Rail Security

RAIL SECURITY

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, last week marked the first anniversary of the London subway and bus bombing, which killed 56 people and injured more than 700 others.

Yesterday, we were reminded again of the terrorist threat to rail and public transportation systems when terrorists attacked trains in Mubai, India, killing over 100 and injuring far more.

The victims of these attacks were ordinary people, not that different from many Americans who are going about their usual routine of commuting to work, school or terrorist sites.

After the London bombing, Congress called on the administration to move quickly to reinforce our Nation's rail and public transportation systems to prevent such an attack from happening on American soil. Just last month, we learned that this threat is real when it announced that al Qaeda had planned to attack New York subways using poisonous gas.

Yet, nearly a year after the London attacks, Mr. Speaker, the Bush administration has failed to produce a comprehensive strategy to secure America's rail and mass transit systems.

The administration also continues to focus almost exclusively on aviation security, spending $9 per air passenger, compared to only one penny per rail and public transportation passenger.

The administration has also failed to ensure the front line employees of rail and public transportation systems are trained on how to prevent, prepare for and respond to a terrorist event.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, the administration has failed to devote significant resources to rail and mass transit research and development.

Yet we all know that the only way we can truly secure subways and buses, which carry millions more passengers than airplanes, is through new technologies.

To close these security gaps, last month Congresswoman Brown, myself, and other Democrats introduced the Rail and Public Transportation Security Act of 2006. This bill will require the Department of Homeland Security to secure rail and public transportation systems using many of the same tools it is already using to secure ports.

First, this bill requires a National Rail and Public Transportation Security Plan. Second, the bill requires rail and public transportation systems to submit vulnerability assessments and security plans for approval. Third, the bill requires rail and public transportation systems to train their employees on how to prevent, prepare for, and respond to terrorist attacks. Finally, the bill provides the resources and manpower needed to truly increase security.

First of all, we plan to provide $400 million in authorized expenditures for a grant program dedicated to rail and public transportation security. Secondly, we authorize $150 million over the next 3 years for advanced research and development to uncover new solutions to the security threats faced by rail and public transportation systems. Finally, Mr. Speaker, $26.4 million per year is authorized over the next 6 years to hire 1,200 new rail security inspectors. For the record, there are only 100 rail inspectors in the country as we speak.

This Democratic bill provides genuine solutions to the security threats faced by rail and public transportation systems here in America. I urge my fellow Members on both sides of the aisle to support it.

http://thomas.loc.gov