I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1401 

To improve the security of railroads, public transportation, and over-theroad buses in the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 8, 2007 

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi (for himself, Mr. KING of New York, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. DICKS, Ms. HARMAN, Mrs. 

LOWEY, Ms. NORTON, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Mrs. 

CHRISTENSEN, Mr. ETHERIDGE, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. 

CARNEY, Ms. CLARKE, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, and Mr. PERLMUTTER) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation 

and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

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


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.— 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. National strategy for rail and public transportation security. 

Sec. 4. Assignment of providers of covered transportation to risk-based tiers. 

Sec. 5. Rail and public transportation assessments and plans. 

Sec. 6. Information sharing plan. 

Sec. 7. Rail security assistance. 

Sec. 8. Public transportation security assistance. 

Sec. 9. Over-the-road bus security assistance. 

Sec. 10. Fire and life safety improvements. 

Sec. 11. Security training program. 

Sec. 12. Security exercises. 

Sec. 13. Security research and development. 

Sec. 14. Whistleblower protections. 

Sec. 15. Increase in surface transportation security inspectors. 

Sec. 16. National domestic preparedness consortium. 

Sec. 17. Authorization of Visible Intermodal Protection Response Teams. 

Sec. 18. National Transportation Security Center of Excellence. 

Sec. 19. TSA personnel limitations. 

Sec. 20. Homeland security grants. 

Sec. 21. Threat assessment screening. 

Sec. 22. Background checks for covered individuals. 

Sec. 23. Penalties. 

2 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

3 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

4 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT5 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com6 mittees’’ has the meaning that term has in section 

7 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 

8 101) and includes the Committees on Homeland Se9 curity and Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

10 House of Representatives and the Committees on 

11 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and 

12 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen13 ate. 


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1 (2) APPROPRIATE STAKEHOLDERS.—The term 

2 ‘‘appropriate stakeholders’’ means— 

3 (A) providers of covered transportation; 

4 (B) organizations representing providers of 

5 covered transportation; 

6 (C) nonprofit employee labor organizations 

7 representing railroad, public transportation, or 

8 over-the-road bus workers; 

9 (D) shippers of hazardous material; 

10 (E) manufacturers of railroad and transit 

11 cars; 

12 (F) State departments of transportation; 

13 (G) public safety officials; 

14 (H) law enforcement and fire service offi15 cials; and 

16 (I) other relevant persons. 

17 (3) COVERED TRANSPORTATION.—The term 

18 ‘‘covered transportation’’ means transportation pro19 vided by a railroad carrier, a provider of public 

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

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

22 means the Department of Homeland Security. 

23 (5) DESIGNATED RECIPIENT.—The term ‘‘des24 ignated recipient’’ has the meaning that the term 


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

2 Code. 

3 (6) PROVIDER OF COVERED TRANSPOR4 TATION.—The term ‘‘provider of covered transpor5 tation’’ means— 

6 (A) with respect to transportation provided 

7 by a railroad carrier, the railroad carrier; 

8 (B) with respect to public transportation, 

9 the public transportation designated recipient 

10 providing the transportation; and 

11 (C) with respect to transportation provided 

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

13 (7) OVER-THE-ROAD BUS.—The term ‘‘over-the14 road bus’’ means a bus characterized by an elevated 

15 passenger deck located over a baggage compartment. 

16 (8) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.—The term 

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

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

19 Code. 

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

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

22 United States Code. 

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

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

25 20102 of title 49, United States Code. 


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

2 means the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

3 (12) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any one 

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

5 Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Is6 lands, Guam, American Samoa, and any other terri7 tory or possession of the United States. 

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

9 the meaning that term has in section 2 of the Home10 land Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101). 

11 (14) TRANSPORTATION.—The term ‘‘transpor12 tation’’, as used with respect to an over-the-road13 bus, means the movement of passengers or property 

14 by an over-the-road-bus. 

15 (A) in the jurisdiction of the United States 

16 between a place in a State and a place outside 

17 the State (including a place outside the United 

18 States); or 

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

20 and transportation described in subparagraph 

21 (A). 

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

23 States’’ means the 50 States, the District of Colum24 bia, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the 


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1 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and any 

2 other territory or possession of the United States. 

3 SEC. 3. NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR RAIL AND PUBLIC 

4 TRANSPORTATION SECURITY. 

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

6 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in con7 sultation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall de8 velop and implement the modal plan for covered transpor9 tation as required by section 114(t)(1)(B) of title 49, 

10 United States Code. The modal plan shall be entitled the 

11 ‘‘National Strategy for Rail and Public Transportation Se12 curity’’ and shall include, at a minimum— 

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

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

15 government sponsored entities, tribal governments, 

16 and appropriate stakeholders under the plan; 

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

18 gaps and unnecessary overlaps in the roles, respon19 sibilities, and authorities described in paragraph (1); 

20 (3) a methodology for how the Department will 

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

22 and make use of existing Federal expertise within 

23 the Department, the Department of Transportation, 

24 and other appropriate agencies; 


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1 (4) a process for expediting security clearances 

2 to facilitate intelligence and information sharing 

3 with the entities described in paragraph (1); 

4 (5) a description of— 

5 (A) how the Department has reviewed ter6 rorist attacks on covered transportation 

7 throughout the world in the last 25 years; 

8 (B) the lessons learned from those reviews; 

9 and 

10 (C) how those lessons are being used in 

11 current and future efforts to secure covered 

12 transportation; 

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

14 the Department of Transportation, other appro15 priate Federal agencies and private entities to re16 search and develop new technologies for securing 

17 covered transportation; 

18 (7) measurable goals, including objectives, 

19 mechanisms, and a schedule for enhancing the secu20 rity of covered transportation; 

21 (8) a framework for resuming the operation of 

22 covered transportation in the event of an act of ter23 rorism and prioritizing resumption of such oper24 ations; 


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1 (9) a description of current and future public 

2 outreach and educational initiatives designed to in3 form the public on how to prevent, prepare for, and 

4 respond to a terrorist attack on covered transpor5 tation; and 

6 (10) a process for coordinating covered trans7 portation security strategies and plans, including the 

8 National Infrastructure Protection Plan required by 

9 Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7; Execu10 tive Order: Strengthening Surface Transportation 

11 Security dated December 5, 2006; the Memorandum 

12 of Understanding between the Department and the 

13 Department of Transportation on Roles and Respon14 sibilities dated September 28, 2004; the Annex to 

15 the Memorandum of Understanding between the De16 partment and the Department of Transportation on 

17 Roles and Responsibilities concerning railroad secu18 rity dated September 28, 2006, and the Annex exe19 cuted under section 3028(b) of the Safe, Account20 able, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity 

21 Act: A Legacy for Users (49 U.S.C. 5321 note; 119 

22 Stat. 1624). 

23 (b) ADEQUACY OF EXISTING PLANS AND STRATE24 GIES.—Nothing in this section shall prevent the Secretary 

25 from using existing plans and strategies, including those 


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

2 title 49, United States Code, or Homeland Security Presi3 dential Directive–7, in meeting the requirements of sub4 section (a). 

5 SEC. 4. ASSIGNMENT OF PROVIDERS OF COVERED TRANS6 PORTATION TO RISK-BASED TIERS. 

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

8 provider of covered transportation to one of the not less 

9 than three risk-based tiers established by the Secretary. 

10 (b) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary 

11 may request, and the provider of covered transportation 

12 shall provide, information necessary for the Secretary to 

13 assign a provider of covered transportation to the appro14 priate tier under subsection (a). 

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

16 date a provider of covered transportation is assigned to 

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

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

19 the reasons for such assignment. 

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

21 of the tiers established by the Secretary under this section 

22 shall be tiers designated for high- and medium-risk pro23 viders of covered transportation. 


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1 SEC. 5. RAIL AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ASSESSMENTS 

2 AND PLANS. 

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

4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in con5 sultation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall issue 

6 regulations that— 

7 (1) require each provider of covered transpor8 tation assigned to a high- or medium-risk tier under 

9 section 4— 

10 (A) to conduct a vulnerability assessment 

11 in accordance with subsections (b) and (c); and 

12 (B) to prepare, submit to the Secretary for 

13 approval, and implement a security plan in ac14 cordance with this section that addresses secu15 rity performance requirements under subsection 

16 (f); and 

17 (2) establish standards, protocols, and proce18 dures for vulnerability assessments under subsection 

19 (c) and security plans under subsection (d) and for 

20 developing and implementing such security plans. 

21 (3) establish a security program for providers of 

22 covered transportation not assigned to a high or me23 dium-risk tier under section 4, including a process 

24 for providers to conduct vulnerability assessments 

25 and prepare and implement security plans, as deter26 mined appropriate by the Secretary. 


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

2 months after the date of issuance of the regulations under 

3 subsection (a), the vulnerability assessments and security 

4 plans required by such regulations for a provider of cov5 ered transportation assigned to a high- or medium-risk 

6 tier shall be completed and submitted to the Secretary for 

7 review and approval. 

8 (c) VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENTS.— 

9 (1) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary, in con10 sultation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall 

11 provide technical assistance and guidance to pro12 viders of covered transportation in conducting vul13 nerability assessments under this section and shall 

14 require that each vulnerability assessment of a pro15 vider of covered transportation assigned to a high16 or medium-risk tier under section 4 include, at a 

17 minimum— 

18 (A) identification and evaluation of critical 

19 covered transportation assets and infrastruc20 tures of the provider, including platforms, sta21 tions, bus and intermodal terminals, tunnels, 

22 bridges, switching and storage areas, and infor23 mation systems; 

24 (B) identification of the threats to those 

25 assets and infrastructures; 


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1 (C) identification of the security weak2 nesses of the covered transportation in— 

3 (i) physical security; 

4 (ii) passenger and cargo security; 

5 (iii) programmable electronic devices, 

6 computers, or other automated systems 

7 which are used in providing the transpor8 tation; 

9 (iv) alarms, cameras, and other pro10 tection systems; 

11 (v) communications systems, including 

12 dispatching services and mobile service 

13 equipment systems, to provide access to 

14 emergency services in underground fixed 

15 guideway systems; 

16 (vi) utilities; 

17 (vii) emergency response planning; 

18 (viii) employee training; and 

19 (ix) such other matters as the Sec20 retary determines appropriate; and 

21 (D) identification of redundant and backup 

22 systems required to ensure the continued oper23 ations of critical elements of the covered trans24 portation in the event of an attack or other inVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:40 Mar 08, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1401.IH H1401

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1 cident, including disruption of commercial elec2 tric power or communications network. 

3 (2) THREAT INFORMATION.—A provider of cov4 ered transportation conducting a vulnerability as5 sessment under this section shall incorporate in the 

6 assessment any threat information provided by the 

7 Secretary and other sources. 

8 (d) SECURITY PLANS.— 

9 (1) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary, in con10 sultation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall 

11 provide technical assistance and guidance to pro12 viders of covered transportation in preparing and 

13 implementing security plans under this section and 

14 shall require that each security plan of each provider 

15 of covered transportation assigned a high- or me16 dium-risk under section 4 include, at a minimum— 

17 (A) identification of a security coordinator 

18 having authority— 

19 (i) to implement security actions 

20 under the plan; 

21 (ii) to coordinate security improve22 ments described in sections 7, 8, and 9; 

23 and 


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1 (iii) to require immediate communica2 tions from appropriate Federal officials re3 garding covered transportation security; 

4 (B) security measures to address the secu5 rity performance requirements of covered trans6 portation; 

7 (C) plans for periodic exercises under sec8 tion 12 that include participation by local law 

9 enforcement agencies and emergency responders 

10 as appropriate; 

11 (D) a list of needed capital and operational 

12 improvements described in sections 7, 8, and 9; 

13 (E) procedures to be implemented or used 

14 by the provider in response to a terrorist at15 tack, including evacuation and passenger com16 munication plans; 

17 (F) identification of steps taken with State 

18 and local law enforcement agencies, emergency 

19 responders, and Federal officials to coordinate 

20 security measures and plans for response to a 

21 terrorist attack; 

22 (G) a strategy and timeline for conducting 

23 training under section 11, including recurrent 

24 training and periodic unannounced exercises for 

25 employees of the provider to be carried out 


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1 under the plan to prevent, prepare for, or re2 spond to a terrorist attack; 

3 (H) enhanced security measures to be 

4 taken by the provider when the Secretary de5 clares a period of heightened security risk; 

6 (I) plans for redundant and backup sys7 tems required to ensure the continued operation 

8 of critical covered transportation elements of 

9 the provider in the event of a terrorist attack 

10 or other incident; 

11 (J) plans for locating, including by covert 

12 electronic devices, shipments of railroad cars 

13 transporting extremely hazardous materials or 

14 nuclear waste so that, if the assets are lost or 

15 stolen, the provider and law enforcement au16 thorities may locate, track, and recover the as17 sets; and 

18 (K) such other actions or procedures as 

19 the Secretary determines are appropriate to ad20 dress the covered transportation security of the 

21 provider to a terrorist attack. 

22 (2) CONSISTENCY WITH OTHER PLANS.—The 

23 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 

24 Transportation, shall ensure that each security plan 

25 under this section is consistent with the requireVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:40 Mar 08, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1401.IH H1401

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1 ments of the National Strategy for Rail and Public 

2 Transportation Security described in section 3. 

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

4 provide, in a timely manner to the maximum extent prac5 ticable under applicable authority and in the interest of 

6 national security, to the provider of the covered transpor7 tation threat information that is relevant to the provider 

8 when preparing and submitting vulnerabilities and secu9 rity plans, including an assessment of the most likely 

10 method that could be used by terrorists to exploit weak11 nesses in the covered transportation security and the like12 lihood of success by such terrorists. 

13 (f) SECURITY PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS.—The 

14 Secretary shall, by regulation, establish security perform15 ance requirements for the security plans required for pro16 viders of covered transportation. The regulations shall— 

17 (1) require separate and increasingly stringent 

18 security performance requirements for security plans 

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

20 and 

21 (2) permit each provider of covered transpor22 tation submitting a security plan to select a com23 bination of security measures that satisfy the secu24 rity performance requirements established by the 

25 Secretary under this subsection. 


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

2 than 12 months after the date of the issuance of the regu3 lations under subsection (a), the Secretary, in consultation 

4 with the Secretary of Transportation, shall— 

5 (1) review each vulnerability assessment and se6 curity plan submitted to the Secretary in accordance 

7 with subsection (b); 

8 (2) require amendments to any security plan 

9 that does not meet the requirements of this section, 

10 including the regulations issued under subsection 

11 (a); 

12 (3) approve any vulnerability assessment or se13 curity plan that meets the requirements of this sec14 tion, including such regulations; and 

15 (4) review each security plan periodically there16 after. 

17 (h) INTERIM SECURITY MEASURES.—The Secretary, 

18 in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall 

19 require, during the period before the deadline established 

20 under subsection (b), each provider of covered transpor21 tation required to submit a security plan under subsection 

22 (b) to implement any necessary interim security measures 

23 to deter, mitigate, and respond to, to the maximum extent 

24 practicable, a transportation security incident with respect 

25 to the covered transportation or a substantive threat of 


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1 such an incident until the security plan of the provider 

2 is approved. 

3 (i) NONDISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.— 

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

5 construed to require the disclosure of a vulnerability 

6 assessment or a security plan of a provider of cov7 ered transportation to the extent that such informa8 tion is exempted from mandatory disclosure under 

9 section 552 of title 5, United States Code. 

10 (2) OTHER OBLIGATIONS UNAFFECTED.—Noth11 ing in this section shall affect any obligation of the 

12 provider of covered transportation to submit or 

13 make available information to covered transportation 

14 employees, nonprofit employee labor organizations, 

15 or a Federal, State, or local government agency 

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

17 (3) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION TO CON18 GRESS.—Nothing in this section shall be construed 

19 as authorizing the withholding of any information 

20 from Congress. 

21 (4) DISCLOSURE OF INDEPENDENTLY FUR22 NISHED INFORMATION.—Nothing in this section 

23 shall be construed as affecting any authority or obli24 gation of a Federal agency to disclose any record or 

25 information that the Federal agency obtains from a 


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1 provider of covered transportation under any other 

2 law. 

3 (j) PENALTIES.— 

4 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may im6 pose an administrative penalty of not more than 

7 $100,000 for failure to comply with this sec8 tion, including regulations issued under sub9 section (a). 

10 (B) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO RE11 QUEST HEARING.—Before imposing a penalty 

12 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 

13 provide to the person against whom the penalty 

14 is to be imposed— 

15 (i) written notice of the proposed pen16 alty; and 

17 (ii) the opportunity to request, not 

18 later than 30 days after the date on which 

19 the person receives the notice, a hearing on 

20 the proposed penalty. 

21 (C) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may 

22 issue regulations establishing the procedures for 

23 administrative hearings and appropriate review 

24 of penalties imposed under this Act, including 

25 deadlines. 


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1 (2) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

3 bring an action in a United States district court 

4 against any provider of covered transportation 

5 that violates or fails to comply with this Act, in6 cluding regulations issued under subsection (a), 

7 or a security plan approved by the Secretary 

8 under this section. 

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

10 Act, a court may issue an order for injunctive 

11 relief and may impose a civil penalty of not 

12 more than $75,000 for each day on which a vio13 lation occurs or a failure to comply continues. 

14 (3) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—A provider of cov15 ered transportation who intentionally violates this 

16 section, including regulations issued under sub17 section (a), shall be fined not more than $50,000 for 

18 each day of such violation, imprisoned for not more 

19 than 2 years, or both. 

20 (k) EXISTING PROCEDURES, PROTOCOLS AND

21 STANDARDS.— 

22 (1) DETERMINATION.—In response to a peti23 tion by a provider of covered transportation or at 

24 the discretion of the Secretary, the Secretary may 

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1 ards of a provider of covered transportation that the 

2 Secretary determines to meet all or part of the re3 quirements of this section, including regulations 

4 issued under subsection (a), regarding vulnerability 

5 assessments and security plans. 

6 (2) ELECTION.—Upon review and written de7 termination by the Secretary that existing proce8 dures, protocols, or standards of a provider of cov9 ered transportation satisfy all of the requirements of 

10 this section, including regulations issued under sub11 section (a), the provider may elect to comply with 

12 those procedures, protocols, or standards instead of 

13 the requirements of this section. 

14 (3) PARTIAL APPROVAL.—If the Secretary de15 termines that the existing procedures, protocols, or 

16 standards of a provider of covered transportation 

17 satisfy only part of the requirements of this section, 

18 including regulations issued under subsection (a), 

19 the Secretary may accept those submissions, but 

20 shall require submission by the provider of any addi21 tional information relevant to vulnerability assess22 ments and security plans of the provider to ensure 

23 that the remaining requirements of this section are 

24 fulfilled. 


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1 (4) NOTIFICATION.—If the Secretary deter2 mines that particular existing procedures, protocols, 

3 or standards of a provider of covered transportation 

4 under this subsection do not satisfy the require5 ments of this section, including regulations issued 

6 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall provide to 

7 such provider a written notification that includes an 

8 explanation of the reasons why the determination 

9 could not be made. 

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

11 relieve the Secretary of the obligation— 

12 (A) to review the vulnerability assessment 

13 and security plan submitted by a provider of 

14 covered transportation under this section; and 

15 (B) to approve or disapprove each submis16 sion on an individual basis. 

17 (l) PERIODIC REVIEW BY PROVIDER OF COVERED

18 TRANSPORTATION REQUIRED.— 

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

20 years after the date on which a vulnerability assess21 ment or security plan required to be submitted to 

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

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

24 schedule as the Secretary may establish by regula25 tion), the provider of covered transportation who 


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1 submitted the vulnerability assessment or security 

2 plan shall also submit to the Secretary a review of 

3 the adequacy of the vulnerability assessment or secu4 rity plan that includes a description of any changes 

5 made to the vulnerability assessment or security 

6 plan. 

7 (2) REVIEW OF REVIEW.—The Secretary 

8 shall— 

9 (A) ensure that a review required under 

10 paragraph (1) is submitted not later than the 

11 applicable date; and 

12 (B) not later than 6 months after the date 

13 on which a review is submitted under para14 graph (1), review the review and notify the pro15 vider of covered transportation submitting the 

16 review of the Secretary’s approval or dis17 approval of the covered provider’s review. 

18 (m) SHARED FACILITIES.—The Secretary, in con19 sultation with the Secretary of Transportation, may per20 mit under this section the development and implementa21 tion of coordinated vulnerability assessments and security 

22 plans to the extent 2 or more providers of covered trans23 portation have shared facilities (such as tunnels, bridges, 

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

25 otherwise co-located. 


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1 SEC. 6. INFORMATION SHARING PLAN. 

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

3 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consulta4 tion with the Secretary of Transportation, shall develop 

5 and submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

6 a railroad, public transportation, and over-the-road bus in7 formation sharing plan to ensure the development of both 

8 tactical and strategic intelligence products pertaining to 

9 the threats and vulnerabilities to covered transportation 

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

11 tribal governments, and appropriate stakeholders. 

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

13 subsection (a) shall include— 

14 (1) a description of how intelligence analysts in 

15 the Transportation Security Administration are co16 ordinating with other intelligence analysts in the De17 partment and other Federal, State, and local agen18 cies; 

19 (2) reasonable deadlines for the completion of 

20 any organizational changes within the Department 

21 to accommodate implementation of the plan; and 

22 (3) a description of resource needs for fulfilling 

23 the plan. 

24 (c) UPDATES.— 

25 (1) CERTIFICATION OF IMPLEMENTATION.— 

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


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1 Secretary shall certify to the appropriate congres2 sional committees when the plan has been imple3 mented. 

4 (2) ANNUAL REPORTS.—After the Secretary 

5 provides the certification under paragraph (1), the 

6 Secretary shall provide a report to the appropriate 

7 congressional committees each year thereafter on the 

8 following: 

9 (A) The number and brief description of 

10 each railroad, public transportation, and over11 the-road bus intelligence report created and dis12 seminated under the plan. 

13 (B) The classification of each report as 

14 tactical or strategic. 

15 (C) The numbers of different government, 

16 law enforcement, and public or private sector 

17 partners who were provided with each intel18 ligence product. 

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

20 an annual survey of the satisfaction of each of the recipi21 ents of railroad, public transportation, and over-the-road 

22 bus intelligence reports created and disseminated under 

23 the plan and include the results of the survey as part of 

24 the corresponding annual report provided under sub25 section (c)(2). 


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1 (e) SECURITY CLEARANCES.—The Department shall 

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

3 tribal authorities, in addition to appropriate stakeholders, 

4 in obtaining the security clearances needed to receive clas5 sified covered transportation security information as nec6 essary if this information cannot be disseminated in an 

7 unclassified format. 

8 (f) CLASSIFICATION OF MATERIAL.—To the greatest 

9 extent possible, the Department shall provide appropriate 

10 stakeholders with information in an unclassified format. 

11 SEC. 7. RAIL SECURITY ASSISTANCE. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

13 with the Secretary of Transportation, shall establish a pro14 gram for making grants to eligible entities for security im15 provements described in subsection (b). 

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

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

18 the following: 

19 (1) Perimeter protection systems, including ac20 cess control, installation of improved lighting, fenc21 ing, and barricades at railroad facilities. 

22 (2) Technologies for reduction of rail car vul23 nerability. 


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1 (3) Passenger railroad station security redevel2 opment and capital improvement projects that the 

3 Secretary determines enhance rail station security. 

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

7 (5) Tunnel protection systems. 

8 (6) Evacuation improvements. 

9 (7) Inspection technologies, including verified 

10 visual inspection technologies using hand-held read11 ers and discs. 

12 (8) Communications equipment, including 

13 equipment that is interoperable with Federal, State, 

14 and local agencies and tribal governments. 

15 (9) Chemical, biological, radiological, or explo16 sive detection, including canine patrols for such de17 tection. 

18 (10) Surveillance equipment. 

19 (11) Cargo or passenger screening equipment. 

20 (12) Emergency response equipment, including 

21 fire suppression and decontamination equipment, 

22 personal protective equipment, and defibrillators. 

23 (13) Global positioning or tracking and recovery 

24 equipment. 


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1 (14) Redundant critical operations control sys2 tems. 

3 (15) Operating and capital costs associated 

4 with security awareness, preparedness, and response 

5 training, including training under section 11 and 

6 training developed by universities and institutions of 

7 higher education and by nonprofit employee labor 

8 organizations, for front-line railroad employees. 

9 (16) Live or simulated exercises described in 

10 section 12. 

11 (17) Overtime reimbursement for additional se12 curity personnel during periods of heightened secu13 rity as determined by the Secretary. 

14 (18) Public awareness campaigns for enhanced 

15 rail security. 

16 (19) Operational costs for personnel assigned to 

17 full-time security or counterterrorism duties related 

18 to rail transportation. 

19 (20) Such other security improvements as the 

20 Secretary considers appropriate. 

21 (c) SECURITY IMPROVEMENT PRIORITIES.—In estab22 lishing guidelines for applications for grants under this 

23 section, the Secretary shall establish a list in order of pri24 ority regarding uses of funds for grant recipients under 

25 this section. 


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1 (d) MULTIYEAR AWARDS.—Pursuant to this section, 

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

3 than a 5-year period. 

4 (e) LETTERS OF INTENT.— 

5 (1) ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may issue a let6 ter of intent to a recipient of a grant under this sec7 tion, to commit funding from future budget author8 ity of an amount, not more than the Federal Gov9 ernment’s share of the project’s cost, for a capital 

10 improvement project. 

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

12 subsection shall establish a schedule under which the 

13 Secretary will reimburse the recipient for the Fed14 eral Government’s share of the project’s costs, as 

15 amounts become available, if the recipient, after the 

16 Secretary issues that letter, carries out the project 

17 without receiving amounts under a grant issued 

18 under this section. 

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

20 has been issued a letter of intent under this section 

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

22 carry out a project before the project begins. 

23 (4) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary 

24 shall transmit to the appropriate Congressional 

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1 fore the issuance of a letter of intent under this sub2 section. 

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

4 under this subsection is not an obligation of the 

5 Federal Government under section 1501 of title 31, 

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

7 be an administrative commitment for financing. An 

8 obligation or administrative commitment may be 

9 made only as amounts are provided in authorization 

10 and appropriations laws. 

11 (6) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

12 this section shall be construed to prohibit the obliga13 tion of amounts pursuant to a letter of intent under 

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

15 intent is issued. 

16 (f) ELIGIBILITY.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Eligible entities for a grant 

18 under this section may include State, local, and trib19 al governmental entities, as well as infrastructure 

20 owners, including railroad carriers, private entities 

21 and public-private entities, or their designees. 

22 (2) PROJECT ELIGIBILITY.—A recipient of a 

23 grant under this section may use grant funds only 

24 for permissible uses under subsection (b) to further 

25 a rail security plan developed, submitted to, and apVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:40 Mar 08, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1401.IH H1401

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1 proved by the Secretary, in consultation with the 

2 Secretary of Transportation, under section 5. 

3 (g) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para5 graphs (2) and (3), a grant for a project under this 

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

7 project. 

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

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

10 $25,000 or less, the Federal share for the grant 

11 shall be for 100 percent of such cost. 

12 (3) NATIONAL SECURITY EXCEPTION.—If the 

13 Secretary determines, upon written notice to the ap14 propriate congressional committees, that a higher 

15 Federal share for a grant under this section is nec16 essary to respond to an urgent threat to national se17 curity, the Secretary may increase the Federal share 

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

19 of the project. 

20 (4) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection shall only 

21 apply to freight rail carriers. 

22 (h) SUBJECT TO CERTAIN STANDARDS.—The Sec23 retary shall require a recipient of a grant under this sec24 tion and section 10 to comply with the standards of sec25 tion 24312 of title 49, United States Code, as in effect 


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1 on January 1, 2007, with respect to the project in the 

2 same manner as the National Railroad Passenger Cor3 poration is required to comply with such standards for 

4 construction work financed under an agreement made 

5 under section 24308(a) of that title. 

6 (i) LIMITATION ON USES OF FUNDS.—A grant made 

7 under this section may not be used to— 

8 (1) supplant State or local funds for activities 

9 described in subsection (c); and 

10 (2) make any State or local government cost11 sharing contribution under any other law. 

12 (j) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Each recipient of a grant 

13 under this section shall report annually to the Secretary 

14 on the use of grant funds. 

15 (k) GUIDELINES.—Before distribution of funds to re16 cipients of grants under this section, the Secretary, in con17 sultation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall issue 

18 guidelines to ensure that recipients of grants under this 

19 section use small, minority, women-owned, and disadvan20 taged businesses as contractors or subcontractors to the 

21 extent practicable. 

22 (l) MONITORING.—The Secretary shall be responsible 

23 for monitoring the manner in which the grants are used. 

24 (m) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 


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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. 8. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ASSISTANCE. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

10 with the Secretary of Transportation, shall establish a pro11 gram 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 improved lighting, fencing, 

19 and barricades. 

20 (2) Security improvements to stations and other 

21 public transportation infrastructure. 

22 (3) Tunnel protection systems. 

23 (4) Evacuation improvements. 


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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) Global positioning or tracking and recovery 

16 equipment. 

17 (11) Redundant critical operations control sys18 tems. 

19 (12) Live or simulated exercises described in 

20 section 12. 

21 (13) Public awareness campaigns for enhanced 

22 public transportation security. 

23 (14) Operating and capital costs associated 

24 with security awareness, preparedness, and response 

25 training, including training under section 11 and 


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1 training developed by universities and institutions of 

2 higher education and by nonprofit employee labor 

3 organizations, for front-line public transportation 

4 employees. 

5 (15) Overtime reimbursement for additional se6 curity personnel during periods of heightened secu7 rity as determined by the Secretary. 

8 (16) Operational costs for personnel assigned to 

9 full-time security or counterterrorism duties related 

10 to public transportation. 

11 (17) Such other security improvements as the 

12 Secretary considers appropriate. 

13 (c) ELIGIBILITY.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Eligible entities for a grant 

15 under this section may include public transportation 

16 agencies and State, local, and tribal governmental 

17 entities that provide security or counterterrorism re18 lated services to public transportation. 

19 (2) PROJECT ELIGIBILITY.—A recipient of a 

20 grant under this section may use grant funds only 

21 for permissible uses under subsection (b) to further 

22 a public transportation security plan developed, sub23 mitted to, and approved by the Secretary in con24 sultation with the Secretary of Transportation, 

25 under section 5. 


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1 (d) SECURITY IMPROVEMENT PRIORITIES.—In estab2 lishing guidelines for applications for grants under this 

3 section, the Secretary shall establish a list in order of pri4 ority regarding uses of funds for grant recipients under 

5 this section. 

6 (e) SUBJECT TO CERTAIN TERMS AND CONDI7 TIONS.—Except as otherwise specifically provided in this 

8 section, a grant provided under this section shall be sub9 ject to the terms and conditions applicable to a grant 

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

11 under effect on January 1, 2007, and such other terms 

12 and conditions as are determined necessary by the Sec13 retary. 

14 (f) LIMITATION ON USES OF FUNDS.—Grants made 

15 under this section may not be used to— 

16 (1) supplant State or local funds for activities 

17 described in subsection (c); and 

18 (2) make any State or local government cost19 sharing contribution under any other law. 

20 (g) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Each recipient of a grant 

21 under this section shall report annually to the Secretary 

22 on the use of the grant funds. 

23 (h) GUIDELINES.—Before distribution of funds to re24 cipients of grants under this section, the Secretary, in con25 sultation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall issue 


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1 guidelines to ensure that recipients of grants under this 

2 section use small, minority, women-owned, and disadvan3 taged businesses as contractors or subcontractors to the 

4 extent practicable. 

5 (i) MONITORING.—The Secretary shall be responsible 

6 for monitoring the manner in which the grants are used. 

7 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

9 appropriated to the Secretary to make grants under 

10 this section— 

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

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

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

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

15 (2) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—Sums appro16 priated to carry out this section shall remain avail17 able until expended. 

18 SEC. 9. OVER-THE-ROAD BUS SECURITY ASSISTANCE. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

20 with the Secretary of Transportation, shall establish a pro21 gram for making grants for eligible private operators pro22 viding transportation by an over-the-road bus for security 

23 improvements described in subsection (b). 


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

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

3 more of the following: 

4 (1) Constructing and modifying terminals, ga5 rages, facilities, or over-the-road buses to increase 

6 their security. 

7 (2) Protecting or isolating the driver of an over8 the-road bus. 

9 (3) Acquiring, upgrading, installing, or oper10 ating equipment, software, or accessorial services for 

11 collection, storage, or exchange of passenger and 

12 driver information through ticketing systems or oth13 erwise and for information links with government 

14 agencies. 

15 (4) Installing cameras and video surveillance 

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

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

18 (5) Establishing and improving an emergency 

19 communications system linking drivers and over-the20 road buses to the recipient’s operations center or 

21 linking the operations center to law enforcement and 

22 emergency personnel. 

23 (6) Implementing and operating passenger 

24 screening programs for weapons and explosives. 


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1 (7) Public awareness campaigns for enhanced 

2 over-the-road bus security. 

3 (8) Operating and capital costs associated with 

4 security awareness, preparedness, and response 

5 training, including training under section 11 and 

6 training developed by universities and institutions of 

7 higher education and by nonprofit employee labor 

8 organizations, for front-line over-the-road bus em9 ployees. 

10 (9) Chemical, biological, radiological, or explo11 sive detection, including canine patrols for such de12 tection. 

13 (10) Overtime reimbursement for additional se14 curity personnel during periods of heightened secu15 rity as determined by the Secretary. 

16 (11) Live or simulated exercises described in 

17 section 12. 

18 (12) Operational costs for personnel assigned to 

19 full-time security or counterterrorism duties related 

20 to over-the-road bus transportation. 

21 (13) Such other improvements as the Secretary 

22 considers appropriate. 

23 (c) ELIGIBILITY.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Eligible entities for a grant 

25 under this section may include over-the-road bus 


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1 providers and State, local, and tribal governmental 

2 entities that provide security or counterterrorism re3 lated services to over-the-road bus providers. 

4 (2) PROJECT ELIGIBILITY.—A recipient of a 

5 grant under this section may use grant funds only 

6 for permissible uses under subsection (b) to further 

7 an over-the-road bus security plan developed, sub8 mitted to, and approved by the Secretary, in con9 sultation with the Secretary of Transportation, 

10 under section 5. 

11 (d) SECURITY IMPROVEMENT PRIORITIES.—In estab12 lishing guidelines for applications for grants under this 

13 section, the Secretary shall establish a list in order of pri14 ority regarding uses of funds for grant recipients under 

15 this section. 

16 (e) SUBJECT TO CERTAIN TERMS AND CONDI17 TIONS.—Except as otherwise specifically provided in this 

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

19 to the terms and conditions applicable to subrecipients 

20 who provide intercity bus transportation under section 

21 5311(f) of title 49, United States Code, and such other 

22 terms and conditions as are determined necessary by the 

23 Secretary. 

24 (f) LIMITATION ON USES OF FUNDS.—A grant made 

25 under this section may not be used to— 


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•HR 1401 IH

1 (1) supplant State or local funds for activities 

2 described in subsection (c); and 

3 (2) make any State or local government cost4 sharing contribution under any other law. 

5 (g) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Each recipient of a grant 

6 under this section shall report annually to the Secretary 

7 and the Secretary of Transportation on the use of such 

8 grant funds. 

9 (h) GUIDELINES.—Before distribution of funds to re10 cipients of grants under this section, the Secretary, in con11 sultation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall issue 

12 guidelines to ensure that recipients of grants under this 

13 section use small, minority, women-owned, and disadvan14 taged businesses as contractors or subcontractors to the 

15 extent practicable. 

16 (i) MONITORING.—The Secretary shall be responsible 

17 for monitoring the manner in which the grants are used. 

18 (j) AUTHORIZATION.— 

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

20 appropriated to the Secretary to make grants under 

21 this section— 

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

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

24 2009 through 2011. 


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1 (2) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—Sums appro2 priated to carry out this section shall remain avail3 able until expended. 

4 SEC. 10. FIRE AND LIFE SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS. 

5 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

7 Transportation for making grants to the National Rail8 road Passenger Corporation, hereinafter referred to as 

9 ‘‘Amtrak’’, for the purpose of carrying out projects to 

10 make fire and life safety improvements to Amtrak tunnels 

11 on the Northeast Corridor the following amounts: 

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

13 York, to provide ventilation, electrical, and fire safe14 ty technology improvements, emergency communica15 tion and lighting systems, and emergency access and 

16 egress for passengers— 

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

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

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

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

21 (2) For the Baltimore & Potomac Tunnel and 

22 the Union Tunnel in Baltimore, Maryland, to pro23 vide adequate drainage and ventilation, communica24 tion, lighting, standpipe, and passenger egress im25 provements— 


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

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

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

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

5 (3) For the Union Station tunnels in the Dis6 trict of Columbia to provide ventilation, communica7 tion, lighting, and passenger egress improvements— 

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

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

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

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

12 (b) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—Amounts appro13 priated pursuant to this section shall remain available 

14 until expended. 

15 (c) GUIDELINES.—Before distribution of funds to re16 cipients of grants under this section, the Secretary of 

17 Transportation shall issue guidelines to ensure that recipi18 ents of grants under this section use small, minority, 

19 women-owned, and disadvantaged businesses as the con20 tractors or subcontractors to the extent practicable. 

21 SEC. 11. SECURITY TRAINING PROGRAM. 

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

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consulta24 tion with the Secretary of Transportation, shall— 


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1 (1) develop security training programs to pre2 pare all railroad, public transportation, and over-the3 road bus workers, including front-line employees for 

4 potential threat conditions; and 

5 (2) issue detailed guidance for the program. 

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

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

8 (1) appropriate law enforcement, fire service, 

9 security, and terrorism experts; 

10 (2) representatives of providers of covered 

11 transportation; and 

12 (3) nonprofit employee labor organizations rep13 resenting railroad, public transportation, over-the14 road bus workers, and fire fighter workers. 

15 (c) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The guidance developed 

16 under subsection (a)(2) shall require security training pro17 grams described in subsection (a) to include, at a min18 imum, elements to address the following: 

19 (1) Determination of the seriousness of any oc20 currence or threat. 

21 (2) Crew and passenger communication and co22 ordination. 

23 (3) Appropriate responses to defend oneself , 

24 including using nonlethal defense devises. 


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1 (4) Evacuation procedures for passengers and 

2 workers, including individuals with disabilities. 

3 (5) Live situational training exercises regarding 

4 various threat conditions, including tunnel evacu5 ation procedures. 

6 (6) Recognition and reporting of dangerous 

7 substances and suspicious packages, persons, and 

8 situations. 

9 (7) Understanding security incident procedures, 

10 including procedures for communicating with gov11 ernmental and nongovernmental emergency response 

12 providers. 

13 (8) Operation and maintenance of security 

14 equipment and systems. 

15 (9) Any other subject the Secretary considers 

16 appropriate. 

17 (d) REQUIRED PROGRAMS.— 

18 (1) DEVELOPMENT AND SUBMISSION TO SEC19 RETARY.—Not later than 60 days after the Sec20 retary issues guidance under subsection (a)(2) in 

21 final form, each provider of covered transportation 

22 shall develop a security training program in accord23 ance with the guidance and submit the program to 

24 the Secretary for approval. 


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

2 receiving a security training program under this sub3 section, the Secretary shall approve the program or 

4 require the provider of covered transportation that 

5 developed the program to make any revisions to the 

6 program that the Secretary considers necessary for 

7 the program to meet the guidance requirements. 

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

9 Secretary approves a security training program 

10 under this subsection, the provider of covered trans11 portation that developed the program shall complete 

12 the training of all workers covered under the pro13 gram. 

14 (4) UPDATES.—The Secretary shall update the 

15 training guidance issued under subsection (a)(2) 

16 from time to time to reflect new or different security 

17 threats and require providers of covered transpor18 tation to revise their programs accordingly and pro19 vide additional training to their workers. 

20 (e) NATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAM.—The Secretary 

21 shall ensure that the training program developed under 

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

23 Program established under section 648 of the Department 

24 of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2007 (6 

25 U.S.C. 748). 


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1 SEC. 12. SECURITY EXERCISES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

3 with the Secretary of Transportation, shall establish a pro4 gram for conducting security exercises for covered trans5 portation for the purpose of assessing and improving the 

6 capabilities of entities described in subsection (b) to pre7 vent, prepare for, mitigate against, respond to, and re8 cover from acts of terrorism involving covered transpor9 tation. 

10 (b) COVERED ENTITIES.—Entities to be tested and 

11 evaluated under the program shall include— 

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

13 governments; 

14 (2) employees and managers of providers of 

15 covered transportation; 

16 (3) governmental and nongovernmental emer17 gency response providers and law enforcement per18 sonnel, including railroad and transit police; and 

19 (4) any other organization or entity that the 

20 Secretary determines appropriate. 

21 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary, in consultation 

22 with the Secretary of Transportation, shall ensure that the 

23 program— 

24 (1) consolidates all existing security exercises 

25 for covered transportation administered by the De26 partment and the Department of Transportation; 


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

2 of a provider of covered transportation, exercises to 

3 be conducted that are— 

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

5 facilities; 

6 (B) live, in the case of the most at-risk fa7 cilities to a terrorist attack; 

8 (C) as realistic as practicable and based on 

9 current risk assessments, including credible 

10 threats, vulnerabilities, and consequences; and 

11 (D) consistent with the National Incident 

12 Management System, the National Response 

13 Plan, the National Infrastructure Protection 

14 Plan, the National Preparedness Guidance, the 

15 National Preparedness Goal, and other such na16 tional initiatives; 

17 (3) provides that exercises described in para18 graph (2) will be— 

19 (A) evaluated against clear and consistent 

20 performance measures; 

21 (B) assessed to learn best practices, which 

22 shall be shared with appropriate Federal, State, 

23 local, and tribal officials, governmental and 

24 nongovernmental emergency response providers, 

25 law enforcement personnel, including railroad 


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1 and transit police, and appropriate stake2 holders; and 

3 (C) followed by remedial action in response 

4 to lessons learned; 

5 (4) includes exercises involving covered trans6 portation at or near the international land borders 

7 of the United States and in coordination with inter8 national stakeholders; 

9 (5) involves individuals in neighborhoods 

10 around the infrastructure of a provider of covered 

11 transportation; and 

12 (6) assists State and local governments and 

13 providers of covered transportation in designing, im14 plementing, and evaluating exercises that conform to 

15 the requirements of paragraph (2). 

16 (d) REMEDIAL ACTION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.— 

17 The Secretary shall utilize the remedial action manage18 ment program of the Federal Emergency Management 

19 Agency to— 

20 (1) identify and analyze each exercise conducted 

21 under the program for lessons learned and best 

22 practices; 

23 (2) disseminate lessons learned and best prac24 tices to participants in the program; 


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1 (3) monitor the implementation of lessons 

2 learned and best practices by participants in the 

3 program; and 

4 (4) conduct remedial action tracking and long5 term trend analysis. 

6 (e) NATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAM.—The Secretary 

7 shall ensure that the training program developed under 

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

9 Program established under section 648 of the Department 

10 of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2007 (6 

11 U.S.C. 748). 

12 SEC. 13. SECURITY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOP14 MENT PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall carry out a re15 search and development program for the purpose of im16 proving the security of covered transportation. 

17 (b) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—The research and develop18 ment program may include projects— 

19 (1) to reduce the vulnerability of passenger 

20 trains, stations, and equipment to explosives and 

21 hazardous chemical, biological, and radioactive sub22 stances including the development of technology to 

23 screen passengers in large numbers at peak com24 muting times with minimal interference and disrup25 tion; 


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1 (2) to test new emergency response and recov2 ery techniques and technologies; 

3 (3) to develop improved freight railroad tech4 nologies, including— 

5 (A) technologies for sealing or modifying 

6 railroad tank cars; 

7 (B) automatic inspection of railroad cars; 

8 (C) communication-based train controls; 

9 (D) signal system integrity at switches; 

10 (E) emergency response training, including 

11 training in a tunnel environment; 

12 (F) security and redundancy for critical 

13 communications, electrical power, computer, 

14 and train control systems; and 

15 (G) technologies for securing bridges and 

16 tunnels; 

17 (4) to test wayside detectors that can detect 

18 tampering; 

19 (5) to support enhanced security for the trans20 portation of hazardous materials by railroad; 

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

22 cyberattack; and 

23 (7) to address other vulnerabilities and risks 

24 identified by the Secretary. 


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1 (c) COORDINATION WITH OTHER RESEARCH INITIA2 TIVES.—The Secretary shall— 

3 (1) ensure that the research and development 

4 program is consistent with the National Strategy for 

5 Rail and Public Transportation Security developed 

6 under section 3; and 

7 (2) to the greatest extent practicable, coordi8 nate the research and development activities of the 

9 Department with other ongoing research and devel10 opment security related initiatives, including re11 search being conducted by— 

12 (A) the National Academy of Sciences; 

13 (B) the Department of Transportation, in14 cluding university transportation centers and 

15 other institutes, centers, and simulators funded 

16 by the Department of Transportation; 

17 (C) the Technical Support Working Group; 

18 (D) other Federal departments and agen19 cies; and 

20 (E) other Federal and private research lab21 oratories, research entities, and universities and 

22 institutions of higher education including, His23 torically Black Colleges or Universities, and 

24 Hispanic Serving Institution or Tribal Univer25 sity, with the capability to conduct both pracVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:40 Mar 08, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1401.IH H1401

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1 tical and theoretical research and technical sys2 tems analysis on subjects that include bridge, 

3 tunnel, blast, and infrastructure protection; 

4 (3) carry out any research and development 

5 project authorized by this section through a reim6 bursable agreement with the appropriate agency or 

7 entity official, if the agency or entity— 

8 (A) is currently sponsoring a research and 

9 development project in a similar area; or 

10 (B) has a unique facility or capability that 

11 would be useful in carrying out the project; 

12 (4) award grants, cooperative agreements, con13 tracts, other transactions, or reimbursable agree14 ments to the entities described in paragraph (c)(2) 

15 and shall adopt necessary procedures, including au16 dits, to ensure that awards made under this section 

17 are expended in accordance with the purposes of this 

18 title and the priorities and other criteria developed 

19 by the Secretary; and 

20 (5) make reasonable efforts to enter into memo21 randa of understanding, contracts, grants, coopera22 tive agreements, or other transactions with owners 

23 and operators of freight and intercity passenger rail 

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

25 both physical space and other resources. 


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1 (d) PRIVACY AND CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIB2 ERTIES ISSUES.— 

3 (1) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out research 

4 and development projects under this section, the 

5 Secretary shall consult with the Chief Privacy Offi6 cer of the Department and the Officer for Civil 

7 Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department as ap8 propriate and in accordance with section 222 of the 

9 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 142). 

10 (2) PRIVACY IMPACT ASSESSMENTS.—In ac11 cordance with sections 222 and 705 of the Home12 land Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 142; 345), the 

13 Chief Privacy Officer shall conduct privacy impact 

14 assessments and the Officer for Civil Rights and 

15 Civil Liberties shall conduct reviews, as appropriate, 

16 for research and development initiatives developed 

17 under this section. 

18 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

19 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

20 out this section— 

21 (1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

22 (2) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; and 

23 (3) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2010. 

24 (4) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2011. 

25 Such sums shall remain available until expended. 


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1 SEC. 14. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—No covered individual may be dis3 charged, demoted, suspended, threatened, harassed, rep4 rimanded, investigated, or in any other manner discrimi5 nated against (including by a denial, suspension, or rev6 ocation of a security clearance or by any other security 

7 access determination) if such discrimination is due, in 

8 whole or in part, to any lawful act done, perceived to have 

9 been done, or intended to be done by the covered indi10 vidual— 

11 (1) to provide information, cause information to 

12 be provided, or otherwise assist in an investigation 

13 regarding any conduct which the covered individual 

14 reasonably believes constitutes a violation of any 

15 law, rule, or regulation relating to rail, public trans16 portation, or over-the-road-bus security, which the 

17 covered individual reasonably believes constitutes a 

18 threat to rail, public transportation, or over-the19 road-bus security, or which the covered individual 

20 reasonably believes constitutes fraud, waste, or mis21 management of Government funds intended to be 

22 used for rail, public transportation, or over-the-road23 bus security, if the information or assistance is pro24 vided to or the investigation is conducted by— 

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

26 or law enforcement agency (including an office 


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1 of the Inspector General under the Inspector 

2 General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. app.; Public 

3 Law 95–452); 

4 (B) any Member of Congress, any com5 mittee of Congress, or the Government Ac6 countability Office; or 

7 (C) a person with supervisory authority 

8 over the covered individual (or such other per9 son who has the authority to investigate, dis10 cover, or terminate misconduct); 

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

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

13 or about to be filed relating to an alleged violation 

14 of any law, rule, or regulation relating to national or 

15 homeland security; or 

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

17 of any law, rule, or regulation relating to national or 

18 homeland security. 

19 (b) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered individual who al21 leges discharge or other discrimination by any per22 son in violation of subsection (a) may seek relief 

23 under subsection (c)— 

24 (A) for covered individuals who are em25 ployees of the Department or the Department 


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1 of Transportation, by filing a complaint with 

2 the Merit Systems Protection Board; 

3 (B) for contractors or subcontractors of 

4 the Department or Department of Transpor5 tation, by filing a complaint with their respec6 tive Inspector General; 

7 (C) for all other covered individuals, by fil8 ing a complaint with the Secretary of Labor; 

9 and 

10 (D) if the Secretary of Labor, Merit Sys11 tem Protection Board, or the respective Inspec12 tor General has not issued a final decision not 

13 later than 180 days after the filing of the com14 plaint, or in the event that a final order or deci15 sion is issued by the Secretary of Labor, Merit 

16 System Protection Board, or the respective In17 spector General, whether within the 180-day pe18 riod or thereafter, when, not later than 90 days 

19 after such an order or decision is issued, bring20 ing an original action at law or equity for de 

21 novo review in the appropriate district court of 

22 the United States, which shall have jurisdiction 

23 over such an action without regard to the 

24 amount in controversy, and which shall, at the 


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1 request of either party to such action, be tried 

2 by the court with a jury. 

3 (2) PROCEDURE.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—An action under para5 graph (1)(A) shall be governed under the rules 

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

7 title 49, United States Code. 

8 (B) EXCEPTION.—Notification made under 

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

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

11 complaint and to the person’s employer. 

12 (C) BURDENS OF PROOF.—An action 

13 brought under paragraph (1)(B) shall be gov14 erned by the legal burdens of proof set forth in 

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

16 Code. 

17 (D) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—An action 

18 under paragraph (1) shall be commenced not 

19 later than 1 year after the date on which the 

20 violation occurs. 

21 (c) REMEDIES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered individual pre23 vailing in any action under subsection (b)(1) shall be 

24 entitled to all relief necessary to make the covered 

25 individual whole. 


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1 (2) DAMAGES.—Relief for any action under 

2 paragraph (1) shall include— 

3 (A) reinstatement with the same seniority 

4 status that the covered individual would have 

5 had, but for the discrimination; 

6 (B) the amount of any backpay, with inter7 est; 

8 (C) compensation for any special damages 

9 sustained as a result of the discrimination, in10 cluding litigation costs, expert witness fees, and 

11 reasonable attorney fees; and 

12 (D) punitive damages in an amount not to 

13 exceed the greater of 3 times the amount of any 

14 compensatory damages awarded under this sec15 tion or $5,000,000. 

16 (d) USE OF STATE SECRETS PRIVILEGE.—If the 

17 Government, in a court of competent jurisdiction, asserts 

18 as a defense the privilege commonly referred to as the 

19 ‘‘state secrets privilege’’ then— 

20 (1) the parties will move expeditiously to settle 

21 the case and the court shall grant the parties 60 

22 days by which to reach settlement of the pending 

23 matter to avoid disclosure of any sensitive govern24 ment information, including classified or sensitive in25 telligence information. The parties may certify to the 


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1 court that settlement cannot be reached before the 

2 end of the 60-day period; 

3 (2) if the parties cannot settle the matter and 

4 the parties continue to litigate the matter, the par5 ties and court shall apply special procedures in order 

6 to protect classified or secret information in a man7 ner consistent with sections 1 through 10 of the 

8 Classified Information and Procedures Act, and shall 

9 adhere to the Classified Information Procedures Act 

10 (18 U.S.C. App.; Public Law 96–456; 4 Stat. 2025); 

11 and 

12 (3) if, in any action brought under subsection 

13 (b)(1)(B), the Government asserts the state secrets 

14 privilege and the assertion of such privilege either is 

15 without merit or is asserted and causes undue delay 

16 or hardship to the plaintiff, or prevents the plaintiff 

17 from establishing a prima facie case in support of 

18 the plaintiff’s claim or from rebutting an affirmative 

19 defense, then the court shall enter judgment for the 

20 plaintiff and shall determine the relief to be granted. 

21 (e) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.— 

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

23 person employing a covered individual to commit an 

24 act prohibited by subsection (a). Any person who 

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1 ating against any covered individual who makes a 

2 claim under this section shall be fined under title 18, 

3 United States Code, imprisoned not more than 1 

4 year, or both. 

5 (2) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

7 shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

8 committees an annual report on the enforce9 ment of paragraph (1). 

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

11 (i) identify each case in which formal 

12 charges under paragraph (1) were brought; 

13 (ii) describe the status or disposition 

14 of each such case; and 

15 (iii) in any actions under subsection 

16 (b)(1)(B) in which the covered individual 

17 was the prevailing party or the substan18 tially prevailing party, indicate whether or 

19 not any formal charges under paragraph 

20 (1) have been brought and, if not, the rea21 sons therefor. 

22 (f) NO PREEMPTION.—Nothing in this section pre23 empts or diminishes any other safeguards against dis24 crimination, demotion, discharge, suspension, threats, harVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:40 Mar 08, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1401.IH H1401

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1 assment, reprimand, retaliation, or any other manner of 

2 discrimination provided by Federal or State law. 

3 (g) RIGHTS RETAINED BY COVERED INDIVIDUAL.— 

4 Nothing in this section shall be deemed to diminish the 

5 rights, privileges, or remedies of any covered individual 

6 under any Federal or State law or under any collective 

7 bargaining agreement. The rights and remedies in this 

8 section may not be waived by any agreement, policy, form, 

9 or condition of employment. 

10 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi11 nitions apply: 

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

13 individual’’ means an employee of— 

14 (A) the Department; 

15 (B) the Department of Transportation; 

16 (C) a contractor or subcontractor; and 

17 (D) an employer within the meaning of 

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

19 (42 U.S.C. 2000e(b)) and who is a provider of 

20 covered transportation. 

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

22 specifically prohibited by law, except that, in the 

23 case of any information the disclosure of which is 

24 specifically prohibited by law or specifically required 

25 by Executive order to be kept secret in the interest 


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1 of national defense or the conduct of foreign affairs, 

2 any disclosure of such information to any Member of 

3 Congress, committee of Congress, or other recipient 

4 authorized to receive such information, shall be 

5 deemed lawful. 

6 (3) CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘contractor’’ 

7 means a person who has entered into a contract with 

8 the Department, the Department of Transportation, 

9 or a provider of covered transportation. 

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

11 means— 

12 (A) with respect to an employer referred to 

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

14 defined by section 2105 of title 5, United States 

15 Code; and 

16 (B) with respect to an employer referred to 

17 in paragraph (1)(A) or (1)(B), any officer, 

18 partner, employee, or agent. 

19 (5) SUBCONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘subcon20 tractor’’— 

21 (A) means any person, other than the con22 tractor, who offers to furnish or furnishes any 

23 supplies, materials, equipment, or services of 

24 any kind under a contract with the DepartVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:40 Mar 08, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00063 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1401.IH H1401

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1 ment, the Department of Transportation, or a 

2 provider of covered transportation; and 

3 (B) includes any person who offers to fur4 nish or furnishes general supplies to the Fed5 eral contractor or a higher tier subcontractor. 

6 (6) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means a cor7 poration, partnership, State entity, business associa8 tion of any kind, trust, joint-stock company, or indi9 vidual. 

10 SEC. 15. INCREASE IN SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SECU11 RITY INSPECTORS. 

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

13 total number of positions for full-time surface transpor14 tation security inspectors of the Department so that by 

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

16 is at least 600. 

17 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—Surface transportation secu18 rity inspectors hired by the Secretary shall have at least 

19 3 years experience in conducting inspections and investiga20 tions and engaging in testing security systems and any 

21 other qualifications that the Secretary determines appro22 priate. 

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

24 in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall 


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1 develop a standard operating procedure clearly defining 

2 the relationship between— 

3 (1) surface transportation security inspectors of 

4 the Department; 

5 (2) safety and security inspectors of the De6 partment of Transportation; 

7 (3) State and local law enforcement officers; 

8 and 

9 (4) other law enforcement personnel, including 

10 railroad and transit police. 

11 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

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

14 sums shall remain available until expended. 

15 SEC. 16. NATIONAL DOMESTIC PREPAREDNESS CONSOR16 TIUM. 

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

18 Homeland Security a National Domestic Preparedness 

19 Consortium. 

20 (b) MEMBERS.—The National Domestic Prepared21 ness Consortium that identifies, develops, tests, and deliv22 ers training to State, local, and tribal emergency response 

23 providers, provides onsite and mobile training at the per24 formance and management and planning levels, and faciliVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:40 Mar 08, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00065 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1401.IH H1401

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1 tates the delivery of awareness level training by the train2 ing partners of the Department shall consist of— 

3 (1) the Center for Domestic Preparedness; 

4 (2) the National Energetic Materials Research 

5 and Testing Center, New Mexico Institute of Mining 

6 and Technology; 

7 (3) the National Center for Biomedical Re8 search and Training, Louisiana State University; 

9 (4) the National Emergency Response and Res10 cue Training Center, Texas A&M University; 

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

12 Center, Nevada Test Site; and 

13 (6) the Transportation Technology Center in 

14 Pueblo, Colorado. 

15 SEC. 17. AUTHORIZATION OF VISIBLE INTERMODAL PRO16 TECTION RESPONSE TEAMS. 

17 The Secretary, acting through the Administrator of 

18 the Transportation Security Administration, is authorized 

19 to develop Visible Intermodal Protection Response (re20 ferred to in this section as ‘‘VIPR’’) teams designed to 

21 augment security for any mode of transportation at any 

22 location within the United States. In forming a VIPR 

23 team, the Secretary— 

24 (1) may use any asset of the Department, in25 cluding Federal air marshals, surface transportation 


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1 security inspectors, canine detection teams, and ad2 vanced screening technology; 

3 (2) has the discretion to determine, consistent 

4 with ongoing security threats, when a VIPR should 

5 be deployed, as well as the duration of the deploy6 ment in coordination with local security and law en7 forcement officials; and 

8 (3) prior to deployments, shall consult with 

9 local security and law enforcement officials in the ju10 risdiction where the VIPR Team is planned to de11 ploy, to develop and agree upon the appropriate op12 erating protocols and in order to educate those offi13 cials regarding the mission of the VIPR teams. 

14 SEC. 18. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SECURITY CENTER 

15 OF EXCELLENCE. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

17 a National Transportation Security Center of Excellence 

18 at an institution of higher education to conduct research 

19 and education activities, and to develop or provide profes20 sional security training, including the training of rail and 

21 public transportation employees and rail and public trans22 portation-related professionals, with emphasis on utiliza23 tion of intelligent transportation systems, technologies, 

24 and architectures. 


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1 (b) CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall designate the 

2 Center according to the following selection criteria: 

3 (1) The demonstrated commitment of the insti4 tution to transportation security issues. 

5 (2) The use of and experience with partnerships 

6 with other institutions of higher education, Federal 

7 laboratories, or other nonprofit laboratories. 

8 (3) Capability to conduct both practical and 

9 theoretical research and technical systems analysis. 

10 (4) Utilization of intelligent transportation sys11 tem technologies and architectures. 

12 (5) Ability to develop professional security 

13 training programs. 

14 (6) Capability and willingness to conduct edu15 cation of transportation security professionals. 

16 (7) Such other criteria as the Secretary may 

17 designate. 

18 (c) CONSORTIUM.— 

19 (1) EXPERIENCE.—The Consortium shall in20 clude universities and institutions of higher edu21 cation that have existing transportation programs. 

22 (2) CERTAIN INCLUSIONS.—At least two of the 

23 consortium colleges and universities associated with 

24 the National Transportation Security Center of Ex25 cellence shall be an Historically Black College or 


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1 University, an Hispanic Serving Institution, or Trib2 al University, even if the primary institution is one 

3 of the aforementioned institutions of higher edu4 cation. 

5 (d) TRAINING.—If the consortium does include the 

6 National Transit Institute, the Consortium shall work 

7 with the National Transit Institute on training programs. 

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

9 funding as is necessary to the National Transportation Se10 curity Center of Excellence established under subsection 

11 (a) to carry out this section. 

12 SEC. 19. TSA PERSONNEL LIMITATIONS. 

13 Any statutory limitation on the number of employees 

14 in the Transportation Security Administration does not 

15 apply to employees carrying out this Act. 

16 SEC. 20. HOMELAND SECURITY GRANTS. 

17 Notwithstanding any provision of this Act, all grants 

18 distributed for security-related purposes pursuant to this 

19 Act, shall be administered on the basis of risk by the Sec20 retary as the lead Federal official on transportation secu21 rity. 

22 SEC. 21. THREAT ASSESSMENT SCREENING. 

23 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact24 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall implement a threat 

25 assessment screening program, including name-based 


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1 checks against terrorist watch lists and immigration sta2 tus check, for all employees of covered transportation, that 

3 is the same as the threat assessment screening program 

4 required for facility employees and longshoremen by the 

5 Commandant of the Coast Guard under Coast Guard No6 tice USCG–2006–24189 (71 Fed. Reg. 25066 (Friday, 

7 April 28, 2006)). 

8 SEC. 22. BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR COVERED INDIVID9 UALS. 

10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi11 nitions apply: 

12 (1) BACKGROUND CHECKS.—The term ‘‘back13 ground check’’ means a check of the following: 

14 (A) Relevant criminal history databases. 

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

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

17 1101(a)(3)), the relevant databases to deter18 mine the status of the alien under the immigra19 tion laws of the United States. 

20 (2) COVERED INDIVIDUALS.—The term ‘‘cov21 ered individual’’ means an employee of— 

22 (A) an employer, within the meaning of 

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

24 (42 U.S.C. 2000e(b)), who is a provider of cov25 ered transportation; or 


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1 (B) a contractor or subcontractor of such 

2 an employer. 

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

4 transportation conducts background checks in order to 

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

6 issued by the Secretary to protect covered transportation 

7 from the threat of terrorism, the provider of covered trans8 portation shall provide an adequate redress process. 

9 (c) STANDARDS FOR REDRESS PROCESS.— 

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

11 that each provider of covered transportation imple12 ments a redress process in accordance with sub13 section (b) for covered individuals adversely im14 pacted by a background check described in sub15 section (b). 

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

17 modeled after the appeals and waiver process estab18 lished for hazmat drivers and transportation workers 

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

20 Code of Federal Regulations. 

21 (3) COMPONENTS.—The redress process shall 

22 include the following: 

23 (A) A waiver process that will allow a cov24 ered individual to demonstrate, through reha25 bilitation, or facts surrounding the conviction or 


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1 other mitigating factors, that the individual is 

2 not a security risk. 

3 (B) An appeal process during which a cov4 ered individual will have an opportunity to dem5 onstrate that the individual does not have a dis6 qualifying conviction either by— 

7 (i) correcting outdated underlying 

8 court records; 

9 (ii) proving mistaken identity; or 

10 (iii) establishing that the conviction 

11 cannot serve as the basis for an adverse 

12 employment decision in accordance with 

13 the limitations contained in subsection (d). 

14 (C) A proceeding providing an independent 

15 review. 

16 (D) A process to ensure compliance with 

17 the requirements of this section. 

18 (4) PROCEEDINGS PROVIDING AN INDE19 PENDENT REVIEW.—A covered individual who re20 quests a proceeding under paragraph (3)(C) shall 

21 have the right to have waiver and appeal decisions 

22 heard by an independent decisionmaker with the 

23 ability to order reinstatement expeditiously or pro24 vide other remedy. 


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1 (5) PREVIOUS BACKGROUND CHECKS.—A cov2 ered individual subjected to and adversely affected 

3 by a background check conducted by a provider of 

4 covered transportation (or a contractor or subcon5 tractor of such a provider), in the period beginning 

6 on June 23, 2006, and ending on the date of enact7 ment of this Act, to satisfy any rules, regulations, 

8 directives, or other guidance issued by the Secretary 

9 to protect covered transportation from the threat of 

10 terrorism shall have an immediate right to a pro11 ceeding with an independent decisionmaker to deter12 mine if the adverse action was in compliance with 

13 this section and shall have a right to immediate rein14 statement or other remedy if the background check 

15 fails to comply with this section. 

16 (d) LIMITATIONS.— 

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

18 any rule, regulation, directive, or other guidance 

19 issued by the Secretary regarding background checks 

20 of covered individuals shall prohibit an employer 

21 from making an adverse employment decision, in22 cluding removal or suspension, with respect to a cov23 ered individual based on— 

24 (A) a felony conviction that occurred 7 or 

25 more years ago; 


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1 (B) a conviction of any offense for which 

2 the individual was released from incarceration 5 

3 or more years ago; or 

4 (C) any felony not listed in section 

5 1572.103(b) of title 49, Code of Federal Regu6 lations. 

7 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—The limitations contained in 

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

9 who has been convicted of any of the following: 

10 (A) Treason (or conspiracy to commit trea11 son). 

12 (B) Espionage (or conspiracy to commit 

13 espionage). 

14 (C) Sedition (or conspiracy to commit sedi15 tion). 

16 (D) Any crime listed in section 2331 of 

17 title 18, United States Code (or conspiracy to 

18 commit such a crime). 

19 (e) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

20 section shall be construed to affect the process for review 

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

22 States Code, including regulations issued pursuant to such 

23 section. 


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1 SEC. 23. PENALTIES. 

2 (a) REGULATIONS AND ORDERS OF THE SEC3 RETARY.—Section 114 of title 49, United States Code, is 

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(u) GENERAL CIVIL PENALTIES AND ENFORCE6 MENT OF REGULATIONS AND ORDERS OF THE SEC7 RETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY.— 

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

9 the enforcement of regulations prescribed, and or10 ders issued, by the Secretary of Homeland Security 

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

12 title (other than chapter 449) (in this subsection re13 ferred to as an ‘applicable provision of this title’). 

14 Penalties for violation of regulations prescribed, and 

15 orders issued, by the Secretary of Homeland Secu16 rity under a provision of chapter 449 are provided 

17 under chapter 463. 

18 ‘‘(2) GENERAL CIVIL PENALTIES.— 

19 ‘‘(A) MAXIMUM CIVIL PENALTIES.—A per20 son is liable to the United States Government 

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

22 a violation of a regulation prescribed, or order 

23 issued, by the Secretary of Homeland Security 

24 under an applicable provision of this title. 


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

2 violation occurs under this paragraph for each 

3 day the violation continues. 

4 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE IMPOSITION OF CIVIL

5 PENALTIES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

7 Homeland Security may impose a civil penalty 

8 for a violation of a regulation prescribed, or 

9 order issued, under an applicable provision of 

10 this title. The Secretary of Homeland Security 

11 shall give written notice of the finding of a vio12 lation and the penalty. 

13 ‘‘(B) CIVIL ACTIONS TO COLLECT PEN14 ALTIES.—In a civil action to collect a civil pen15 alty imposed by the Secretary under this para16 graph, the issues of liability and the amount of 

17 the penalty may not be reexamined. 

18 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF DIS19 TRICT COURTS.—Notwithstanding subpara20 graph (A) of this paragraph, the district courts 

21 of the United States have exclusive jurisdiction 

22 of a civil action involving a penalty that the 

23 Secretary initiates if— 

24 ‘‘(i) the amount in controversy is 

25 more than— 


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1 ‘‘(I) $400,000 if the violation 

2 was committed by a person other than 

3 an individual or small business con4 cern; or 

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

6 committed by an individual or small 

7 business concern; 

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

9 action in rem based on the same violation 

10 has been brought; or 

11 ‘‘(iii) another action has been brought 

12 for an injunction based on the same viola13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(D) MAXIMUM CIVIL PENALTIES IMPOSED

15 BY THE SECRETARY.—The maximum civil pen16 alty the Secretary may impose under this para17 graph is— 

18 ‘‘(i) $400,000 if the violation was 

19 committed by a person other than an indi20 vidual or small business concern; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) $50,000 if the violation was com22 mitted by an individual or small business 

23 concern. 

24 ‘‘(E) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO RE25 QUEST HEARING.—Before imposing a penalty 


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1 under this section the Secretary shall provide to 

2 the person against whom the penalty is to be 

3 imposed— 

4 ‘‘(i) written notice of the proposed 

5 penalty; and 

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

7 later than 30 days after the date on which 

8 the person receives the notice, a hearing on 

9 the proposed penalty. 

10 ‘‘(4) COMPROMISE AND SETOFF.— 

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

12 compromise the amount of a civil penalty im13 posed under this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(B) SETOFF.—The Government may de15 duct the amount of a civil penalty imposed or 

16 compromised under this subsection from 

17 amounts it owes the person liable for the pen18 alty. 

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

20 provisions set forth in chapter 461 shall be applica21 ble to investigations and proceedings brought under 

22 this subsection to the same extent that they are ap23 plicable to investigations and proceedings brought 

24 with respect to aviation security duties designated to 

25 be carried out by the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(6) NONAPPLICATION.— 

2 ‘‘(A) PERSONS SUBJECT TO PENALTIES

3 DETERMINED BY THE SECRETARY OF DE4 FENSE.—Paragraphs (1) through (4) of this 

5 subsection do not apply to the following per6 sons, who shall be subject to penalties as deter7 mined by the Secretary of Defense or the Sec8 retary’s designee: 

9 ‘‘(i) The transportation of personnel 

10 or shipments of materials by contractors 

11 where the Department of Defense has as12 sumed control and responsibility. 

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

14 of the United States when performing offi15 cial duties. 

16 ‘‘(iii) A civilian employee of the De17 partment of Defense when performing offi18 cial duties. 

19 ‘‘(B) POSTAL SERVICE; DEPARTMENT OF

20 DEFENSE.—In this subsection, the term ‘per21 son’ does not include— 

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

23 or 

24 ‘‘(ii) the Department of Defense. 


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

2 The term ‘small business concern’ has the meaning 

3 given that term in section 3 of the Small Business 

4 Act (15 U.S.C. 632).’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

6 46301(a)(4) of title 49, United States Code, is amended 

7 by striking ‘‘or another requirement under this title ad8 ministered by the Under Secretary of Transportation for 

9 Security’’. 

Æ 


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