II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2216

To provide increased rail transportation security. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 12, 2004

Mr. HOLLINGS (for himself, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. CARPER, Mr. 

BIDEN, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. KENNEDY, and Mr. BREAUX) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL

To provide increased rail transportation security.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rail Transportation 

5 Security Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RAIL TRANSPORTATION SECURITY RISK ASSESS7 MENT. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—

9 (1) ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary of Homeland 

10 Security, in consultation with the Secretary of 

11 Transportation, shall assess the security risks asso-
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1 ciated with freight and intercity passenger rail 

2 transportation and develop prioritized recommenda3 tions for—

4 (A) improving the security of rail infra5 structure and facilities, terminals, tunnels, rail 

6 bridges, rail switching areas, and other areas 

7 identified by the Secretary as posing significant 

8 rail-related risks to public safety and the move9 ment of interstate commerce, taking into ac10 count the impact that any proposed security 

11 measure might have on the provision of rail 

12 service; 

13 (B) deploying chemical and biological 

14 weapon detection equipment; 

15 (C) training employees in terrorism re16 sponse activities; and 

17 (D) identifying the immediate and long18 term economic impact of measures that may be 

19 required to address those risks. 

20 (2) EXISTING PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR

21 EFFORTS.—The assessment shall include a review of 

22 any actions already taken or prospective actions nec23 essary to address identified security issues by both 

24 public and private entities. 
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1 (b) CONSULTATION; USE OF EXISTING RE2 SOURCES.—In carrying out the assessment required by 

3 subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with rail man4 agement, rail labor, facility owners and operators, and 

5 public safety officials (including officials responsible for 

6 responding to emergencies). 

7 (c) REPORT.—

8 (1) CONTENTS.—Within 180 days after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

10 transmit to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

11 Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep12 resentatives Committee on Transportation and In13 frastructure a report, without compromising national 

14 security, containing the assessment and prioritized 

15 recommendations required by subsection (a). 

16 (2) FORMAT.—The Secretary may submit the 

17 report in both classified and redacted formats if the 

18 Secretary determines that such action is appropriate 

19 or necessary. 

20 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

21 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

22 $515,000,000 for fiscal year 2005 to carry out this sec23 tion, implement the measures contained in the Secretary’s 

24 prioritized recommendations, and award grants for pur-
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1 poses identified in the assessment in subsection (a), such 

2 sums to remain available until expended. 

3 SEC. 3. RAIL SECURITY. 

4 (a) RAIL POLICE OFFICERS.—Section 28101 is 

5 amended by striking ‘‘the rail carrier’’ each place it ap6 pears and inserting ‘‘any rail carrier’’. 

7 (b) REVIEW OF RAIL REGULATIONS.—Within 180 

8 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

9 of Transportation, in consultation with the Department of 

10 Homeland Security, shall review existing rail regulations 

11 of the Department of Transportation for the purpose of 

12 identifying areas in which those regulations need to be re13 vised to improve rail safety and security. 

14 SEC. 4. STUDY OF FOREIGN RAIL TRANSPORT SECURITY 

15 PROGRAMS. 

16 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR STUDY.—Not later than De17 cember 1, 2004, the Comptroller General shall carry out 

18 a study of the rail passenger transportation security pro19 grams that are carried out for rail transportation systems 

20 in Japan, member nations of the European Union, and 

21 other foreign countries. 

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

23 identify effective rail transportation security measures 

24 that are in use in foreign rail transportation systems, in-
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1 cluding innovative measures and screening procedures de2 termined effective. 

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

4 a report on the results of the study to Congress. The re5 port shall include the Comptroller General’s assessment 

6 regarding whether it is feasible to implement within the 

7 United States any of the same or similar security meas8 ures that are determined effective under the study. 

9 SEC. 5. PASSENGER, BAGGAGE, AND CARGO SCREENING. 

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

11 Secretary of Homeland Security shall— 

12 (1) study the cost and feasibility of requiring 

13 security screening for all passengers, baggage, and 

14 mail, express, and other cargo on Amtrak trains; 

15 and 

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

17 with any recommendations that the Secretary may 

18 have for implementing a rail security screening pro19 gram to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

20 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

21 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

22 Representatives one year after the date of enactment 

23 of this Act. 

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

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

2 at 5 of the 10 busiest passenger rail stations served by 

3 Amtrak (measured by the average number of boardings 

4 of Amtrak passenger trains) and at up to five additional 

5 rail stations served by Amtrak that are selected by the 

6 Secretary. In selecting the additional train stations the 

7 Secretary shall attempt to achieve a distribution of partici8 pating stations in terms of geographic location and size. 

9 SEC. 6. CERTAIN PERSONNEL LIMITATIONS NOT TO APPLY. 

10 Any statutory limitation on the number of employees 

11 in the Transportation Security Administration of the De12 partment of Transportation, before or after its transfer 

13 to the Department of Homeland Security, does not apply 

14 to the extent that any such employees are responsible for 

15 implementing the provisions of this title. 

16 SEC. 7. LIFE SAFETY AND INFRASTRUCTURE. 

17 (a) LIFE SAFETY NEEDS.—There are authorized to 

18 be appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation for the 

19 use of Amtrak for fiscal year 2005: 

20 (1) $677,000,000 for the 6 New York tunnels 

21 built in 1910 to provide ventilation, electrical, and 

22 fire safety technology upgrades, emergency commu23 nication and lighting systems, and emergency access 

24 and egress for passengers. 
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1 (2) $57,000,000 for the Baltimore & Potomac 

2 tunnel built in 1872 to provide adequate drainage, 

3 ventilation, communication, lighting, and passenger 

4 egress upgrades. 

5 (3) $40,000,000 for the Washington, D.C. 

6 Union Station tunnels built in 1904 under the Su7 preme Court and House and Senate Office Buildings 

8 to improve ventilation, communication, lighting, and 

9 passenger egress upgrades. 

10 (b) INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES.—There are au11 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Transpor12 tation for the use of Amtrak for fiscal year 2005, 

13 $3,000,000 for the preliminary design of options for a new 

14 tunnel on a different alignment to augment the capacity 

15 of the existing Baltimore tunnels, such funds to remain 

16 available until expended.

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