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Union Calendar No. 23

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 875

[Report No. 108–36] 

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 

MARCH 13, 2003

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 

and ordered to be printed 

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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

3 Security and Safety Act of 2003’’. 

4 SEC. 2. EMERGENCY OVER-THE-ROAD BUS SECURITY AS5 SISTANCE. 

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

7 acting through the Administrator of the Federal Motor 

8 Carrier Safety Administration, shall establish a program 

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

10 buses for system-wide security improvements to their oper11 ations, including—

12 (1) constructing and modifying terminals, ga13 rages, facilities, or over-the-road buses to assure 

14 their security; 

15 (2) protecting or isolating the driver; 

16 (3) acquiring, upgrading, installing, or oper17 ating equipment, software, or accessorial services for 

18 collection, storage, or exchange of passenger and 

19 driver information through ticketing systems or oth20 erwise, and information links with government agen21 cies; 

22 (4) training employees in recognizing and re23 sponding to security threats, evacuation procedures, 

24 passenger screening procedures, and baggage inspec25 tion; 

26 (5) hiring and training security officers; 
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1 (6) installing cameras and video surveillance 

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

3 garages, and over-the-road bus facilities; 

4 (7) creating a program for employee identifica5 tion or background investigation; 

6 (8) establishing an emergency communications 

7 system linked to law enforcement and emergency 

8 personnel; and 

9 (9) implementing and operating passenger 

10 screening programs at terminals and on over-the11 road buses. 

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

13 be used to provide reimbursement to private operators of 

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

15 costs for improvements described in paragraphs (1) 

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

17 to have been incurred by such operators since September 

18 11, 2001. 

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

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

21 percent. 

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

23 this Act, the Secretary shall give due consideration to pri24 vate operators of over-the-road buses that have taken 
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1 measures to enhance bus transportation security from 

2 those in effect before September 11, 2001. 

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

4 shall be subject to all the terms and conditions that a 

5 grant is subject to under section 3038(f) of the Transpor6 tation Equity Act for the 21st Century (49 U.S.C. 5310 

7 note; 112 Stat. 393). 

8 SEC. 3. PLAN REQUIREMENT. 

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

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

11 buses until the operator has first submitted to the Sec12 retary—

13 (1) a plan for making security improvements 

14 described in section 2 and the Secretary has ap15 proved the plan; and 

16 (2) such additional information as the Secretary 

17 may require to ensure accountability for the obliga18 tion and expenditure of amounts made available to 

19 the operator under the grant. 

20 (b) COORDINATION.—To the extent that an applica21 tion for a grant under this section proposes security im22 provements within a specific terminal owned and operated 

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

24 demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the 
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1 applicant has coordinated the security improvements for 

2 the terminal with that entity. 

3 SEC. 4. OVER-THE-ROAD BUS DEFINED. 

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

5 bus characterized by an elevated passenger deck located 

6 over a baggage compartment. 

7 SEC. 5. BUS SECURITY ASSESSMENT. 

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

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor10 tation shall transmit to the Committee on Commerce, 

11 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com12 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

13 of Representatives a preliminary report in accordance with 

14 the requirements of this section. 

15 (b) CONTENTS OF PRELIMINARY REPORT.—The pre16 liminary report shall include— 

17 (1) an assessment of the over-the-road bus se18 curity grant program; 

19 (2) an assessment of actions already taken to 

20 address identified security issues by both public and 

21 private entities and recommendations on whether ad22 ditional safety and security enforcement actions are 

23 needed; 
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1 (3) an assessment of whether additional legisla2 tion is needed to provide for the security of Ameri3 cans traveling on over-the-road buses; 

4 (4) an assessment of the economic impact that 

5 security upgrades of buses and bus facilities may 

6 have on the over-the-road bus transportation indus7 try and its employees; 

8 (5) an assessment of ongoing research and the 

9 need for additional research on over-the-road bus se10 curity, including engine shut-off mechanisms, chem11 ical and biological weapon detection technology, and 

12 the feasibility of compartmentalization of the driver; 

13 and 

14 (6) an assessment of industry best practices to 

15 enhance security. 

16 (c) CONSULTATION WITH INDUSTRY, LABOR, AND

17 OTHER GROUPS.—In carrying out this section, the Sec18 retary shall consult with over-the-road bus management 

19 and labor representatives, public safety and law enforce20 ment officials, and the National Academy of Sciences. 

21 SEC. 6. FUNDING. 

22 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec23 retary of Transportation to carry out this Act 

24 $99,000,000 for fiscal years 2003 and 2004. Such sums 

25 shall remain available until expended. 

Union Calendar No. 23

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 875

[Report No. 108–36] 

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to make 

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

MARCH 13, 2003

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed