II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 216

To authorize the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop 

improvements in building and fire codes, standards, and practices to 

reduce the impact of terrorist and other extreme threats to the safety 

of buildings, their occupants, and emergency responders, and to authorize 

the Department of Homeland Security to form a task force to recommend 

ways to strengthen standards in the private security industry, stabilize 

the workforce, and create a safer environment for commercial building 

and industrial facility occupants. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 23, 2003

Mr. EDWARDS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL

To authorize the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop improvements in building and fire 

codes, standards, and practices to reduce the impact 

of terrorist and other extreme threats to the safety of 

buildings, their occupants, and emergency responders, 

and to authorize the Department of Homeland Security 

to form a task force to recommend ways to strengthen 

standards in the private security industry, stabilize the 

workforce, and create a safer environment for commercial 

building and industrial facility occupants.
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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Building Security Act 

5 of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) The terrorist attacks of September 11, 

9 2001, resulted in unprecedented death and destruc10 tion, and 2 of the worst building disasters in human 

11 history; 

12 (2) the war on terror is ongoing, and threats to 

13 American targets, such as large buildings in the 

14 United States, are substantial; 

15 (3) there are approximately 500 skyscrapers in 

16 the United States that are regularly occupied by at 

17 least 5000 people, in addition to millions of smaller 

18 buildings that see high levels of traffic; 

19 (4) most buildings have not been built to the 

20 standard needed to meet extreme threats, necessi21 tating technological improvements in every aspect of 

22 construction, including structural elements, fire23 proofing, and facade integrity; 

24 (5) to advance homeland security, the Federal 

25 Government is obligated to ensure that building and 
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1 construction standards are as high as practicable, 

2 and that building owners have the resources needed 

3 to meet these standards; 

4 (6) the Federal Government, in its efforts to 

5 protect the American people, is responsible for pro6 moting research and development by the public and 

7 private sectors that will provide the technical basis 

8 for improved building and fire codes, standards, 

9 practices, and materials; 

10 (7) the National Institute of Standards and 

11 Technology is in a unique position to work with the 

12 appropriate standards-developing organizations to 

13 help the United States respond to these new chal14 lenges, due to—

15 (A) the building and fire expertise in its 

16 laboratories and quality program; 

17 (B) its long history of working coopera18 tively with the construction and standards in19 dustries; 

20 (C) its strong influence on national stand21 ards; and 

22 (D) its involvement in the assessment of 

23 the World Trade Center collapse; 

24 (8) efforts to pursue innovation and provide 

25 practical guidance and tools to building owners, de-
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1 signers, and contractors are necessary to ensure that 

2 new materials and practices are widely accepted and 

3 used; 

4 (9) it is in the national interest for the National 

5 Institute of Standards and Technology to—

6 (A) accelerate its efforts in helping indus7 try develop the higher building and construction 

8 standards that are necessary to heighten the 

9 safety of all Americans; and 

10 (B) identify the most effective ways to en11 sure that these new standards are implemented 

12 in both existing and new structures; 

13 (10) as of January 2003, 2,000,000 private se14 curity officers throughout the Nation are responsible 

15 for ensuring the security of building occupants and 

16 must be able to effectively respond to evacuations, 

17 crime, terrorist threats, emergencies, and accidents; 

18 (11) many of these private security officers are 

19 not adequately prepared to best assist uniformed 

20 services, building tenants, workers, and the public in 

21 the event of a natural disaster or terrorism; 

22 (12) the job turnover rate within the private se23 curity industry is as high as 300 percent per year; 

(13) a recent study found that more than 1 24 ⁄2 of 

25 the States are—
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1 (A) failing to set standards for the training 

2 and screening of private security officers; and

3 (B) not providing adequate oversight of the 

4 private security industry; 

5 (14) without proper guidelines and standards, 

6 the private security industry cannot adequately pro7 vide the security necessary in the current global en8 vironment; 

9 (15) the Federal Government, in its efforts to 

10 protect the American people, is responsible for ena11 bling a proper review of the private security industry 

12 and developing a means of ensuring the industry’s 

13 improvement; and 

14 (16) it is in the national interest for the De15 partment of Homeland Security to create a private 

16 security review task force, comprised of industry, 

17 union, government, and law enforcement leaders, to 

18 help establish strong guidelines and incentives for 

19 States, and to provide the needed structure for 

20 training and workforce stability. 

21 SEC. 3. HOMELAND SECURITY BUILDING AND FIRE RE22 SEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

25 Institute of Standards and Technology (referred to 
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1 in this section as the ‘‘Director’’) shall establish a 

2 research and development program to—

3 (A) provide the measurements and analysis 

4 for improved building and fire codes, standards, 

5 and practices; and 

6 (B) generate findings and recommenda7 tions that can be used to develop improved 

8 building and fire codes, and higher construction 

9 standards in the United States. 

10 (2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this sec11 tion, the Director shall—

12 (A) consult, as appropriate, with the var13 ious units of the National Institute of Stand14 ards and Technology (referred to in this section 

15 as the ‘‘Institute’’), including the Building and 

16 Fire Research Laboratory; 

17 (B) build upon ongoing efforts of the Insti18 tute and of the private sector; and 

19 (C) involve consortia that include govern20 ment and industry. 

21 (b) RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.—

22 (1) SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.—The Director shall 

23 work with industry, trade associations, professional 

24 societies, and others to conduct experimentation, 
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1 analysis, testing, verification, and demonstration of 

2 improved tools and practices that identify—

3 (A) improved construction methods and 

4 materials relevant to structural fire safety; 

5 (B) mitigation of progressive collapse; 

6 (C) building and ventilation vulnerability 

7 reduction tools; 

8 (D) equipment standards for first respond9 ers; and 

10 (E) other ways to reduce the impact of ex11 treme threats to the safety of buildings, their 

12 occupants, and emergency responders. 

13 (2) POLICY RESEARCH.—The Director shall 

14 work with industry, trade associations, professional 

15 societies, and others to complete a study of the best 

16 methods to ensure full implementation and encour17 age full compliance with the standards developed in 

18 paragraph (1), including—

19 (A) tax incentives; 

20 (B) grants to States that adopt those 

21 standards; and 

22 (C) other appropriate means. 

23 (c) DISSEMINATION AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

24 PROGRAM.—The Director shall oversee a dissemination 

25 and technical assistance program (referred to in this sec-
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1 tion as the ‘‘DTAP’’) to assist with the immediate dis2 semination and implementation of the practices, stand3 ards, and codes developed by the Institute under sub4 section (b)(1). 

5 (d) PUBLICATION OF STUDIES.—The Director shall 

6 ensure that the results and recommendations of the Insti7 tute under subsection (b) are promptly published for use 

8 by the public and private sectors. 

9 (e) REPORTS.—

10 (1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 60 days 

11 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 

12 shall submit, to the Committee on Commerce, 

13 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

14 Committee on Science of the House of Representa15 tives, a report detailing the Institute’s proposed 

16 schedule of studies and results, with anticipated 

17 dates of implementation. 

18 (2) ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTS.—Not later 

19 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

20 and annually thereafter, the Director shall submit a 

21 progress report to the committees described under 

22 paragraph (1), which summarizes the Institute’s ac23 tivities and determinations under subsection (b). 
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1 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

3 the following sums: 

4 (1) $13,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.

5 (2) $9,000,000 for fiscal year 2005. 

6 (3) $9,000,000 for fiscal year 2006. 

7 (4) $9,000,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

8 SEC. 4. PRIVATE SECURITY INDUSTRY TASK FORCE. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Depart10 ment of Homeland Security (referred to in this section as 

11 the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall establish a Private Security Indus12 try Task Force (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Task 

13 Force’’) to—

14 (1) examine the limitations in training, screen15 ing, standard-setting, retention, and oversight prac16 tice in the private security industry; 

17 (2) develop structural guidelines and standards 

18 of quality for the private security industry; and 

19 (3) determine the best way to help States to im20 plement such standards and guidelines in a timely 

21 and efficient manner. 

22 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Task Force shall be com23 posed of 25 members, including members representing—

24 (1) private security employers; 

25 (2) private security employees; 
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1 (3) the private insurance industry; 

2 (4) the risk consulting industry; 

3 (5) institutional investors; 

4 (6) public safety and emergency management 

5 professionals; 

6 (7) building owners and managers; 

7 (8) commercial building tenants; 

8 (9) trainers of private security officers; 

9 (10) police officers; 

10 (11) firefighters; 

11 (12) the Office of Employment and Training 

12 Administration of the Department of Labor; 

13 (13) the Office of Justice Programs of the De14 partment of Justice; 

15 (14) the Department of Homeland Security; 

16 and 

17 (15) State agencies involved in homeland secu18 rity from different regions of the United States. 

19 (c) CHAIR.—

20 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary shall ap21 point a Chair for the Task Force from within the 

22 Department of Homeland Security. 

23 (2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Chair shall over24 see all meetings of, and communications from, the 

25 Task Force. 
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1 (d) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the 

2 provisions of this Act, the Chair and other members of 

3 the Task Force may conduct research and coordinate and 

4 consult with industry, trade associations, professional soci5 eties, and institutions of higher learning, and other appro6 priate organizations to—

7 (1) examine the limitations in training, screen8 ing, standard-setting, retention, and oversight prac9 tice in the private security industry; 

10 (2) develop structural guidelines and standards 

11 of quality for the private security industry; and 

12 (3) determine the best way to help States to im13 plement such standards and guidelines in a timely 

14 and efficient manner. 

15 (e) SEMI-ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 180 

16 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 

17 180 days thereafter, the Chair shall submit a report on 

18 the Task Force’s activities and determinations under sub19 section (c)(2) to—

20 (1) the Committee on Health, Education, 

21 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 

22 (2) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen23 ate; 

24 (3) the Committee on Education and the Work25 force of the House of Representatives; and 
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1 (4) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

2 House of Representatives. 

3 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated $500,000 for each of 

5 the fiscal years 2004 and 2005 to carry out this section.

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