I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 875

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to make grants for security 

improvements to over-the-road bus operations, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 25, 2003

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska (for himself, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. GRAVES, 

Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. PASCRELL, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE

JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. SIMMONS, Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California, 

and Mr. PETRI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to make grants 

for security improvements to over-the-road bus operations, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Over-the-Road Bus 

5 Security and Safety Act of 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. EMERGENCY OVER-THE-ROAD BUS SECURITY AS2 SISTANCE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation, 

4 acting through the Administrator of the Federal Motor 

5 Carrier Safety Administration, shall establish a program 

6 for making grants to private operators of over-the-road 

7 buses for system-wide security improvements to their oper8 ations, including—

9 (1) constructing and modifying terminals, ga10 rages, facilities, or over-the-road buses to assure 

11 their security; 

12 (2) protecting or isolating the driver; 

13 (3) acquiring, upgrading, installing, or oper14 ating equipment, software, or accessorial services for 

15 collection, storage, or exchange of passenger and 

16 driver information through ticketing systems or oth17 erwise, and information links with government agen18 cies; 

19 (4) training employees in recognizing and re20 sponding to security threats, evacuation procedures, 

21 passenger screening procedures, and baggage inspec22 tion; 

23 (5) hiring and training security officers; 

24 (6) installing cameras and video surveillance 

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

26 garages, and over-the-road bus facilities; 
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1 (7) creating a program for employee identifica2 tion or background investigation; 

3 (8) establishing an emergency communications 

4 system linked to law enforcement and emergency 

5 personnel; and 

6 (9) implementing and operating passenger 

7 screening programs at terminals and on over-the8 road buses. 

9 (b) REIMBURSEMENT.—A grant under this Act may 

10 be used to provide reimbursement to private operators of 

11 over-the-road buses for extraordinary security-related 

12 costs for improvements described in paragraphs (1) 

13 through (9) of subsection (a), determined by the Secretary 

14 to have been incurred by such operators since September 

15 11, 2001. 

16 (c) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the cost 

17 for which any grant is made under this Act shall be 90 

18 percent. 

19 (d) DUE CONSIDERATION.—In making grants under 

20 this Act, the Secretary shall give due consideration to pri21 vate operators of over-the-road buses that have taken 

22 measures to enhance bus transportation security from 

23 those in effect before September 11, 2001. 

24 (e) GRANT REQUIREMENTS.—A grant under this Act 

25 shall be subject to all the terms and conditions that a 
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1 grant is subject to under section 3038(f) of the Transpor2 tation Equity Act for the 21st Century (49 U.S.C. 5310 

3 note; 112 Stat. 393). 

4 SEC. 3. PLAN REQUIREMENT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not make a 

6 grant under this Act to a private operator of over-the-road 

7 buses until the operator has first submitted to the Sec8 retary—

9 (1) a plan for making security improvements 

10 described in section 2 and the Secretary has ap11 proved the plan; and 

12 (2) such additional information as the Secretary 

13 may require to ensure accountability for the obliga14 tion and expenditure of amounts made available to 

15 the operator under the grant. 

16 (b) COORDINATION.—To the extent that an applica17 tion for a grant under this section proposes security im18 provements within a specific terminal owned and operated 

19 by an entity other than the applicant, the applicant shall 

20 demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the 

21 applicant has coordinated the security improvements for 

22 the terminal with that entity. 
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1 SEC. 4. OVER-THE-ROAD BUS DEFINED. 

2 In this Act, the term ‘‘over-the-road bus’’ means a 

3 bus characterized by an elevated passenger deck located 

4 over a baggage compartment. 

5 SEC. 5. BUS SECURITY ASSESSMENT. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor8 tation shall transmit to the Committee on Commerce, 

9 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com10 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

11 of Representatives a preliminary report in accordance with 

12 the requirements of this section. 

13 (b) CONTENTS OF PRELIMINARY REPORT.—The pre14 liminary report shall include— 

15 (1) an assessment of the over-the-road bus se16 curity grant program; 

17 (2) an assessment of actions already taken to 

18 address identified security issues by both public and 

19 private entities and recommendations on whether ad20 ditional safety and security enforcement actions are 

21 needed; 

22 (3) an assessment of whether additional legisla23 tion is needed to provide for the security of Ameri24 cans traveling on over-the-road buses; 

25 (4) an assessment of the economic impact that 

26 security upgrades of buses and bus facilities may 
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1 have on the over-the-road bus transportation indus2 try and its employees; 

3 (5) an assessment of ongoing research and the 

4 need for additional research on over-the-road bus se5 curity, including engine shut-off mechanisms, chem6 ical and biological weapon detection technology, and 

7 the feasibility of compartmentalization of the driver; 

8 and 

9 (6) an assessment of industry best practices to 

10 enhance security. 

11 (c) CONSULTATION WITH INDUSTRY, LABOR, AND

12 OTHER GROUPS.—In carrying out this section, the Sec13 retary shall consult with over-the-road bus management 

14 and labor representatives, public safety and law enforce15 ment officials, and the National Academy of Sciences. 

16 SEC. 6. FUNDING. 

17 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec18 retary of Transportation to carry out this Act 

19 $99,000,000 for fiscal years 2003 and 2004. Such sums 

20 shall remain available until expended.

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