[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4106 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4106
To provide for the security and safety of rail transportation systems
in the United States, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 20, 2005
Mr. Castle (for himself, Mr. Platts, Mr. Bachus, Mr. Weldon of
Pennsylvania, Mr. Kirk, and Mr. Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland
Security
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the security and safety of rail transportation systems
in the United States, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Railroad Security
and Public Awareness Act of 2005''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Rail worker security training program.
Sec. 3. Public awareness.
Sec. 4. Railroad security upgrades.
SEC. 2. RAIL WORKER SECURITY TRAINING PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with
appropriate law enforcement, security, and terrorism experts,
representatives of railroad carriers, and nonprofit employee
organizations that represent rail workers, shall develop and issue
detailed guidance for a rail worker security training program to
prepare front-line workers for potential threat conditions.
(b) Program Elements.--The guidance developed under subsection (a)
shall require such a program to include, at a minimum, elements that
address the following:
(1) Determination of the seriousness of any occurrence.
(2) Crew communication and coordination.
(3) Appropriate responses to defend oneself.
(4) Use of protective devices.
(5) Evacuation procedures.
(6) Psychology of terrorists to cope with hijacker behavior
and passenger responses.
(7) Live situational training exercises regarding various
threat conditions, including tunnel evacuation procedures.
(8) All employee training provisions included in the
Transportation Security Directive (SD RAILPAX-04-01 and SD
RAILRAX-04-02) issued under the authority of section 114 of
title 49, United States Code, by the Transportation Security
Administration on May 20, 2004.
(9) Any other areas that the Secretary deems appropriate.
(c) Railroad Carrier Programs.--Not later than 60 days after the
Secretary issues guidance under subsection (a) in final form, each
railroad carrier shall develop a rail worker security training program
in accordance with that guidance and submit it to the Secretary for
approval. Not later than 30 days after receiving a railroad carrier's
program under this subsection, the Secretary shall review the program
and approve it or require the railroad carrier to make any revisions
the Secretary considers necessary for the program to meet the guidance
requirements.
(d) Training.--Not later than 180 days after the Secretary approves
the training program developed by a railroad carrier under this
section, the railroad carrier shall complete the training of all front-
line workers in accordance with that program.
(e) Updates.--The Secretary shall update the training guidance
issued under subsection (a) from time to time to reflect new or
different security threats, and require railroad carriers to revise
their programs accordingly and provide additional training to their
front-line workers.
(f) Security Training Program Grants.--The Secretary of Homeland
Security is authorized to make grants to railroads (including
intercity, heavy, and light rail), hazardous materials shippers, owners
of rail cars used in the transportation of hazardous materials,
universities, colleges, and research centers, and State and local
governments (for railroad facilities and infrastructure) for full or
partial reimbursement of costs incurred to implement the program
detailed in subsection (a).
(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary of Homeland Security $100,000,000 for
fiscal year 2007 to carry out the purposes of this section. Amounts
appropriated pursuant to this subsection shall remain available until
expended.
(h) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term ``front-
line workers'' means heavy and light rail employees who have daily
access to the operations infrastructure and passengers of their rail
systems.
SEC. 3. PUBLIC AWARENESS.
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Homeland Security, shall develop a national plan for
public outreach and awareness. Such plan shall be designed to increase
awareness of measures that the general public, railroad passengers, and
railroad employees can take to increase railroad system security. Such
plan shall also provide outreach to railroad carriers and their
employees to improve their awareness of available technologies, ongoing
research and development efforts, and available Federal funding sources
to improve railroad security. Not later than 9 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall
implement the plan developed under this section.
SEC. 4. RAILROAD SECURITY UPGRADES.
(a) Security Improvement Grants.--The Secretary of Homeland
Security is authorized to make grants to railroads (including intercity
passenger and heavy and light rail), hazardous materials shippers,
owners of rail cars used in the transportation of hazardous materials,
universities, colleges, and research centers, and State and local
governments (for railroad facilities and infrastructure) for full or
partial reimbursement of costs incurred to prevent or respond to acts
of terrorism, sabotage, or other railroad security threats, including
providing for--
(1) technologies for reduction of tank car vulnerability;
(2) demonstration of bridge and tunnel inspection
technologies
(3) security and redundancy for critical communications,
electric power (including traction power), computer, and train
control systems essential for secure railroad operations or to
continue railroad operations after an attack impacting railroad
operations;
(4) the security of hazardous material transportation by
railroad;
(5) secure passenger railroad stations, trains, and
infrastructure;
(6) public security awareness campaigns for passenger train
operations;
(7) the sharing of intelligence and information about
railroad security threats;
(8) train tracking and interoperable communications systems
that are coordinated to the maximum extent possible;
(9) additional police and security officers, including
canine units; and
(10) all provisions included in the Transportation Security
Directives (SD RAILPAX-04-01 and SD RAILPAX-04-02) issued under
the authority of section 114 of title 49, United States Code,
by the Transportation Security Administration on May 20, 2004.
(b) Risk Assessments.--Grants shall be awarded under section on the
basis of the results of risk assessments--
(1) conducted by the Secretary of Homeland Security; or
(2) conducted by rail operators or owners, and reviewed and
determined sufficient by the Secretary of Homeland Security.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary of Homeland Security $400,000,000 for
fiscal year 2007 to carry out the purposes of this section. Amounts
appropriated pursuant to this subsection shall remain available until
expended.
SEC. 5. TIMELINES FOR RISK ASSESSMENT AND AGENCY COOPERATION.
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Homeland Security, shall--
(1) develop a plan and timeline for completing the
Department's framework for analyzing sector risks, including
risks to the United States rail system;
(2) evaluate whether the risk assessment methodology used
by the Office for Domestic Preparedness should be leveraged to
facilitate the completion of risk assessments for rail and
other transportation modes; and
(3) set timelines for completing the memorandum of
understanding modal agreements for rail, mass transit, and
research and development, which both the Department of Homeland
Security and the Department of Transportation have agreed to
pursue.
SEC. 6. SECURITY STANDARDS AND INSPECTIONS.
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Homeland Security shall develop and issue, in coordination
with the Secretary of Transportation and rail operators and owners--
(1) rail security standards outlining actions for securing
rail systems that reflect industry best practices; and
(2) a plan identifying how Transportation Security
Administration rail inspectors will be used to measure,
monitor, and enforce the security standards issued under
paragraph (1) and, if appropriate, recommendations for how rail
asset owners should be required to enforce such standards.
SEC. 7. STUDY OF FOREIGN RAIL SECURITY PRACTICES.
The Secretary of Homeland Security shall--
(1) study select foreign rail security practices, and the
cost and feasibility of implementing selected best practices
that are not currently used in the United States, including--
(A) implementing covert testing processes to
evaluate the effectiveness of rail system security
personnel;
(B) implementing practices used by foreign rail
operators that integrate security into infrastructure
design;
(C) implementing random searches or screening of
passengers and their baggage; and
(D) establishing and maintaining an information
clearinghouse on existing and emergency security
technologies and security best practices used in the
passenger rail industry both in the United States and
abroad; and
(2) report the results of the study, together with any
recommendations that the Secretary may have for implementing
covert testing, practices for integrating security in
infrastructure design, random searches or screenings, and an
information clearinghouse to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on
Homeland Security of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate, and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
of the House of Representatives not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act.
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