans15 portation at or near the international land borders 

16 of the United States and in coordination with inter17 national stakeholders; 

18 (5) involves individuals in neighborhoods 

19 around the infrastructure of a provider of covered 

20 transportation; and 

21 (6) assists State, local, and tribal governments 

22 and providers of covered transportation in designing, 

23 implementing, and evaluating exercises that conform 

24 to the requirements of paragraph (2). 
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•HR 1401 EH

1 (d) REMEDIAL ACTION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.—

2 The Secretary shall utilize the remedial action manage3 ment program of the Federal Emergency Management 

4 Agency to—

5 (1) identify and analyze each exercise conducted 

6 under the program for lessons learned and best 

7 practices; 

8 (2) disseminate lessons learned and best prac9 tices to participants in the program; 

10 (3) monitor the implementation of lessons 

11 learned and best practices by participants in the 

12 program; and 

13 (4) conduct remedial action tracking and long14 term trend analysis. 

15 (f) NATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAM.—The Secretary 

16 shall ensure that the training program developed under 

17 subsection (a) is a component of the National Training 

18 Program established under section 648 of the Department 

19 of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2007 (6 

20 U.S.C. 748). 

21 (g) FERRY SYSTEM EXEMPTION.—This section does 

22 not apply to any ferry for which drills are required to be 

23 conducted pursuant to section 70103 of title 46, United 

24 States Code. 
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1 SEC. 111. SECURITY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOP3 MENT PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall carry out a re4 search and development program for the purpose of im5 proving the security of covered transportation. 

6 (b) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—The research and develop7 ment program may include projects—

8 (1) to reduce the vulnerability of passenger 

9 trains, stations, and equipment to explosives and 

10 hazardous chemical, biological, and radioactive sub11 stances including the development of technology to 

12 screen passengers in large numbers at peak com13 muting times with minimal interference and disrup14 tion; 

15 (2) to test new emergency response and recov16 ery techniques and technologies, including those 

17 used at international borders; 

18 (3) to develop improved railroad technologies, 

19 including—

20 (A) technologies for sealing or modifying 

21 railroad tank cars; 

22 (B) automatic inspection of railroad cars; 

23 (C) communication-based train controls; 

24 (D) signal system integrity at switches; 

25 (E) emergency response training, including 

26 training in a tunnel environment; 
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1 (F) security and redundancy for critical 

2 communications, electrical power, computer, 

3 and train control systems; and 

4 (G) technologies for securing bridges and 

5 tunnels; 

6 (4) to test wayside detectors that can detect 

7 tampering; 

8 (5) to support enhanced security for the trans9 portation of security sensitive materials by railroad; 

10 (6) to mitigate damages in the event of a 

11 cyberattack; 

12 (7) to assess the vulnerabilities and risks asso13 ciated with new rail and public transportation con14 struction projects prior to their completion; and 

15 (8) to address other vulnerabilities and risks 

16 identified by the Secretary. 

17 (c) COORDINATION WITH OTHER RESEARCH INITIA18 TIVES.—The Secretary shall—

19 (1) ensure that the research and development 

20 program is consistent with the National Strategy for 

21 Rail and Public Transportation Security developed 

22 under section 101; and 

23 (2) to the greatest extent practicable, coordi24 nate the research and development activities of the 

25 Department with other ongoing research and devel-
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1 opment security related initiatives, including re2 search being conducted by—

3 (A) the National Academy of Sciences; 

4 (B) the Department of Transportation, in5 cluding University Transportation Centers and 

6 other institutes, centers, and simulators funded 

7 by the Department of Transportation; 

8 (C) the Technical Support Working Group; 

9 (D) other Federal departments and agen10 cies; and 

11 (E) other Federal and private research lab12 oratories, research entities, and universities and 

13 institutions of higher education, including His14 torically Black Colleges or Universities, and 

15 Hispanic Serving Institutions or Tribal Univer16 sities, with the capability to conduct both prac17 tical and theoretical research and technical sys18 tems analysis on subjects that include bridge, 

19 tunnel, blast, and infrastructure protection; 

20 (3) carry out any research and development 

21 project authorized by this section through a reim22 bursable agreement with the appropriate agency or 

23 entity official, if the agency or entity—

24 (A) is currently sponsoring a research and 

25 development project in a similar area; or 
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1 (B) has a unique facility or capability that 

2 would be useful in carrying out the project; 

3 (4) award grants, cooperative agreements, con4 tracts, other transactions, or reimbursable agree5 ments to the entities described in subsection (c)(2) 

6 and shall adopt necessary procedures, including au7 dits, to ensure that awards made under this section 

8 are expended in accordance with the purposes of this 

9 title and the priorities and other criteria developed 

10 by the Secretary; and 

11 (5) make reasonable efforts to enter into memo12 randa of understanding, contracts, grants, coopera13 tive agreements, or other transactions with owners 

14 and operators of freight and intercity passenger rail 

15 and over-the-road bus facilities willing to contribute 

16 both physical space and other resources. 

17 (d) PRIVACY AND CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIB18 ERTIES ISSUES.—

19 (1) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out research 

20 and development projects under this section, the 

21 Secretary shall consult with the Chief Privacy Offi22 cer of the Department and the Officer for Civil 

23 Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department as ap24 propriate and in accordance with section 222 of the 

25 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 142). 
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1 (2) PRIVACY IMPACT ASSESSMENTS.—In ac2 cordance with sections 222 and 705 of the Home3 land Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 142; 345), the 

4 Chief Privacy Officer shall conduct privacy impact 

5 assessments and the Officer for Civil Rights and 

6 Civil Liberties shall conduct reviews, as appropriate, 

7 for research and development initiatives developed 

8 under this section. 

9 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

10 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

11 out this section—

12 (1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

13 (2) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

14 (3) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and 

15 (4) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2011. 

16 Such sums shall remain available until expended. 

17 SEC. 112. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—No covered individual may be dis19 charged, demoted, suspended, threatened, harassed, rep20 rimanded, investigated, or in any other manner discrimi21 nated against, including by a denial, suspension, or rev22 ocation of a security clearance or by any other security 

23 access determination, if such discrimination is due, in 

24 whole or in part, to any lawful act done, perceived to have 
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1 been done, or intended to be done by the covered indi2 vidual—

3 (1) to provide information, cause information to 

4 be provided, or otherwise assist in an investigation 

5 regarding any conduct which the covered individual 

6 reasonably believes constitutes a violation of any 

7 law, rule, or regulation relating to rail, public trans8 portation, or over-the-road-bus security, which the 

9 covered individual reasonably believes constitutes a 

10 threat to rail, public transportation, or over-the11 road-bus security, or which the covered individual 

12 reasonably believes constitutes fraud, waste, or mis13 management of Government funds intended to be 

14 used for rail, public transportation, or over-the-road15 bus security, if the information or assistance is pro16 vided to or the investigation is conducted by—

17 (A) by a Federal, State, or local regulatory 

18 or law enforcement agency (including an office 

19 of the Inspector General under the Inspector 

20 General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.; Public 

21 Law 95–452); 

22 (B) any Member of Congress, any com23 mittee of Congress, or the Government Ac24 countability Office; or 
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1 (C) a person with supervisory authority 

2 over the covered individual (or such other per3 son who has the authority to investigate, dis4 cover, or terminate); 

5 (2) to file, cause to be filed, testify, participate 

6 in, or otherwise assist in a proceeding or action filed 

7 or about to be filed relating to an alleged violation 

8 of any law, rule, or regulation relating to rail, public 

9 transportation, or over-the-road bus security; or 

10 (3) to refuse to violate or assist in the violation 

11 of any law, rule, or regulation relating to rail public 

12 transportation, or over-the-road bus security. 

13 (b) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered individual who al15 leges discharge or other discrimination by any per16 son in violation of subsection (a) may—

17 (A) in the case of a covered individual who 

18 is employed by the Department or the Depart19 ment of Transportation, seek relief in accord20 ance with—

21 (i) the provisions of title 5, United 

22 States Code, to the same extent and in the 

23 same manner as if such individual were 

24 seeking relief from a prohibited personnel 
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1 practice described in section 2302(b)(8) of 

2 such title; and 

3 (ii) the amendments made by section 

4 112A; 

5 except that, if the disclosure involved consists in 

6 whole or in part of classified or sensitive infor7 mation, clauses (i) and (ii) shall not apply, and 

8 such individual may seek relief in the same 

9 manner as provided by section 112B; 

10 (B) in the case of a covered individual who 

11 is a contractor or subcontractor of the Depart12 ment or the Department of Transportation, 

13 seek relief in accordance with section 112B; 

14 and 

15 (C) in the case of any other covered indi16 vidual, seek relief in accordance with the provi17 sions of this section, with any petition or other 

18 request for relief under this section to be initi19 ated by filing a complaint with the Secretary of 

20 Labor. 

21 (2) PROCEDURE.—

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—An action under para23 graph (1)(C) shall be governed under the rules 

24 and procedures set forth in section 42121(b) of 

25 title 49, United States Code. 
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1 (B) EXCEPTION.—Notification made under 

2 section 42121(b)(1) of title 49, United States 

3 Code, shall be made to the person named in the 

4 complaint and to the person’s employer. 

5 (C) BURDENS OF PROOF.—An action 

6 brought under paragraph (1)(C) shall be gov7 erned by the legal burdens of proof set forth in 

8 section 42121(b) of title 49, United States 

9 Code. 

10 (D) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—An action 

11 under paragraph (1)(C) shall be commenced not 

12 later than 1 year after the date on which the 

13 violation occurs. 

14 (3) DE NOVO REVIEW.—With respect to a com15 plaint under paragraph (1)(C), if the Secretary of 

16 Labor has not issued a final decision within 180 

17 days after the filing of the complaint (or, in the 

18 event that a final order or decision is issued by the 

19 Secretary of Labor, whether within the 180-day pe20 riod or thereafter, then, not later than 90 days after 

21 such an order or decision is issued), the covered in22 dividual may bring an original action at law or eq23 uity for de novo review in the appropriate district 

24 court of the United States, which shall have jurisdic25 tion over such an action without regard to the 
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1 amount in controversy, and which action shall, at 

2 the request of either party to such action, be tried 

3 by the court with a jury. 

4 (c) REMEDIES.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered individual pre6 vailing in any action under subsection (b)(1)(C) 

7 shall be entitled to all relief necessary to make the 

8 covered individual whole. 

9 (2) DAMAGES.—Relief in an action under sub10 section (b)(1)(C) (including an action described in 

11 subsection (b)(3)) shall include—

12 (A) reinstatement with the same seniority 

13 status that the covered individual would have 

14 had, but for the discrimination; 

15 (B) the amount of any back pay, with in16 terest; and 

17 (C) compensation for any special damages 

18 sustained as a result of the discrimination, in19 cluding litigation costs, expert witness fees, and 

20 reasonable attorney fees. 

21 (3) POSSIBLE RELIEF.—Relief in an action 

22 under subsection (b)(1)(C) may include punitive 

23 damages in an amount not to exceed the greater of 

24 3 times the amount of any compensatory damages 

25 awarded under this section or $5,000,000. 
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1 (d) USE OF STATE SECRETS PRIVILEGE.—

2 (1) If, in any action for relief sought by a cov3 ered individual in accordance with the provisions of 

4 subsection (b)(1)(A), (B), or (C), the Government 

5 agency moves to withhold information from dis6 covery based on a claim that disclosure would be in7 imical to national security by asserting the privilege 

8 commonly referred to as the ‘‘state secrets privi9 lege’’, and if the assertion of such privilege prevents 

10 the covered individual from establishing an element 

11 in support of the covered individual’s claim, the 

12 court shall resolve the disputed issue of fact or law 

13 in favor of the covered individual, provided that, in 

14 an action brought by a covered individual in accord15 ance with the provisions of subsection (b)(1)(A) or 

16 (B), an Inspector General investigation under sec17 tion 112B has resulted in substantial confirmation 

18 of that element, or those elements, of the covered in19 dividual’s claim. 

20 (2) In any case in which the Government agen21 cy asserts the privilege commonly referred to as the 

22 ‘‘state secrets privilege’’, whether or not an Inspec23 tor General has conducted an investigation with re24 spect to the alleged discrimination, the head of the 

25 Government agency involved shall, at the same time 
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1 it asserts the privilege, issue a report to authorized 

2 Members of Congress, accompanied by a classified 

3 annex if necessary, describing the reasons for the as4 sertion, explaining why the court hearing the matter 

5 does not have the ability to maintain the protection 

6 of classified information related to the assertion, de7 tailing the steps the agency has taken to arrive at 

8 a mutually agreeable settlement with the covered in9 dividual, setting forth the date on which the classi10 fied information at issue will be declassified, and 

11 providing all relevant information about the under12 lying substantive matter. 

13 (e) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any 

15 person employing a covered individual described in 

16 subsection (b)(1)(C) to commit an act prohibited by 

17 subsection (a). Any person who willfully violates this 

18 section by terminating or retaliating against any 

19 such covered individual who makes a claim under 

20 this section shall be fined under title 18, United 

21 States Code, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or 

22 both. 

23 (2) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

25 shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
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1 committees an annual report on the enforce2 ment of paragraph (1). 

3 (B) CONTENTS.—Each such report shall—

4 (i) identify each case in which formal 

5 charges under paragraph (1) were brought; 

6 (ii) describe the status or disposition 

7 of each such case; and 

8 (iii) in any actions under subsection 

9 (b)(1)(C) in which the covered individual 

10 was the prevailing party or the substan11 tially prevailing party, indicate whether or 

12 not any formal charges under paragraph 

13 (1) have been brought and, if not, the rea14 sons therefor. 

15 (f) NO PREEMPTION.—Nothing in this section, sec16 tion 112A, or section 112B preempts or diminishes any 

17 other safeguards against discrimination, demotion, dis18 charge, suspension, threats, harassment, reprimand, retal19 iation, or any other manner of discrimination provided by 

20 Federal or State law. 

21 (g) RIGHTS RETAINED BY COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—

22 Nothing in this section, section 112A, or section 112B 

23 shall be deemed to diminish the rights, privileges, or rem24 edies of any covered individual under any Federal or State 

25 law or under any collective bargaining agreement. The 
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1 rights and remedies in this section, section 112A and sec2 tion 112B may not be waived by any agreement, policy, 

3 form, or condition of employment. 

4 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, section 112A and 

5 section 112B, the following definitions apply: 

6 (1) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘covered 

7 individual’’ means an employee of—

8 (A) the Department; 

9 (B) the Department of Transportation; 

10 (C) a contractor or subcontractor; and 

11 (D) an employer within the meaning of 

12 section 701(b) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 

13 (42 U.S.C. 2000e(b)) and who is a provider of 

14 covered transportation. 

15 (2) LAWFUL.—The term ‘‘lawful’’ means not 

16 specifically prohibited by law, except that, in the 

17 case of any information the disclosure of which is 

18 specifically prohibited by law or specifically required 

19 by Executive order to be kept classified in the inter20 est of national defense or the conduct of foreign af21 fairs, any disclosure of such information to any 

22 Member of Congress, committee of Congress, or 

23 other recipient authorized to receive such informa24 tion, shall be deemed lawful. 
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1 (3) CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘contractor’’ 

2 means a person who has entered into a contract with 

3 the Department, the Department of Transportation, 

4 or a provider of covered transportation. 

5 (4) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ 

6 means—

7 (A) with respect to an employer referred to 

8 in paragraph (1)(A) or (1)(B), an employee as 

9 defined by section 2105 of title 5, United States 

10 Code; and 

11 (B) with respect to an employer referred to 

12 in paragraph (1)(C) or (1)(D), any officer, 

13 partner, employee, or agent. 

14 (5) SUBCONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘subcon15 tractor’’—

16 (A) means any person, other than the con17 tractor, who offers to furnish or furnishes any 

18 supplies, materials, equipment, or services of 

19 any kind under a contract with the Depart20 ment, the Department of Transportation, or a 

21 provider of covered transportation; and 

22 (B) includes any person who offers to fur23 nish or furnishes general supplies to the con24 tractor or a higher tier subcontractor. 
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1 (6) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means a cor2 poration, partnership, State entity, business associa3 tion of any kind, trust, joint-stock company, or indi4 vidual. 

5 SEC. 113. INCREASE IN SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SECU6 RITY INSPECTORS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall increase the 

8 total number of positions for full-time surface transpor9 tation security inspectors of the Department so that by 

10 December 31, 2010, the total number of such positions 

11 is at least 600. 

12 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—Surface transportation secu13 rity inspectors hired by the Secretary shall have at least 

14 1 year or equivalent experience in conducting inspections 

15 and investigations and engaging in testing security sys16 tems and any other qualifications that the Secretary deter17 mines appropriate. 

18 (c) ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Secretary, 

19 in consultation with appropriate State, local, and tribal of20 ficials, shall develop a standard operating procedure clear21 ly defining the relationship between—

22 (1) surface transportation security inspectors of 

23 the Department and safety inspectors of the Depart24 ment of Transportation; and 
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1 (2) State, local, and tribal law enforcement offi2 cers and other law enforcement personnel, including 

3 railroad and public transportation police. 

4 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

6 out subsection (a) such sums as may be necessary. Such 

7 sums shall remain available until expended. 

8 SEC. 114. NATIONAL DOMESTIC PREPAREDNESS CONSOR9 TIUM. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is in the Department of 

11 Homeland Security a National Domestic Preparedness 

12 Consortium. 

13 (b) MEMBERS.—The National Domestic Prepared14 ness Consortium that identifies, develops, tests, and deliv15 ers training to State, local, and tribal emergency response 

16 providers, provides onsite and mobile training at the per17 formance and management and planning levels, and facili18 tates the delivery of awareness level training by the train19 ing partners of the Department shall consist of—

20 (1) the Center for Domestic Preparedness; 

21 (2) the National Energetic Materials Research 

22 and Testing Center, New Mexico Institute of Mining 

23 and Technology; 

24 (3) the National Center for Biomedical Re25 search and Training, Louisiana State University; 
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1 (4) the National Emergency Response and Res2 cue Training Center, Texas A&M University; 

3 (5) the National Exercise, Test, and Training 

4 Center, Nevada Test Site; and 

5 (6) the Transportation Technology Center in 

6 Pueblo, Colorado. 

7 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

9 necessary—

10 (1) to at least maintain the funding level of fis11 cal year 2007 for each member of the National Do12 mestic Preparedness Consortium listed in subsection 

13 (b) in existence prior to the inclusion of the Trans14 portation Technology Center in the Consortium; and 

15 (2) in fiscal years 2008 through 2011, increase 

16 the funding level for each member of the National 

17 Domestic Preparedness Consortium to not less than 

18 3 percent of the amount made available for the pre19 ceding fiscal year. 

20 SEC. 115. AUTHORIZATION OF VISIBLE INTERMODAL PRO21 TECTION RESPONSE TEAMS. 

22 The Secretary, acting through the Administrator of 

23 the Transportation Security Administration, is authorized 

24 to develop Visible Intermodal Protection Response (re25 ferred to in this section as ‘‘VIPR’’) teams designed to 
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1 augment security for any mode of transportation at any 

2 location within the United States. In forming a VIPR 

3 team, the Secretary—

4 (1) may use any asset of the Department, in5 cluding Federal air marshals, surface transportation 

6 security inspectors, canine detection teams, and ad7 vanced screening technology; 

8 (2) has the discretion to determine, consistent 

9 with ongoing security threats, when a VIPR should 

10 be deployed, as well as the duration of the deploy11 ment in coordination with local security and law en12 forcement officials; and 

13 (3) prior to deployments, shall consult with 

14 local security and law enforcement officials in the ju15 risdiction where the VIPR Team is planned to de16 ploy, to develop and agree upon the appropriate op17 erating protocols and in order to educate those offi18 cials regarding the mission of the VIPR teams. 

19 SEC. 116. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SECURITY CENTER 

20 OF EXCELLENCE. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

22 a National Transportation Security Center of Excellence 

23 at an institution of higher education to conduct research 

24 and education activities, and to develop or provide profes25 sional security training, including the training of rail and 
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1 public transportation employees and rail and public trans2 portation-related professionals, with emphasis on utiliza3 tion of intelligent transportation systems, technologies, 

4 and architectures. 

5 (b) CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall select an institu6 tion of higher education to operate the National Transpor7 tation Security Center of Excellence according to the fol8 lowing selection criteria: 

9 (1) The demonstrated commitment of the insti10 tution to transportation security issues. 

11 (2) The use of and experience with partnerships 

12 with other institutions of higher education, Federal 

13 laboratories, or other nonprofit laboratories. 

14 (3) Capability to conduct both practical and 

15 theoretical research and technical systems analysis. 

16 (4) Utilization of intelligent transportation sys17 tem technologies and architectures. 

18 (5) Ability to develop professional security 

19 training programs. 

20 (6) Capability and willingness to conduct edu21 cation of transportation security professionals. 

22 (7) Such other criteria as the Secretary may 

23 designate. 

24 (c) CONSORTIUM.—
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1 (1) CONSORTIUM.—The institution of higher 

2 education selected under subsection (b) shall execute 

3 agreements with other institutions of higher edu4 cation to develop a consortium to assist in accom5 plishing the goals of the Center. 

6 (2) EXPERIENCE.—The consortium shall in7 clude universities and institutions of higher edu8 cation that have existing transportation programs. 

9 (3) CERTAIN INCLUSIONS.—At least two of the 

10 consortium colleges and universities associated with 

11 the National Transportation Security Center of Ex12 cellence shall be an Historically Black College or 

13 University, an Hispanic Serving Institution, or Trib14 al University, even if the primary institution is one 

15 of the aforementioned institutions of higher edu16 cation. 

17 (4) DEGREE PROGRAM.—Of the universities se18 lected under paragraph (2), at least one shall have 

19 an established degree and an advanced degree pro20 gram in transportation studies. 

21 (d) TRAINING.—If the consortium does not include 

22 the National Transit Institute, the consortium shall work 

23 with the National Transit Institute on training programs. 

24 (e) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall provide such 

25 funding as is necessary to the National Transportation Se-
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1 curity Center of Excellence established under subsection 

2 (a) to carry out this section. 

3 SEC. 117. TSA PERSONNEL LIMITATIONS. 

4 Any statutory limitation on the number of employees 

5 in the Transportation Security Administration does not 

6 apply to employees carrying out this Act. 

7 SEC. 118. HOMELAND SECURITY GRANTS. 

8 Notwithstanding any provision of this Act, all grants 

9 distributed for security-related purposes pursuant to this 

10 Act, shall be administered on the basis of risk. 

11 SEC. 119. THREAT ASSESSMENT SCREENING. 

12 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact13 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall implement a threat 

14 assessment screening program, including name-based 

15 checks against terrorist watch lists and immigration sta16 tus check, for all employees of covered transportation, that 

17 is the same as the threat assessment screening program 

18 required for facility employees and longshoremen by the 

19 Commandant of the Coast Guard under Coast Guard No20 tice USCG–2006–24189 (71 Fed. Reg. 25066 (Friday, 

21 April 28, 2006)). 

22 SEC. 120. BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR COVERED INDIVID23 UALS. 

24 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi25 nitions apply: 
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1 (1) BACKGROUND CHECKS.—The term ‘‘back2 ground check’’ means a check of the following: 

3 (A) Relevant criminal history databases. 

4 (B) In the case of an alien (as defined in 

5 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

6 1101(a)(3)), the relevant databases to deter7 mine the status of the alien under the immigra8 tion laws of the United States. 

9 (2) COVERED INDIVIDUALS.—The term ‘‘cov10 ered individual’’ means an employee of—

11 (A) an employer, within the meaning of 

12 section 701(b) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 

13 (42 U.S.C. 2000e(b)), who is a provider of cov14 ered transportation; or 

15 (B) a contractor or subcontractor of such 

16 an employer. 

17 (b) REDRESS PROCESS.—If a provider of covered 

18 transportation conducts background checks in order to 

19 satisfy any rules, regulations, directives, or other guidance 

20 issued by the Secretary to protect covered transportation 

21 from the threat of terrorism, the provider of covered trans22 portation shall provide an adequate redress process. 

23 (c) STANDARDS FOR REDRESS PROCESS.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure 

25 that each provider of covered transportation imple-
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1 ments a redress process in accordance with sub2 section (b) for covered individuals adversely im3 pacted by a background check described in sub4 section (b). 

5 (2) STANDARDS.—The redress process shall be 

6 modeled after the appeals and waiver process estab7 lished for hazmat drivers and transportation workers 

8 at ports, as required by section 1515 of title 49, 

9 Code of Federal Regulations. 

10 (3) COMPONENTS.—The redress process shall 

11 include the following: 

12 (A) A waiver process that will allow a cov13 ered individual to demonstrate, through reha14 bilitation, or facts surrounding the conviction or 

15 other mitigating factors, that the individual is 

16 not a security risk. 

17 (B) An appeal process during which a cov18 ered individual will have an opportunity to dem19 onstrate that the individual does not have a dis20 qualifying conviction either by—

21 (i) correcting outdated underlying 

22 court records; 

23 (ii) proving mistaken identity; or 

24 (iii) establishing that the conviction 

25 cannot serve as the basis for an adverse 
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1 employment decision in accordance with 

2 the limitations contained in subsection (d). 

3 (C) A proceeding providing an independent 

4 review. 

5 (D) A process to ensure compliance with 

6 the requirements of this section. 

7 (4) PROCEEDINGS PROVIDING AN INDE8 PENDENT REVIEW.—A covered individual who re9 quests a proceeding under paragraph (3)(C) shall 

10 have the right to have waiver and appeal decisions 

11 heard by an independent decisionmaker with the 

12 ability to order reinstatement expeditiously or pro13 vide other remedy. 

14 (5) PREVIOUS BACKGROUND CHECKS.—A cov15 ered individual subjected to and adversely affected 

16 by a background check conducted by a provider of 

17 covered transportation (or a contractor or subcon18 tractor of such a provider), in the period beginning 

19 on June 23, 2006, and ending on the date of enact20 ment of this Act, to satisfy any rules, regulations, 

21 directives, or other guidance issued by the Secretary 

22 to protect covered transportation from the threat of 

23 terrorism shall have an immediate right to a pro24 ceeding with an independent decisionmaker to deter25 mine if the adverse action was in compliance with 
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1 this section and shall have a right to immediate rein2 statement or other remedy if the background check 

3 fails to comply with this section. 

4 (d) LIMITATIONS.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), if 

6 an employer performs background checks to satisfy 

7 any rule, regulation, directive, or other guidance 

8 issued by the Secretary regarding background checks 

9 of covered individuals, the employer shall be prohib10 ited from making an adverse employment decision, 

11 including removal or suspension, with respect to a 

12 covered individual based on—

13 (A) a felony conviction that occurred 7 or 

14 more years ago; 

15 (B) a conviction of any offense for which 

16 the individual was released from incarceration 5 

17 or more years ago; or 

18 (C) any felony not listed in section 

19 1572.103 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula20 tions. 

21 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—The limitations contained in 

22 paragraph (1) shall not apply to a covered individual 

23 who has been convicted of any of the following: 

24 (A) Treason (or conspiracy to commit trea25 son). 
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1 (B) Espionage (or conspiracy to commit 

2 espionage). 

3 (C) Sedition (or conspiracy to commit sedi4 tion). 

5 (D) Any crime listed in chapter 113B of 

6 title 18, United States Code (or conspiracy to 

7 commit such a crime). 

8 (e) NO PREEMPTION OF FEDERAL OR STATE LAW.—

9 Nothing in this section shall be construed as preempting 

10 a Federal, State, or local law that requires criminal his11 tory background checks of covered employees. 

12 (f) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

13 section shall be construed to affect the process for review 

14 established under section 70105(c) of title 46, United 

15 States Code, including regulations issued pursuant to such 

16 section. 

17 SEC. 121. TASK FORCE ON DISQUALIFYING CRIMES. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

19 a task force to review the lists of crimes that disqualify 

20 individuals from certain transportation-related employ21 ment under current regulations of the Transportation Se22 curity Administration and assess whether such lists of 

23 crimes are accurate indicators of a terrorism security risk. 

24 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The task force shall be composed 

25 of representatives of appropriate industries, including rep-
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1 resentatives of nonprofit employee labor organizations, 

2 and Federal agencies. 

3 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

4 of enactment of this Act, the task force shall transmit to 

5 the Secretary and Congress a report containing the results 

6 of the review, including recommendations for a common 

7 list of disqualifying crimes and the rationale for the inclu8 sion of each crime on the list. 

9 SEC. 122. PENALTIES. 

10 (a) REGULATIONS AND ORDERS OF THE SEC11 RETARY.—Section 114 of title 49, United States Code, is 

12 amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(u) GENERAL CIVIL PENALTIES AND ENFORCE14 MENT OF REGULATIONS AND ORDERS OF THE SEC15 RETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY.—

16 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION.—This subsection applies to 

17 the enforcement of regulations prescribed, and or18 ders issued, by the Secretary of Homeland Security 

19 under a provision of chapter 701 of title 46 and this 

20 title (other than chapter 449) (in this subsection re21 ferred to as an ‘applicable provision of this title’). 

22 Penalties for violation of regulations prescribed, and 

23 orders issued, by the Secretary of Homeland Secu24 rity under a provision of chapter 449 are provided 

25 under chapter 463. 
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1 ‘‘(2) GENERAL CIVIL PENALTIES.—

2 ‘‘(A) MAXIMUM CIVIL PENALTIES.—A per3 son is liable to the United States Government 

4 for a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for 

5 a violation of a regulation prescribed, or order 

6 issued, by the Secretary of Homeland Security 

7 under an applicable provision of this title. 

8 ‘‘(B) SEPARATE VIOLATIONS.—A separate 

9 violation occurs under this paragraph for each 

10 day the violation continues. 

11 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE IMPOSITION OF CIVIL

12 PENALTIES.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

14 Homeland Security may impose a civil penalty 

15 for a violation of a regulation prescribed, or 

16 order issued, under an applicable provision of 

17 this title. The Secretary of Homeland Security 

18 shall give written notice of the finding of a vio19 lation and the penalty. 

20 ‘‘(B) CIVIL ACTIONS TO COLLECT PEN21 ALTIES.—In a civil action to collect a civil pen22 alty imposed by the Secretary under this para23 graph, the issues of liability and the amount of 

24 the penalty may not be reexamined. 
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1 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF DIS2 TRICT COURTS.—Notwithstanding subpara3 graph (A) of this paragraph, the district courts 

4 of the United States have exclusive jurisdiction 

5 of a civil action involving a penalty that the 

6 Secretary initiates if—

7 ‘‘(i) the amount in controversy is 

8 more than—

9 ‘‘(I) $400,000 if the violation 

10 was committed by a person other than 

11 an individual or small business con12 cern; or 

13 ‘‘(II) $50,000 if the violation was 

14 committed by an individual or small 

15 business concern; 

16 ‘‘(ii) the action is in rem or another 

17 action in rem based on the same violation 

18 has been brought; or 

19 ‘‘(iii) another action has been brought 

20 for an injunction based on the same viola21 tion. 

22 ‘‘(D) MAXIMUM CIVIL PENALTIES IMPOSED

23 BY THE SECRETARY.—The maximum civil pen24 alty the Secretary may impose under this para25 graph is—
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1 ‘‘(i) $400,000 if the violation was 

2 committed by a person other than an indi3 vidual or small business concern; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) $50,000 if the violation was com5 mitted by an individual or small business 

6 concern. 

7 ‘‘(E) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO RE8 QUEST HEARING.—Before imposing a penalty 

9 under this section the Secretary shall provide to 

10 the person against whom the penalty is to be 

11 imposed—

12 ‘‘(i) written notice of the proposed 

13 penalty; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) the opportunity to request, not 

15 later than 30 days after the date on which 

16 the person receives the notice, a hearing on 

17 the proposed penalty. 

18 ‘‘(4) COMPROMISE AND SETOFF.—

19 ‘‘(A) COMPROMISE.—The Secretary may 

20 compromise the amount of a civil penalty im21 posed under this subsection. 

22 ‘‘(B) SETOFF.—The Government may de23 duct the amount of a civil penalty imposed or 

24 compromised under this subsection from 
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1 amounts it owes the person liable for the pen2 alty. 

3 ‘‘(5) INVESTIGATIONS AND PROCEEDINGS.—The 

4 provisions set forth in chapter 461 shall be applica5 ble to investigations and proceedings brought under 

6 this subsection to the same extent that they are ap7 plicable to investigations and proceedings brought 

8 with respect to aviation security duties designated to 

9 be carried out by the Secretary. 

10 ‘‘(6) NONAPPLICATION.—

11 ‘‘(A) PERSONS SUBJECT TO PENALTIES

12 DETERMINED BY THE SECRETARY OF DE13 FENSE.—Paragraphs (1) through (4) of this 

14 subsection do not apply to the following per15 sons, who shall be subject to penalties as deter16 mined by the Secretary of Defense or the Sec17 retary’s designee: 

18 ‘‘(i) The transportation of personnel 

19 or shipments of materials by contractors 

20 where the Department of Defense has as21 sumed control and responsibility. 

22 ‘‘(ii) A member of the Armed Forces 

23 of the United States when performing offi24 cial duties. 
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1 ‘‘(iii) A civilian employee of the De2 partment of Defense when performing offi3 cial duties. 

4 ‘‘(B) POSTAL SERVICE; DEPARTMENT OF

5 DEFENSE.—In this subsection, the term ‘per6 son’ does not include—

7 ‘‘(i) the United States Postal Service; 

8 or 

9 ‘‘(ii) the Department of Defense. 

10 ‘‘(7) SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN DEFINED.—

11 The term ‘small business concern’ has the meaning 

12 given that term in section 3 of the Small Business 

13 Act (15 U.S.C. 632).’’. 

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

15 46301(a)(4) of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

16 by striking ‘‘or another requirement under this title ad17 ministered by the Under Secretary of Transportation for 

18 Security’’. 

19 SEC. 123. SCHOOL BUS TRANSPORTATION SECURITY. 

20 (a) SCHOOL BUS SECURITY THREAT ASSESSMENT.—

21 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

22 Act, the Secretary shall transmit to the appropriate con23 gressional committees, a report, including a classified re24 port, as appropriate, containing a comprehensive threat 

25 assessment of the threat of a terrorist attack on the Na-
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1 tion’s school bus transportation system in accordance with 

2 the requirements of this section. 

3 (b) CONTENTS OF THREAT ASSESSMENT.—The as4 sessment shall include—

5 (1) an assessment of the Nation’s school bus 

6 transportation system, including publicly and pri7 vately operated systems; 

8 (2) the security threats to the assets and sys9 tems; 

10 (3) an assessment of actions already taken by 

11 operators to address identified security 

12 vulnerabilities by both private and publicly operated 

13 systems; 

14 (4) an assessment of additional actions and in15 vestments necessary to improve the security of the 

16 Nation’s school children traveling on school buses; 

17 (5) an assessment of whether additional legisla18 tion or Federal programs are needed to provide for 

19 the security of children traveling on school buses; 

20 and 

21 (6) an assessment of the psychological and eco22 nomic impacts of an attack on school buses. 

23 (c) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the threat as24 sessment, the Secretary shall consult with administrators 

25 and officials of school systems, representatives of the 
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1 school bus industry, including both public and privately 

2 operated systems, public safety and law enforcement offi3 cials, and nonprofit employee labor organizations rep4 resenting school bus drivers. 

5 SEC. 124. ENHANCED SECURITY MEASURES FOR SHIP6 MENTS OF SECURITY SENSITIVE MATERIALS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consulta9 tion with the Secretary of Transportation, shall issue reg10 ulations to require enhanced security measures for ship11 ments of security sensitive materials. 

12 (b) DEFINITIONS.—

13 (1) SECURITY SENSITIVE MATERIAL.—The Sec14 retary shall designate a material, or a group or class 

15 of material, in a particular amount and form as se16 curity sensitive when the Secretary determines that 

17 transporting the material in commerce poses a sig18 nificant risk to national security due to the potential 

19 use of the material in an act of terrorism. In making 

20 such a designation, the Secretary shall consider the 

21 following: 

22 (A) A highway route-controlled quantity of 

23 a Class 7 (radioactive) material, as defined in 

24 section 173.403 of title 49, Code of Federal 
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1 Regulations, in a motor vehicle, railroad car, or 

2 freight container. 

3 (B) More than 25 kilograms (55 pounds) 

4 of a division 1.1, 1.2, or 1.3 explosive, as de5 fined in section 173.50 of title 49, Code of Fed6 eral Regulations, in a motor vehicle, rail car, or 

7 freight container. 

8 (C) More than one liter (1.06 quart) per 

9 package of a material poisonous by inhalation, 

10 as defined in section 171.8 of title 49, Code of 

11 Federal Regulations, that meets the criteria for 

12 hazard zone A, as specified in section 

13 173.116(a) or section 173.133(a) of title 49, 

14 Code of Federal Regulations. 

15 (D) A shipment of a quantity of hazardous 

16 materials in a bulk packaging having a capacity 

17 equal to or greater than 13,248 liters (3,500 

18 gallons) for liquids or gases or more than 13.24 

19 cubic meters (68 cubic feet) for solids. 

20 (E) A shipment in other than a bulk pack21 aging of 2,268 kilograms (5,000 pounds) gross 

22 weight or more of one class of hazardous mate23 rials for which placarding of a vehicle, rail car, 

24 or freight container is required for that class 
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1 under the provisions of section 172.521B of 

2 title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. 

3 (F) A select agent or toxin regulated by 

4 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

5 under part 73 of title 42, Code of Federal Reg6 ulations. 

7 (G) A quantity of hazardous material that 

8 requires placarding under the provisions of sub9 part F of part 172 of title 49, Code of Federal 

10 Regulations. 

11 (2) AREA OF CONCERN.—For purposes of this 

12 section, the term ‘‘area of concern’’ means a geo13 graphic region designated by the Secretary as com14 manding special consideration with respect to the se15 curity of the transportation of security sensitive ma16 terials, which shall include high threat urban areas 

17 as determined by the Secretary. 

18 (3) STORAGE PATTERN.—The term ‘‘storage 

19 pattern’’ is defined as the conditions of storage, in20 cluding—

21 (A) location of cars in railroad yards or on 

22 railroad-controlled leased tracks; 

23 (B) type of storage (such as bulk transfer 

24 or not); 
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1 (C) typical types and numbers of security 

2 sensitive material cars stored in close proximity 

3 (in ranges); 

4 (D) population density; 

5 (E) average length of time cars are stored, 

6 attended or unattended; and 

7 (F) security measures present, including 

8 physical security measures, secure handoffs and 

9 nearest available safe havens for storage in case 

10 of heightened threat conditions. 

11 (4) MOST SECURE.—The term ‘‘most secure 

12 route or storage pattern’’ means the route or storage 

13 pattern that best reduces the risk, including con14 sequences, of a terrorist attack on a shipment of se15 curity sensitive material that is transported through 

16 or near an area of concern. 

17 (c) COMPILATION OF ROUTE AND STORAGE PAT18 TERN INFORMATION FOR RAILROAD CARRIERS TRANS19 PORTING SECURITY SENSITIVE MATERIALS.—Not later 

20 than 90 days after the end of each calendar year, a rail21 road carrier shall compile commodity data by route and 

22 storage pattern, a line segment or series of line segments 

23 as aggregated by the railroad carrier. Within the railroad 

24 carrier selected route, the commodity data shall identify 

25 the geographic location of the route and storage pattern 
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1 and the total number of shipments by United Nations 

2 identification number for security sensitive materials and 

3 storage patterns along the routes. 

4 (d) RAIL TRANSPORTATION ROUTE AND STORAGE

5 PATTERN ANALYSIS FOR SECURITY SENSITIVE MATE6 RIALS.—For each calendar year, a railroad carrier shall 

7 provide a written analysis of the security risks for the 

8 transportation routes and storage patterns, identified in 

9 the commodity data collected as required by subsection 

10 (c). The security risks present shall be analyzed for the 

11 route, railroad facilities, railroad storage facilities, private 

12 storage facilities, and areas of concern along or in prox13 imity to the route. 

14 (e) ALTERNATIVE ROUTE AND STORAGE PATTERN

15 ANALYSIS FOR SECURITY SENSITIVE MATERIALS.—

16 (1) By the end of each calendar year, a railroad 

17 carrier shall—

18 (A) identify to the Department practical 

19 alternative routes and storage patterns that will 

20 avoid areas of concern for each of the transpor21 tation routes or facilities it used to ship or store 

22 security sensitive materials through or near 

23 areas of concern in the last calendar year; and 

24 (B) perform a security risk assessment of 

25 the alternative route or storage pattern for 
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1 comparison to the route and storage pattern 

2 analysis specified in subsection (d). 

3 (2) The analysis shall include the following: 

4 (A) Identification of security risks for al5 ternative route or storage pattern. 

6 (B) Comparison of those risks identified in 

7 subparagraph (A) to the primary rail transpor8 tation route or storage pattern. 

9 (3) railroad carriers transporting security sen10 sitive materials must consider the availability of 

11 interchange agreements or systems of tracks and fa12 cilities owned by other operators when determining 

13 whether an alternate route for transporting the secu14 rity sensitive materials to avoid areas of concern is 

15 practical. 

16 (4) An alternate route or storage facility that 

17 will avoid an area of concern may be considered by 

18 the railroad carrier to be impractical if the shipment 

19 originates in or is destined for the area of concern, 

20 or if there would be no harm beyond the property 

21 of the railroad carrier transporting the shipment or 

22 storage facility storing the shipment in the event of 

23 a successful terrorist attack on the shipment. 

24 (f) ALTERNATIVE ROUTE AND STORAGE PATTERN

25 SELECTION FOR SECURITY SENSITIVE MATERIALS.—A 
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1 railroad carrier shall use the analysis required by sub2 sections (d) and (e) to select the most secure route and 

3 storage pattern to be used in moving the materials speci4 fied in subsection (b). 

5 (g) REVIEW.—Not less than once every 5 years, the 

6 analyses route and storage pattern selection determina7 tions required under subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f) shall 

8 include a comprehensive, system-wide review of all oper9 ational changes, infrastructure modifications, traffic ad10 justments, changes in the nature of the areas of concern 

11 located along or in proximity to the route, or other 

12 changes affecting the security of the movements of the ma13 terials specified in subsection (b) of this section that were 

14 implemented during the 5-year period. 

15 SEC. 125. TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS AND CLEARINGHOUSE 

16 TO IMPROVE SECURITY OF COVERED TRANS17 PORTATION. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 

19 Under Secretary for Science and Technology and the Di20 rector of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (for radi21 ological and nuclear detection technologies and training), 

22 in consultation with the Director of the National Institute 

23 of Standards and Technology and other appropriate Fed24 eral agencies, as appropriate, shall establish a standards 

25 program to support the development, promulgation, and 
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1 updating as necessary of national voluntary consensus 

2 standards for performance, testing, use, and training with 

3 respect to technologies that will improve the security of 

4 covered transportation in order to meet the security plan 

5 requirements under section 103(d)(1) and the security 

6 performance requirements under section 103(f). 

7 (b) EQUIPMENT STANDARDS.—

8 (1) REQUIREMENTS.—The standards for the 

9 performance, use, and validation of equipment devel10 oped under subsection (a) shall be designed to assist 

11 Federal, State, local, and tribal government and 

12 nongovernment emergency response providers, other 

13 components of the Department, providers of covered 

14 transportation, shippers of hazardous material, man15 ufacturers of railroad and transit cars, transpor16 tation and public safety officials, and other relevant 

17 stakeholders in acquiring and implementing tech18 nologies to prevent, prepare for, mitigate against, 

19 and respond to acts of terrorism on covered trans20 portation. Such standards—

21 (A) shall be, to the maximum extent prac22 ticable, consistent with any existing voluntary 

23 consensus standards; 

24 (B) shall take into account, as appropriate, 

25 new types of terrorism threats which may tar-
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1 get covered transportation and responsibilities 

2 of the Department that may not have been con3 templated when such existing standards were 

4 developed; 

5 (C) shall focus on maximizing interoper6 ability, interchangeability, durability, flexibility, 

7 efficiency, efficacy, portability, sustainability, 

8 and safety; 

9 (D) shall facilitate deployment of the sys10 tems to the field and include concept of oper11 ations; 

12 (E) shall consider human factors science; 

13 and 

14 (F) shall cover all appropriate uses of the 

15 equipment. 

16 (2) CATEGORIES OF EQUIPMENT.—In carrying 

17 out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall specifically 

18 consider national voluntary consensus standards for 

19 the performance, use, and validation of the following 

20 categories of equipment: 

21 (A) Physical security equipment, including 

22 surveillance cameras, alarm systems, access/in23 trusion control, motion detection, barriers such 

24 as fences, impact resistant doors, bomb-resist-
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1 ant trash receptacles, and personnel and vehicle 

2 identification systems. 

3 (B) Interoperable communications equip4 ment, including wireless and wireline voice, 

5 video, and data networks. 

6 (C) Information technology, including posi7 tion locating and tracking systems. 

8 (D) Cybersecurity equipment, including bi9 ometric authentication systems, network and 

10 personal firewalls and other authentication 

11 technologies. 

12 (E) Personal protective equipment, includ13 ing garments, boots, gloves, and hoods and 

14 other protective clothing. 

15 (F) Operational and search and rescue 

16 equipment, including canines and scene control 

17 and safety equipment such as first aid kits. 

18 (G) Explosive mitigation devices and explo19 sive detection and analysis equipment. 

20 (H) Chemical, biological, radiological, and 

21 nuclear detection equipment. 

22 (I) Decontamination equipment. 

23 (J) Noninvasive inspection and screening 

24 systems. 

25 (K) Medical and pharmaceutical supplies. 
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1 (L) Other terrorism incident prevention 

2 equipment. 

3 (M) Such other equipment for which the 

4 Secretary determines that national voluntary 

5 consensus standards would be appropriate to 

6 improve the security of covered transportation. 

7 (3) CERTIFICATION AND ACCREDITATION.—The 

8 Secretary, in carrying out this subsection, and in co9 ordination with the Director of the National Insti10 tute of Standards and Technology, may support the 

11 certification of equipment and the accreditation of 

12 laboratories to conduct testing and evaluation. 

13 (c) TRAINING STANDARDS.—

14 (1) REQUIREMENTS.—The standards for the 

15 training developed under subsection (a) shall be de16 signed to enable Federal, State, local, and tribal gov17 ernment and nongovernment emergency response 

18 providers, other Department personnel, providers of 

19 covered transportation, shippers of hazardous mate20 rial, manufacturers of railroad and transit cars, 

21 transportation and public safety officials, and other 

22 relevant stakeholders to use equipment effectively 

23 and appropriately in carrying out their responsibil24 ities to secure covered transportation. Such stand25 ards shall prioritize—
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1 (A) enabling appropriate stakeholders to 

2 prevent, prepare for, respond to, mitigate 

3 against, and recover from terrorist threats on 

4 covered transportation, including threats from 

5 chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear 

6 weapons and explosive devices capable of inflict7 ing significant human casualties, and other po8 tentially catastrophic emergencies; and 

9 (B) familiarizing appropriate stakeholders 

10 with the proper use of equipment, including the 

11 capabilities and limitations of equipment and 

12 conditions in which the equipment is expected 

13 to operate. 

14 (2) CATEGORIES OF ACTIVITIES.—In carrying 

15 out paragraph (1), the Secretary specifically shall in16 clude the following categories of activities: 

17 (A) Regional planning. 

18 (B) Joint exercises. 

19 (C) Information analysis and sharing. 

20 (D) Decision making protocols for incident 

21 response and alarms. 

22 (E) Emergency notification of affected 

23 populations. 
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1 (F) Detection of biological, nuclear, radio2 logical, and chemical weapons of mass destruc3 tion. 

4 (G) Screening and patrolling procedures. 

5 (H) Such other activities for which the 

6 Secretary determines that national voluntary 

7 consensus training standards would be appro8 priate. 

9 (3) CONSISTENCY.—In carrying out this sub10 section, the Secretary shall ensure that training 

11 standards are consistent with the principles of all 

12 hazards emergency preparedness. 

13 (d) CONSULTATION WITH STANDARDS ORGANIZA14 TIONS.—In establishing national voluntary consensus 

15 standards for equipment and training under this section, 

16 the Secretary shall consult with relevant public and private 

17 sector groups, including—

18 (1) the National Institute of Standards and 

19 Technology; 

20 (2) the American Public Transportation Asso21 ciation; 

22 (3) the National Fire Protection Association; 

23 (4) the National Association of County and City 

24 Health Officials; 

25 (5) the Association of American Railroads; 
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1 (6) the American Bus Association; 

2 (7) the Association of State and Territorial 

3 Health Officials; 

4 (8) the American National Standards Institute; 

5 (9) the National Institute of Justice; 

6 (10) the Inter-Agency Board for Equipment 

7 Standardization and Interoperability; 

8 (11) the National Public Health Performance 

9 Standards Program; 

10 (12) the National Institute for Occupational 

11 Safety and Health; 

12 (13) ASTM International; 

13 (14) the International Safety Equipment Asso14 ciation; 

15 (15) the Emergency Management Accreditation 

16 Program; 

17 (16) nonprofit employee labor organizations; 

18 and 

19 (17) to the extent the Secretary considers ap20 propriate, other national voluntary consensus stand21 ards development organizations, other interested 

22 Federal, State, and local agencies, and other inter23 ested persons. 

24 (e) TECHNOLOGY CLEARINGHOUSE TO ENHANCE

25 THE SECURITY OF COVERED TRANSPORTATION.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall utilize 

2 the Technology Clearinghouse established under sec3 tion 313 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

4 U.S.C. 193) to facilitate the identification, acquisi5 tion, and deployment of technology, equipment, and 

6 training for use by Federal, State, local, and tribal 

7 agencies, emergency response providers, other com8 ponents of the Department, providers of covered 

9 transportation, shippers of hazardous material, man10 ufacturers of railroad and transit cars, transpor11 tation and public safety officials, and other relevant 

12 stakeholders to prevent, prepare for, mitigate 

13 against, respond to, or recover from acts of ter14 rorism on covered transportation. 

15 (2) ELEMENTS OF THE TECHNOLOGY CLEAR16 INGHOUSE.—Activities in carrying out paragraph (1) 

17 shall include—

18 (A) identifying available technologies that 

19 have been, or are in the process of being, devel20 oped, tested, evaluated, or demonstrated by the 

21 Department, other Federal agencies, the private 

22 sector, or foreign governments and international 

23 organizations, and reviewing whether such tech24 nologies may be useful in assisting appropriate 

25 stakeholders to prevent, prepare for, mitigate 
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1 against, respond to, or recover from acts of ter2 rorism on covered transportation; and 

3 (B) communicating to Federal, State, 

4 local, and tribal agencies, emergency response 

5 providers, other components of the Department, 

6 providers of covered transportation, shippers of 

7 hazardous material, manufacturers of railroad 

8 and transit cars, transportation and public safe9 ty officials, and other relevant stakeholders the 

10 availability of such technologies, as well as—

11 (i) the technology’s specifications and 

12 concept of operations; 

13 (ii) satisfaction of appropriate equip14 ment and training standards developed 

15 under subsections (a) and (b); 

16 (iii) relevant grants available from the 

17 Department to purchase or train with such 

18 technologies; and 

19 (iv) whether the Secretary has des20 ignated a product, equipment, service, de21 vice, or technology under subparagraph (A) 

22 as a qualified antiterrorism technology 

23 pursuant to the Support Anti-terrorism by 

24 Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 

25 2002 (6 U.S.C. 441 et seq.). 
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1 (3) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall en2 sure that the technology clearinghouse activities con3 ducted through the Under Secretary for Science and 

4 Technology are coordinated with appropriate compo5 nents of the Department including the Domestic Nu6 clear Detection Office, the Transportation Security 

7 Administration, the Office of Infrastructure Protec8 tion, the Office of Grants and Training, and the 

9 Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

10 (4) AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary may enter 

11 into memoranda of understandings or agreements 

12 with other Federal agencies, foreign governments, 

13 and national and international organizations as ap14 propriate, in order to maximize the availability of 

15 such technologies and information through the Tech16 nology Clearinghouse. 

17 (f) SAVINGS PROVISION.—An action of the Secretary 

18 or the Secretary of Transportation under this Act is not 

19 an exercise, under section 4(b)(1) of the Occupational 

20 Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653(b)(1)), of 

21 statutory authority to prescribe or enforce standards or 

22 regulations affecting occupational safety or health. 

23 SEC. 126. RAIL TANK CAR SECURITY TESTING. 

24 (a) RAIL TANK CAR VULNERABILITY ASSESS25 MENT.—
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1 (1) ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary and the Sec2 retary of Transportation shall jointly assess the like3 ly methods of a deliberate attack against a rail tank 

4 car used to transport toxic-inhalation-hazard mate5 rials, and for each method assessed, the degree to 

6 which it may be successful in causing death, injury, 

7 or serious adverse effects to human health, the envi8 ronment, critical infrastructure, national security, 

9 the national economy, or public welfare. 

10 (2) THREATS.—In carrying out paragraph (1), 

11 the Secretary and the Secretary of Transportation 

12 shall jointly consider the most current threat infor13 mation as to likely methods of a successful attack on 

14 a rail tank car transporting toxic-inhalation-hazard 

15 materials, and may consider the following: 

16 (A) An improvised explosive device placed 

17 along the tracks. 

18 (B) An improvised explosive device at19 tached to the rail car. 

20 (C) The use of shoulder-fired missiles. 

21 (D) The use of rocket propelled grenades. 

22 (E) The use of mortars or high-caliber 

23 weapons. 

24 (3) PHYSICAL TESTING.—In developing the as25 sessment required under paragraph (1), the Sec-
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1 retary and the Secretary of Transportation shall 

2 conduct physical testing of the vulnerability of rail 

3 tank cars used to transport toxic-inhalation-hazard 

4 materials to different methods of a deliberate attack, 

5 using technical information and criteria to evaluate 

6 the structural integrity of railroad tank cars. 

7 (4) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after the 

8 completion of the assessment under paragraph (1), 

9 the Secretary shall provide to the appropriate con10 gressional committees a report, in the appropriate 

11 format, on such assessment. 

12 (b) RAIL TANK CAR DISPERSION MODELING.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

14 through the National Infrastructure Simulation and 

15 Analysis Center, shall conduct air dispersion mod16 eling analysis of a release of the contents of a single 

17 rail tank car of toxic-inhalation-hazard materials in 

18 at least three high-threat urban areas in the United 

19 States. 

20 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—The analysis under this 

21 subsection shall take into account the following con22 siderations: 

23 (A) A deliberate attack on a rail tank car 

24 transporting toxic-inhalation-hazard materials, 
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1 including the most likely means of attack and 

2 the resulting dispersal rate. 

3 (B) Different times of day, to account for 

4 differences in population size and density in the 

5 urban area, as well as differences in cloud cov6 erage over the affected regions. 

7 (C) Historically accurate wind speeds, tem8 peratures and directions. 

9 (D) The difference between a rail tank car 

10 in motion and a stationary rail tank car. 

11 (E) Emergency response procedures by 

12 local officials, including the availability of med13 ical countermeasures to treat exposures to 

14 toxic-inhalation-hazard materials. 

15 (F) Any other considerations the Secretary 

16 believes would develop an accurate, plausible 

17 dispersion model for toxic-inhalation-hazard 

18 materials released from a rail tank car as a re19 sult of a terrorist act. 

20 (3) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the disper21 sion modeling under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

22 and the Secretary of Transportation shall consult 

23 with the appropriate State, local, and tribal officials 

24 of the high-threat urban area selected, and with 

25 other Federal agencies as appropriate. 
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1 (4) INFORMATION SHARING.—Upon completion 

2 of the analysis required under paragraph (1), the 

3 Secretary shall share the information developed with 

4 the appropriate stakeholders within each high-threat 

5 urban area selected, given appropriate information 

6 protection provisions as may be required by the Sec7 retary. 

8 (5) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after 

9 completion of all dispersion analyses under para10 graph (1), the Secretary shall submit to the appro11 priate congressional committees a report detailing 

12 the Secretary’s conclusions and findings in an appro13 priate format. 

14 SEC. 127. RAIL RADIOLOGICAL AND NUCLEAR DETECTION. 

15 (a) PROTOTYPE.—Not later than one year after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, the Domestic Nuclear De17 tection Office shall begin testing and evaluation of proto18 type systems to detect nuclear or radiological materials in 

19 rail security venues, including spectroscopic technologies. 

20 (b) STRATEGY.—Upon successful developmental test21 ing and evaluation of such radiation detection technologies 

22 at Domestic Nuclear Detection Office test facilities, as 

23 well as extensive testing and evaluation in operational en24 vironments, the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office shall, 

25 in coordination with Customs and Border Protection and 
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1 the Transportation Security Administration, ensure ap2 propriate training, operations, and response protocols are 

3 established and, shall develop a deployment strategy to de4 tect nuclear or radiological materials arriving in or trans5 porting through the United States by rail. Such strategy 

6 shall consider the integration of radiation detection tech7 nologies with other nonintrusive inspection technologies, 

8 including imagery and density scanning, in order to utilize 

9 existing rail examination facilities and further strengthen 

10 border security. 

11 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than Sep12 tember 30, 2008, the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office 

13 shall transmit to Congress a report. Such report shall—

14 (1) describe the progress of testing and evalua15 tion under subsection (a); and 

16 (2) in coordination with U.S. Customs and Bor17 der Protection and the Transportation Security Ad18 ministration, describe the development of a strategy 

19 under subsection (b). 

20 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Domestic Nuclear De21 tection Office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and 

22 the Transportation Security Administration shall begin 

23 implementation of the strategy developed under subsection 

24 (b) after verification of systems performance. 
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1 SEC. 128. REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE PREFERENCE TO 

2 QUALIFIED ANTI-TERRORISM TECH3 NOLOGIES. 

4 (a) PREFERENCE.—In using grant funds provided 

5 under this Act to purchase products, equipment, services, 

6 devices, or technologies to be employed in the implementa7 tion of any security plan required under this Act, a grant 

8 recipient should, to the extent practicable, give preference 

9 to products, equipment, services, devices, and technologies 

10 that the Secretary has designated as qualified anti-ter11 rorism technologies under the Support Anti-terrorism by 

12 Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002 (subtitle G 

13 of title VIII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002; 6 

14 U.S.C. 441 et seq.), if the grant recipient determines that 

15 such a product, equipment, service, device, or technology 

16 meets or exceeds the requirements of the security plan. 

17 (b) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section 

18 shall affect grant recipient requirements pursuant to sec19 tion 5323(j) of title 49, United States Code, section 

20 24305(f) of title 49, United States Code, and the Buy 

21 American Act (41 U.S.C. 10). 

22 SEC. 129. PROMOTING LIABILITY PROTECTIONS FOR PRO23 VIDERS OF COVERED TRANSPORTATION AND 

24 RELATED TECHNOLOGIES. 

25 The Secretary shall work with providers of covered 

26 transportation to identify for procurement products, 
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1 equipment, services, devices, and technologies to be em2 ployed in the implementation of security plans required 

3 under this Act, that are designated by the Secretary as 

4 qualified anti-terrorism technologies under the Support 

5 Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 

6 2002 (subtitle G of title VIII of the Homeland Security 

7 Act of 2002; 6 U.S.C. 441 et seq.) or may otherwise be 

8 eligible for liability protections. 

9 SEC. 130. INTERNATIONAL RAIL SECURITY PROGRAM. 

10 (a) NON-INTRUSIVE INSPECTION EQUIPMENT.—For 

11 the purpose of checking in-bound rail shipments to the 

12 United States for terrorists or weapons, including weapons 

13 of mass destruction, the Secretary shall—

14 (1) deploy, where practicable, non-intrusive in15 spection imaging equipment at locations where rail 

16 shipments cross an international border to enter the 

17 United States; or 

18 (2) implement alternative procedures to check 

19 such rail shipments at locations where the deploy20 ment of non-intrusive inspection imaging equipment 

21 is determined to not be practicable. 

22 (b) ADVANCED FILING OF SECURITY DATA.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall—

24 (A) identify and seek the submission of ad25 ditional data elements for improved high-risk 
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1 targeting related to the movement of cargo 

2 through the international supply chain utilizing 

3 a railroad prior to importation into the United 

4 States; and 

5 (B) analyze the data provided pursuant to 

6 in paragraph (1) to identify high-risk cargo for 

7 inspection. 

8 (2) INTERNATIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN DE9 FINED.—For purposes of this subsection, the term 

10 ‘‘international supply chain’’ means the end-to-end 

11 process for shipping goods to or from the United 

12 States beginning at the point of origin (including 

13 manufacturer, supplier, or vendor) through a point 

14 of distribution to the destination. 

15 (c) USE OF TRANSPORTATION DATA.—In carrying 

16 out this subsection, the Secretary shall make use of data 

17 collected and maintained by the Secretary of Transpor18 tation. 

19 SEC. 131. TERRORIST WATCHLIST AND IMMIGRATION STA20 TUS REVIEW AT HIGH-RISK TRANSPOR21 TATION SITES. 

22 In carrying out section 119, the Secretary shall re23 quire each provider of covered transportation, including 

24 contractors and subcontractors, assigned to a high-risk 

25 tier under section 102 to submit the names of their em-
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1 ployees to the Secretary to conduct checks of their employ2 ees against available terrorist watchlists and immigration 

3 status databases. 

4 SEC. 132. REVIEW OF GRANT-MAKING EFFICIENCY. 

5 (a) ANNUAL STUDY.—The Comptroller General of 

6 the United States shall conduct an annual study for each 

7 of the first 3 years after the enactment of this title regard8 ing the administration and use of the grants awarded 

9 under sections 105, 106, and 107 of this title, including—

10 (1) the efficiency of the division of the grant11 making process, including whether the Department 

12 of Transportation’s role in distributing, auditing, 

13 and monitoring the grant funds produces efficiency 

14 compared to the consolidation of these responsibil15 ities in the Department of Homeland Security; 

16 (2) whether the roles of the Department of 

17 Homeland Security and the Department of Trans18 portation in the administration of the grants permit 

19 the grants to be awarded and used in a timely and 

20 efficient manner and according to their intended 

21 purposes; 

22 (3) the use of grant funds, including whether 

23 grant funds are used for authorized purposes. 

24 (b) REPORT.—The Comptroller General of the 

25 United States shall submit an annual report to the appro-
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1 priate congressional committees on the results of the study 

2 for each of the first 3 years after enactment of this title, 

3 including any recommendations for improving the admin4 istration and use of the grant funds awarded under sec5 tions 105, 106, and 107. 

6 SEC. 133. ROLES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SE7 CURITY AND THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANS8 PORTATION. 

9 The Secretary of Homeland Security is the principal 

10 Federal official responsible for transportation security. 

11 The roles and responsibilities of the Department of Home12 land Security and the Department of Transportation in 

13 carrying out sections 101, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 109, 

14 110, 111, 113, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 

15 131, and 201 of this Act are the roles and responsibilities 

16 of such Departments pursuant to the Aviation and Trans17 portation Security Act (Public Law 107–71); the Intel18 ligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 

19 (Public Law 108–458); the National Infrastructure Pro20 tection Plan required by Homeland Security Presidential 

21 Directive 7; Executive Order 13416: Strengthening Sur22 face Transportation Security, dated December 5, 2006; 

23 the Memorandum of Understanding between the Depart24 ment and the Department of Transportation on Roles and 

25 Responsibilities, dated September 28, 2004; the Annex to 
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1 the Memorandum of Understanding between the Depart2 ment and the Department of Transportation on Roles and 

3 Responsibilities concerning Railroad Security, dated Sep4 tember 28, 2006; the Annex to the Memorandum of Un5 derstanding between the Department and the Department 

6 of Transportation on Roles and Responsibilities con7 cerning Public Transportation Security, dated September 

8 8, 2005; and any subsequent agreements between the De9 partment of Homeland Security and the Department of 

10 Transportation. 

11 SEC. 134. ASSESSMENT AND REPORT. 

12 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary, in coordination with the 

13 Secretary of Transportation, shall assess the safety and 

14 security vulnerabilities of placing high voltage direct cur15 rent electric transmission lines along active railroad 

16 rights-of-way. In conducting the assessment, the Secretary 

17 shall, at a minimum, evaluate the risks to local inhabitants 

18 and to consumers of electric power transmitted by those 

19 lines, associated with a train collision or derailment that 

20 damages such electric transmission lines. 

21 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date 

22 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit the 

23 results of the assessment in subsection (a) to the appro24 priate congressional committees as defined in this Act. 
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1 SEC. 135. STUDY OF FOREIGN RAIL SECURITY PRACTICES. 

2 The Secretary shall—

3 (1) study select foreign rail security practices, 

4 and the cost and feasibility of implementing selected 

5 best practices that are not currently used in the 

6 United States, including—

7 (A) implementing covert testing processes 

8 to evaluate the effectiveness of rail system secu9 rity personnel; 

10 (B) implementing practices used by foreign 

11 rail operators that integrate security into infra12 structure design; 

13 (C) implementing random searches or 

14 screening of passengers and their baggage; and 

15 (D) establishing and maintaining an infor16 mation clearinghouse on existing and emergency 

17 security technologies and security best practices 

18 used in the passenger rail industry both in the 

19 United States and abroad; and 

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

21 with any recommendations that the Secretary may 

22 have for implementing covert testing, practices for 

23 integrating security in infrastructure design, random 

24 searches or screenings, and an information clearing25 house to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

26 Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee 
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1 on Homeland Security of the House of Representa2 tives, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

3 Transportation of the Senate, and the Committee on 

4 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

5 Representatives not later than 1 year after the date 

6 of enactment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 136. ALTERNATIVE MATERIAL SOURCES. 

8 The Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with 

9 the Secretary, shall establish a program to coordinate with 

10 State and local governments to minimize the need for 

11 transportation of toxic inhalation hazardous materials by 

12 rail. 

13 SEC. 137. IMMUNITY FOR REPORTING SUSPICIOUS ACTIVI14 TIES AND MITIGATING TERRORIST THREATS 

15 RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION SECURITY. 

16 (a) IMMUNITY FOR REPORTING SUSPICIOUS BEHAV17 IOR.—Any person who makes or causes to be made a vol18 untary disclosure of any suspicious transaction, activity or 

19 occurrence indicating that an individual may be engaging 

20 or preparing to engage in a matter described in subsection 

21 (b) to any employee or agent of the Department of Home22 land Security, the Department of Transportation, the De23 partment of Justice, any Federal, State, or local law en24 forcement officer, any transportation security officer, or 

25 to any employee or agent of a transportation system shall 
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1 be immune from civil liability to any person under any 

2 law or regulation of the United States, any constitution, 

3 law, or regulation of any State or political subdivision of 

4 any State, for such disclosure. 

5 (b) COVERED DISCLOSURES.—The matter referred to 

6 in subsection (a) is a possible violation or attempted viola7 tion of law or regulation relating—

8 (1) to a threat to transportation systems or 

9 passenger safety or security; or 

10 (2) to an act of terrorism, as defined in section 

11 3077 of title 18, United States Code, that involves 

12 or is directed against transportation systems or pas13 sengers. 

14 (c) IMMUNITY FOR MITIGATION OF THREATS.—Any 

15 person, including an owner, operator or employee of a 

16 transportation system, who takes reasonable action to 

17 mitigate a suspicious matter described in subsection (b) 

18 shall be immune from civil liability to any person under 

19 any law or regulation of the United States, any constitu20 tion, law, or regulation of any State or political subdivision 

21 of any State, for such action. 

22 (d) LIMITATION ON APPLICATION.—Subsection (a) 

23 shall not apply to a statement or disclosure by a person 

24 that, at the time it is made, is known by the person to 

25 be false. 
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1 (e) ATTORNEY FEES AND COSTS.—If a person is 

2 named as a defendant in a civil lawsuit for making vol3 untary disclosures of any suspicious transaction or taking 

4 actions to mitigate a suspicious matter described in sub5 section (b), and the person is found to be immune from 

6 civil liability under this section, the person shall be entitled 

7 to recover from the plaintiff all reasonable costs and attor8 ney’s fees as allowed by the court. 

9 (f) RETROACTIVE APPLICATION.—This section shall 

10 apply to activities and claims occurring on or after Novem11 ber 20, 2006. 

12 TITLE II—SECURE TRANSPOR13 TATION THROUGH IN14 CREASED USE OF CANINE DE15 TECTION TEAMS 

16 SEC. 201. INCREASING THE NUMBER OF CANINE DETEC17 TION TEAMS FOR TRANSPORTATION SECU18 RITY. 

19 (a) MINIMUM REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall 

20 coordinate with owners and providers of covered transpor21 tation systems to encourage the deployment of canine de22 tection teams at each high-risk transportation system to 

23 provide continuous coverage if the Secretary considers it 

24 necessary. Each canine detection team—
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1 (1) shall be trained to detect explosives, and, to 

2 the greatest extent possible, chemical and biological 

3 weapons; and 

4 (2) may be deployed to alternate sites to pro5 vide additional coverage during times of increased 

6 risk or due to specific threat information, as deter7 mined by the Secretary. 

8 (b) INCREASE.—The Secretary shall coordinate with 

9 owners and providers of covered transportation systems to 

10 encourage an increase in the number of trained canine de11 tection teams deployed at the Nation’s high-risk rail and 

12 mass transit systems by not less than 10 percent each fis13 cal year for fiscal years 2008 through 2012. Each canine 

14 detection team shall be trained to detect explosives, and, 

15 to the greatest extent possible, chemical and biological 

16 weapons. 

17 SEC. 202. NATIONAL EXPLOSIVES DETECTION CANINE 

18 TEAM PROGRAM INCREASE. 

19 (a) INCREASE IN TEAMS.—The National Explosives 

20 Detection Canine Team Program of the Transportation 

21 Security Administration may train up to an additional 100 

22 canine detection teams per year but shall train at least 

23 the following numbers of additional teams: 

24 (1) 50 in fiscal year 2008. 

25 (2) 55 in fiscal year 2009. 
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1 (3) 60 in fiscal year 2010. 

2 (4) 66 in fiscal year 2011. 

3 (5) 73 in fiscal year 2012. 

4 (b) DEPLOYED THROUGHOUT COUNTRY.—The ca5 nine detection teams authorized under this section shall 

6 be deployed across the country to strengthen the security 

7 of covered transportation systems, including buses, sub8 way systems, ferries, and passenger railroad carriers. 

9 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

10 of the enactment of this section, the Administrator of the 

11 Transportation Security Administration shall submit to 

12 the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 

13 Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security 

14 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report on the 

15 personnel and resource needs to fulfill the requirements 

16 of this section. 

17 (d) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap18 propriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out 

19 this section. 

20 SEC. 203. TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION 

21 BREEDING PROGRAM INCREASE. 

22 (a) TSA PUPPY PROGRAM.—The Transportation Se23 curity Administration Puppy Program shall work to in24 crease the number of domestically bred canines to help 

25 meet the increase in demand for canine detection teams 
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1 authorized in section 202 while preserving the current 

2 quality of canines provided for training. 

3 (b) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 90 days 

4 after the date of the enactment of this section, the Admin5 istrator of the Transportation Security Administration 

6 shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of 

7 the House and the Committee on Homeland Security and 

8 Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report on the per9 sonnel and resource needs to fulfill the requirements of 

10 this section. 

11 (c) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap12 propriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out 

13 this section. 

Passed the House of Representatives March 27, 

2007. 

Attest:

Clerk. 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1401

AN ACT

To improve the security of railroads, public transStates, and for other purposes. portation, and over-the-road buses in the United