Findings

Congress finds that— (1)the Transportation Technology Center is a federally-owned multi-modal testing and training facility in Pueblo, Colorado; (2)this unique facility offers a significant opportunity to enhance technology and training that will improve the ability of the Nation to prevent, minimize, and respond to potential terrorist attacks similar to those which recently occurred in London and Madrid; (3)the distinctive environment of the Transportation Technology Center allows testing and training activities to be carried out at a remote Colorado location without disruption to the flow of passenger and rail traffic in and around urban areas; (4)the Emergency Response Training Center was established in 1985 at the Transportation Technology Center to instruct the transportation industry, chemical shippers, fire departments, emergency responders, and police services how to respond to hazardous materials incidents safely and effectively; (5)the Emergency Response Training Center is regarded as the unofficial graduate school of hazardous materials training because of the focus on hands-on, true to life, training exercises on actual rail vehicles, including tank cars and passenger rail cars; (6)the Emergency Response Training Center is uniquely positioned to teach emergency response for railway-related emergencies with 69 railway freight cars, 15 railroad passenger cars, 25 highway cargo tanks, van trailers, and intermodal containers, and computer work stations equipped with the latest emergency response software; (7)the Passenger Railcar Security and Integrity Training Facility is currently being developed at Transportation Technology Center to test various inspection, response, and remediation techniques effectiveness for mitigation to incidents involving passenger railcars; (8)this facility focuses on chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive incidents and other activities associated with potential terrorist events; (9)this public private partnership facility offers a well-established infrastructure, a host of emergency preparedness training experts, and the support of the American Public Transit Association, the Association of American Railroads, the Federal Railroad Administration, the Federal Transit Authority, and the Colorado Senate; (10)railroad tunnels and underground stations have been identified as particularly high-risk targets for terrorists because of the potential for large passenger volumes, confined spaces, relatively unrestricted access, and the possibility for network disruptions with significant economic, political and social impact; (11)security experts have identified a number of technology and training needs to prevent attacks on tunnels and to mitigate and remediate the consequences of such attacks, including detection systems, dispersal control, and decontamination techniques; and (12)the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium does not currently include a facility that is uniquely focused on emergency preparedness within the railroad and mass transit environment.