[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1528 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1528

       To improve the safety and security of rail transportation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 10, 2001

    Mr. McCain (for himself and Mr. Smith of Oregon) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
       To improve the safety and security of rail transportation.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Rail Transportation Safety and 
Security Act''.

SEC. 2. PASSENGER RAIL SAFETY AND SECURITY ASSISTANCE.

    (a) In General.--To improve the safety and security of rail 
transportation provided by Amtrak, the Secretary of Transportation may, 
through appropriate funding documents, procedures, and arrangements 
(including contracts, loans, grants, and cooperative agreements) make 
available--
            (1) $515,000,000 for systemwide security upgrades, 
        including hiring and training additional police officers, 
        canine-assisted security units, and surveillance equipment; and
            (2) $998,000,000 to be used to complete New York tunnel 
        life safety projects and rehabilitate tunnels in Washington, 
        D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland.
    (b) Plan Required.--The Secretary may not make such amounts 
available to Amtrak for obligation or expenditure under subsection 
(a)--
            (1) for implementing systemwide security upgrades until 
        Amtrak has submitted to the Secretary, and the Secretary has 
        approved, a plan for such upgrades;
            (2) for completing the tunnel life safety and 
        rehabilitation projects until Amtrak has submitted to the 
        Secretary, and the Secretary has approved, an engineering and 
        financial plan for such projects; and
            (3) Amtrak has submitted to the Secretary such additional 
        information as the Secretary may require in order to ensure 
        full accountability for the obligation or expenditure of 
        amounts made available to Amtrak for such purposes.
    (c) Assessment by DOT Inspector General.--The Inspector General of 
the Department of Transportation shall, as part of the Department's 
annual assessment of Amtrak's financial status and capital funding 
requirements, review the obligation and expenditure of funds under each 
such funding document, procedure, or arrangement to ensure that the 
expenditure and obligation of those funds are consistent with the 
purposes for which they are provided under this Act.
    (d) Report on Overlap.--Within 60 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation 
shall transmit a report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure that identifies any overlap between--
            (1) capital projects for which funds are provided under 
        such funding documents, procedures, or arrangements; and
            (2) capital projects included in Amtrak's 20-year capital 
        plan.

SEC. 3. RAIL POLICE OFFICERS.

    Section 28101 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 
striking ``the rail carrier'' each place it appears and inserting ``any 
rail carrier''.

SEC. 4. TERRORIST ATTACKS AGAINST RAILROADS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1992 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 1992. Terrorist attacks against railroads
     ``(a) General Prohibitions.--Whoever willfully--
            ``(1) wrecks, derails, sets fire to, or disables any train, 
        locomotive, motor unit, or freight or passenger car used, 
        operated, or employed by a railroad carrier;
            ``(2) brings, carries, possesses, places or causes to be 
        placed any destructive substance, or destructive device in, 
        upon, or near any train, locomotive, motor unit, or freight or 
        passenger car used, operated, or employed by a railroad 
        carrier, without previously obtaining the permission of the 
        carrier, and with intent to endanger the safety of any 
        passenger or employee of the carrier, or with a reckless 
        disregard for the safety of human life;
            ``(3) sets fire to, or places any destructive substance, or 
        destructive device in, upon or near, or undermines any tunnel, 
        bridge, viaduct, trestle, track, signal, station, depot, 
        warehouse, terminal, or any other way, structure, property, or 
        appurtenance used in the operation of, or in support of the 
        operation of, a railroad carrier, or otherwise makes any such 
        tunnel, bridge, viaduct, trestle, track, station, depot, 
        warehouse, terminal, or any other way, structure, property, or 
        appurtenance unworkable or unusable or hazardous to work or 
        use, knowing or having reason to know such activity would 
        likely derail, disable, or wreck a train, locomotive, motor 
        unit, or freight or passenger car used, operated, or employed 
        by a railroad carrier;
            ``(4) removes appurtenances from, damages, or otherwise 
        impairs the operation of any railroad signal system, including 
        a train control system, centralized dispatching system, or 
        highway-railroad grade crossing warning signal on a railroad 
        line used, operated, or employed by a railroad carrier;
            ``(5) interferes with, disables, or incapacitates any 
        locomotive engineer, conductor, or other person while they are 
        operating or maintaining a train, locomotive, motor unit, or 
        freight or passenger car used, operated, or employed by a 
railroad carrier, with intent to endanger the safety of any passenger 
or employee of the carrier, or with a reckless disregard for the safety 
of human life;
            ``(6) commits an act intended to cause death or serious 
        bodily injury to an employee or passenger of a railroad carrier 
        while on the property of the carrier;
            ``(7) causes the release of a hazardous material being 
        transported by a rail freight car, with the intent to endanger 
        the safety of any person, or with a reckless disregard for the 
        safety of human life;
            ``(8) conveys or causes to be conveyed false information, 
        knowing the information to be false, concerning an attempt or 
        alleged attempt being made or to be made, to do any act that 
        would be a crime prohibited by this subsection; or
            ``(9) attempts, threatens, or conspires to do any of the 
        aforesaid acts, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned 
        not more than 20 years, or both, if such act is committed, or 
        in the case of a threat or conspiracy such act would be 
        committed, within the United States on, against, or affecting a 
        railroad carrier engaged in or affecting interstate or foreign 
        commerce, or if in the course of committing such acts, that 
        person travels or communicates across a State line in order to 
        commit such acts, or transports materials across a State line 
        in aid of the commission of such acts; except that whoever is 
        convicted of any crime prohibited by this subsection shall be--
                    ``(A) imprisoned for not less than 30 years or for 
                life if the railroad train involved carried high-level 
                radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel at the time of 
                the offense;
                    ``(B) imprisoned for life if the railroad train 
                involved was carrying passengers at the time of the 
                offense; and
                    ``(C) imprisoned for life or sentenced to death if 
                the offense has resulted in the death of any person.
    ``(b) Prohibitions on the Use of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons.--
            ``(1) Except as provided in paragraph (4), whoever 
        knowingly possesses or causes to be present any firearm or 
        other dangerous weapon on board a passenger train of a railroad 
        carrier, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title 
        or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both, if such act is 
        committed on a railroad carrier that is engaged in or affecting 
        interstate or foreign commerce, or if in the course of 
        committing such act, that person travels or communicates across 
        a State line in order to commit such act, or transports 
        materials across a State line in aid of the commission of such 
        act.
            ``(2) Whoever, with intent that a firearm or other 
        dangerous weapon be used in the commission of a crime, 
        knowingly possesses or causes to be present such firearm or 
        dangerous weapon on board a passenger train or in a passenger 
        terminal facility of a railroad carrier, or attempts to do so, 
        shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 
        years, or both, if such act is committed on a railroad carrier 
        that is engaged in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, 
        or if in the course of committing such act, that person travels 
        or communicates across a State line in order to commit such 
        act, or transports materials across a State line in aid of the 
        commission of such act.
            ``(3) A person who kills or attempts to kill a person in 
        the course of a violation of paragraphs (1) or (2), or in the 
        course of an attack on a passenger train or a passenger 
        terminal facility of a railroad carrier involving the use of a 
        firearm or other dangerous weapon, shall be punished as 
        provided in sections 1111, 1112, and 1113.
            ``(4) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to--
                    ``(A) the possession of a firearm or other 
                dangerous weapon by an officer, agent, or employee of 
                the United States, a State, or a political subdivision 
                thereof, while engaged in the lawful performance of 
                official duties, who is authorized by law to engage in 
                the transportation of people accused or convicted of 
                crimes, or supervise the prevention, detection, 
                investigation, or prosecution of any violation of law;
                    ``(B) the possession of a firearm or other 
                dangerous weapon by an officer, agent, or employee of 
                the United States, a State, or a political subdivision 
                thereof, while off duty, if such possession is 
                authorized by law;
                    ``(C) the possession of a firearm or other 
                dangerous weapon by a Federal official or a member of 
                the Armed Forces if such possession is authorized by 
                law;
                    ``(D) the possession of a firearm or other 
                dangerous weapon by a railroad police officer employed 
                by a rail carrier and certified or commissioned as a 
                police officer under the laws of a State, whether on or 
                off duty; or
                    ``(E) an individual transporting a firearm on board 
                a railroad passenger train (except a loaded firearm) in 
                baggage not accessible to any passenger on board the 
                train, if the railroad carrier was informed of the 
                presence of the weapon prior to the firearm being 
                placed on board the train.
    ``(c) Prohibition Against Propelling Objects.--Whoever willfully or 
recklessly throws, shoots, or propels a rock, stone, brick, or piece of 
iron, steel, or other metal or any deadly or dangerous object or 
destructive substance at any locomotive or car of a train, knowing or 
having reason to know such activity would likely cause personal injury, 
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than 5 
years, or both, if such act is committed on or against a railroad 
carrier engaged in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, or if 
in the course of committing such act, that person travels or 
communicates across a State line in order to commit such act, or 
transports materials across a State line in aid of the commission of 
such act. Whoever is convicted of any crime prohibited by this 
subsection shall also be subject to imprisonment for not more than 20 
years if the offense has resulted in the death of any person.
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Dangerous device.--The term `dangerous device' has 
        the meaning given that term in section 921(a)(4) of this title.
            ``(2) Dangerous weapon.--The term `dangerous weapon' has 
        the meaning given that term in section 930 of this title.
            ``(3) Destructive substance.--The term `destructive 
        substance' has the meaning given that term in section 31 of 
        this title, except that (A) the term `radioactive device' does 
        not include any radioactive device or material used solely for 
        medical, industrial, research, or other peaceful purposes, and 
        (B) `destructive substance' includes any radioactive device or 
        material that can be used to cause a harm listed in subsection 
        (a) and that is not in use solely for medical, industrial, 
        research, or other peaceful purposes.
            ``(4) Firearm.--The term `firearm' has the meaning given 
        that term in section 921 of this title.
            ``(5) Hazardous material.--The term `hazardous material' 
        has the meaning given that term in section 5102(2) of title 49, 
        United States Code.
            ``(6) High-level radioactive waste.--The term `high-level 
        radioactive waste' has the meaning given that term in section 
        10101(12) of title 42, United States Code.
            ``(7) Railroad.--The term `railroad' has the meaning given 
        that term in section 20102(1) of title 49, United States Code.
            ``(8) Railroad carrier.--The term `railroad carrier' has 
        the meaning given that term in section 20102(2) of title 49, 
        United States Code.
            ``(9) Serious bodily injury.--The term `serious bodily 
        injury' has the meaning given that term in section 1365 of this 
        title.
            ``(10) Spent nuclear fuel.--The term `spent nuclear fuel' 
        has the meaning given that term in section 10101(23) of title 
        42, United States Code.
            ``(11) State.--The term `State' has the meaning given that 
        term in section 2266 of this title.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The chapter analysis for chapter 97 of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking the item relating 
to section 1992 and inserting the following:

``1992. Terrorist attacks against railroads.''.

SEC. 5. RAIL TRANSPORTATION SECURITY RISK ASSESSMENT.

    The Secretary of Transportation shall, in consultation with the 
rail industry and public safety officials, assess the security risks 
associated with rail transportation and develop recommendations for 
target-hardening those areas identified as posing significant risk to 
public safety. The Secretary shall transmit a report to the Congress 
within 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act setting forth 
the assessment, together with any proposals to provide Federal 
assistance to aid in the protection against deliberate acts of crime or 
terrorists acts toward rail employees, rail passengers, rail shipments, 
or rail property. The Secretary may submit the report in both 
classified and redacted formats if the Secretary determines that such 
action is appropriate or necessary.
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