Railroad Security and Public Awareness Act of 2005

Bill: 109-hr-4106
Sponsor: Rep. Castle, Michael N. [R-DE-At Large]
Introduced: 2005-10-20 in the House
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Animals
Armed Forces and National Security
Bridges
Commerce
Computer security measures
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Cost effectiveness
Crime and Law Enforcement
Data banks
Department of Homeland Security
Dogs
Economics and Public Finance
Electric power
Emergency communication systems
Employee training
Energy
Environmental Protection
Evacuation of civilians
Federal aid to research
Federal aid to transportation
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Government publicity
Governmental investigations
Health
Infrastructure
International Affairs
Labor and Employment
Law
Light rail transit
Mass rapid transit
Occupational health and safety
Performance measurement
Private police
Psychology
Railroad employees
Railroad engineering
Railroad freight operations
Railroad passenger traffic
Railroad safety
Railroad terminals
Railroads
Research and development
Risk
Sabotage
Science, Technology, Communications
Searches and seizures
Security measures
Standards
Technological innovations
Terrorism
Transportation of hazardous substances
Transportation planning
Transportation research
Tunnels

Summary:
action_date: 2005-10-20
text: 
Railroad Security and Public Awareness Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop and issue detailed guidance for a rail worker security training program to prepare front-line workers for potential threat conditions. Requires railroad carriers to develop a rail worker security training program that meets the Secretary's approval. 
 
Directs the Secretary to develop a national plan for public outreach and awareness of measures that the general public, railroad passengers, and railroad employees can take to increase railroad security.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to railroads (including intercity, heavy, and light rail), hazardous materials shippers, owners of hazardous materials rail cars, universities, colleges, and research centers, and state and local governments (for railroad facilities and infrastructure) for full or partial reimbursement of: (1) rail worker security training program costs; and (2) security upgrade costs incurred by a railroad to prevent or respond to acts of terrorism, sabotage, or other railroad security threats.
 
Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop timelines for completing the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) framework for analyzing risks to the U.S. rail system and other transportation sectors; (2) evaluate whether the risk assessment used by the Office for Domestic Preparedness should be leveraged to facilitate the completion of such risk assessments; (3) set timelines for completing the memorandum of understanding (MOU) modal agreements for rail, mass transit, and research and development (R&D), which DHS and the Department of Transportation (DOT) have agreed to pursue; (4) develop and issue rail security standards, including a plan for how Transportation Security Administration (TSA) rail inspectors will be used to enforce such standards; and (5) study select foreign rail security practices, including the cost of implementing selected best practices not currently used in the United States.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-10-26
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Cybersecurity.
action_date: 2005-10-26
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science, and Technology.
action_date: 2005-10-20
text: Referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security.
action_date: 2005-10-20
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2005-10-20
text: Introduced in House