557 
(1) consolidates existing security exercises for over-the-road bus op-
erators and terminals administered by the Department and the Depart-
ment of Transportation, as jointly determined by the Secretary and the 
Secretary of Transportation, unless the Secretary waives this consolida-
tion requirement, as appropriate; 
(2) consists of exercises that are— 
(A) scaled and tailored to the needs of the over-the-road bus op-
erators and terminals, including addressing the needs of the elder-
ly and individuals with disabilities; 
(B) live, in the case of the facilities most at risk to a terrorist 
attack; 
(C) coordinated with appropriate officials; 
(D) as realistic as practicable and based on current risk assess-
ments, including credible threats, vulnerabilities, and con-
sequences; 
(E) inclusive, as appropriate, of over-the-road bus frontline em-
ployees; and 
(F) consistent with the National Incident Management System, 
the National Response Plan, the National Infrastructure Protec-
tion Plan, the National Preparedness Guidance, the National Pre-
paredness Goal, and other such national initiatives; 
(3) provides that exercises described in paragraph (2) will be— 
(A) evaluated by the Secretary against clear and consistent per-
formance measures; 
(B) assessed by the Secretary to identify best practices, which 
shall be shared, as appropriate, with operators providing over-the- 
road bus transportation, nonprofit employee organizations that 
represent over-the-road bus employees, Federal, State, local, and 
tribal officials, governmental and nongovernmental emergency re-
sponse providers, and law enforcement personnel; and 
(C) used to develop recommendations, as appropriate, provided 
to over-the-road bus operators and terminal owners and operators 
on remedial action to be taken in response to lessons learned; 
(4) allows for proper advanced notification of communities and local 
governments in which exercises are held, as appropriate; and 
(5) assists State, local, and tribal governments and over-the-road bus 
operators and terminal owners and operators in designing, imple-
menting, and evaluating additional exercises that conform to the re-
quirements of paragraph (2). 
(d) CONSISTENT WITH NATIONAL EXERCISE PROGRAM.—The Secretary 
shall ensure that the exercise program developed under subsection (c) is 
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558 
consistent with the national exercise program established under section 
20508 of this title. 
§ 40734. Training program 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop and issue regulations for 
an over-the-road bus training program to prepare over-the-road bus front-
line employees for potential security threats and conditions. The regulations 
shall take into consideration current security training requirements or best 
practices. 
(b) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall develop regulations under sub-
section (a) in consultation with— 
(1) appropriate law enforcement, fire service, emergency response, 
security, and terrorism experts; 
(2) operators providing over-the-road bus transportation; and 
(3) nonprofit employee labor organizations representing over-the-road 
bus employees and emergency response personnel. 
(c) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The regulations developed under subsection 
(a) shall require security training programs, to include, at a minimum, ele-
ments to address the following, as applicable: 
(1) Determination of the seriousness of an occurrence or threat. 
(2) Driver and passenger communication and coordination. 
(3) Appropriate responses to defend or protect oneself. 
(4) Use of personal and other protective equipment. 
(5) Evacuation procedures for passengers and over-the-road bus em-
ployees, including individuals with disabilities and the elderly. 
(6) Psychology, behavior, and methods of terrorists, including obser-
vation and analysis. 
(7) Training related to psychological responses to terrorist incidents, 
including the ability to cope with hijacker behavior and passenger re-
sponses. 
(8) Live situational training exercises regarding various threat condi-
tions, including tunnel evacuation procedures. 
(9) Recognition and reporting of dangerous substances, suspicious 
packages, and situations. 
(10) Understanding security incident procedures, including proce-
dures for communicating with emergency response providers and for 
on-scene interaction with emergency response providers. 
(11) Operation and maintenance of security equipment and systems. 
(12) Other security training activities that the Secretary considers 
appropriate. 
(d) REQUIRED PROGRAMS.— 
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559 
(1) DEVELOPMENT
AND
SUBMISSION
TO
SECRETARY.—Not later 
than 90 days after the Secretary issues the regulations under sub-
section (a), each over-the-road bus operator shall develop a security 
training program in accordance with the regulations and submit the 
program to the Secretary for approval. 
(2) APPROVAL.—Not later than 60 days after receiving a security 
training program proposal under this subsection, the Secretary shall 
approve the program or require the over-the-road bus operator that de-
veloped the program to make revisions to the program that the Sec-
retary considers necessary for the program to meet the requirements 
of the regulations. An over-the-road bus operator shall respond to the 
Secretary’s comments not later than 30 days after receiving them. 
(3) TRAINING.—Not later than 1 year after the Secretary approves 
a security training program under this subsection, the over-the-road 
bus operator that developed the program shall complete the training of 
all over-the-road bus frontline employees who were hired by the oper-
ator more than 30 days preceding the approval date. For employees 
employed by an operator for fewer than 30 days preceding the approval 
date, training shall be completed within the first 60 days of employ-
ment. 
(4) UPDATES
OF
REGULATIONS
AND
PROGRAM
REVISIONS.—The 
Secretary shall periodically review and update, as appropriate, the 
training regulations issued under subsection (a) to reflect new or 
changing security threats. Each over-the-road bus operator shall revise 
its training program accordingly and provide additional training as nec-
essary to its employees within a reasonable time after the regulations 
are updated. 
(e) NATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall ensure that the 
training program developed under subsection (a) is a component of the na-
tional training program established under section 20508 of this title. 
§ 40735. Research and development 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary 
for Science and Technology and the Administrator of the Transportation 
Security Administration, shall carry out a research and development pro-
gram for the purpose of improving the security of over-the-road buses. 
(b) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—The research and development program may 
include projects— 
(1) to reduce the vulnerability of over-the-road buses, stations, termi-
nals, and equipment to explosives and hazardous chemical, biological, 
and radioactive substances, including the development of technology to 
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screen passengers in large numbers with minimal interference and dis-
ruption; 
(2) to test new emergency response and recovery techniques and 
technologies, including those used at international borders; 
(3) to develop improved technologies, including those for— 
(A) emergency response training, including training in a tunnel 
environment, if appropriate; and 
(B) security and redundancy for critical communications, elec-
trical power, computer, and over-the-road bus control systems; and 
(4) to address other vulnerabilities and risks identified by the Sec-
retary. 
(c) COORDINATION
WITH OTHER RESEARCH INITIATIVES.—The Sec-
retary— 
(1) shall ensure that the research and development program is con-
sistent with the other transportation security research and development 
programs required by section 30304 and chapters 401 through 407 of 
this title; 
(2) shall, to the extent practicable, coordinate the research and de-
velopment activities of the Department with other ongoing research and 
development security-related initiatives, including research being con-
ducted by— 
(A) the Department of Transportation, including University 
Transportation Centers and other institutes, centers, and simula-
tors funded by the Department of Transportation; 
(B) the National Academy of Sciences; 
(C) the Technical Support Working Group; 
(D) other Federal departments and agencies; and 
(E) other Federal and private research laboratories, research 
entities, and institutions of higher education, including Historically 
Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, 
and Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities; 
(3) shall carry out a research and development project authorized by 
this section through a reimbursable agreement with an appropriate 
Federal agency, if the agency— 
(A) is currently sponsoring a research and development project 
in a similar area; or 
(B) has a unique facility or capability that would be useful in 
carrying out the project; 
(4) may award grants and enter into cooperative agreements, con-
tracts, other transactions, or reimbursable agreements to the entities 
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