[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 147 (Tuesday, October 26, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13191-S13192]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INCLUSION OF RAILROAD POLICE OFFICERS IN FBI LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
now proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 336, S. 1235.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative assistant read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1235) to amend part G of title I of the Omnibus 
     Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to allow railroad 
     police officers to attend the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
     National Academy for law enforcement training.

  There being on objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased that the Senate will approve 
S. 1235, legislation which I introduced to provide railroad police 
officers the opportunity to attend the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation's National Academy for law enforcement training in

[[Page S13192]]

Quantico, Virginia. I thank Senators Hatch, Biden, DeWine, Schumer, 
Helms, and Grams for their co-sponsorship of our bipartisan bill.
  The FBI is currently authorized to offer the superior training 
available at the FBI's National Academy only to law enforcement 
personnel employed by state or local units of government. Police 
officers employed by railroads are not allowed to attend this Academy 
despite the fact that they work closely in numerous cases with Federal 
law enforcement agencies as well as State and local law enforcement. 
Providing railroad police with the opportunity to obtain the training 
offered at Quantico would improve inter-agency cooperation and prepare 
them to deal with the ever increasing sophistication of criminals who 
conduct their illegal acts either using the railroad or directed at the 
railroad or its passengers.
  Railroad police officers, unlike any other private police department, 
are commissioned under State law to enforce the laws of that State and 
any other State in which the railroad owns property. As a result of 
this broad law enforcement authority, railroad police officers are 
actively involved in numerous investigations and cases with the FBI and 
other law enforcement agencies.
  For example, Amtrak has a police officer assigned to the New York 
City Joint Task Force on Terrorism, which is made up of 140 members 
from such disparate agencies as the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the 
U.S. Secret Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. 
This task force investigates domestic and foreign terrorist groups and 
responds to actual terrorist incidents in the Metropolitan New York 
area.
  Whenever a railroad derailment or accident occurs, often railroad 
police are among the first on the scene. For example, when a 12-car 
Amtrak train derailed in Arizona in October 1995, railroad police 
joined the FBI at the site of the incident to determine whether the 
incident was the result of an intentional criminal act of sabotage.
  Amtrak police officers have also assisted FBI agents in the 
investigation and interdiction of illegal drugs and weapons trafficking 
on transportation systems in the District of Columbia and elsewhere. In 
addition, using the railways is a popular means for illegal immigrants 
to gain entry to the United States. According to recent congressional 
testimony, in 1998 alone, 33,715 illegal aliens were found hiding on 
board Union Pacific railroad trains and subject to arrest by railroad 
police.
  With thousands of passengers traveling on our railways each year, 
making sure that railroad police officers have available to them the 
highest level of training is in the national interest. The officers 
that protect railroad passengers deserve the same opportunity to 
receive training at Quantico that their counterparts employed by State 
and local governments enjoy. Railroad police officers who attend the 
FBI National Academy in Quantico for training would be required to pay 
their own room, board and transportation.

  This legislation is supported by the FBI, the International 
Association of Chiefs of Police, the Union Pacific Railroad Company, 
and the National Railroad Passenger Corporation.
  I urge prompt consideration by the House of Representatives of this 
legislation to provide railroad police officers with the opportunity to 
receive training from the FBI that would increase the safety of the 
American people.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill 
be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon 
the table, and any statements relating to the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 1235) was read the third time and passed, as follows:

                                S. 1235

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

     SECTION 1. INCLUSION OF RAILROAD POLICE OFFICERS IN FBI LAW 
                   ENFORCEMENT TRAINING.

       (a) In General.--Section 701(a) of part G of title I of the 
     Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
     3771(a)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)--
       (A) by striking ``State or unit of local government'' and 
     inserting ``State, unit of local government, or rail 
     carrier''; and
       (B) by inserting ``, including railroad police officers'' 
     before the semicolon; and
       (2) in paragraph (3)--
       (A) by striking ``State or unit of local government'' and 
     inserting ``State, unit of local government, or rail 
     carrier'';
       (B) by inserting ``railroad police officer,'' after 
     ``deputies,'';
       (C) by striking ``State or such unit'' and inserting 
     ``State, unit of local government, or rail carrier''; and
       (D) by striking ``State or unit.'' and inserting ``State, 
     unit of local government, or rail carrier.''.
       (b) Rail Carrier Costs.--Section 701 of part G of title I 
     of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 
     U.S.C. 3771) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(d) Rail Carrier Costs.--No Federal funds may be used for 
     any travel, transportation, or subsistence expenses incurred 
     in connection with the participation of a railroad police 
     officer in a training program conducted under subsection 
     (a).''.
       (c) Definitions.--Section 701 of part G of title I of the 
     Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
     3771) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(e) Definitions.--In this section--
       ``(1) the terms `rail carrier' and `railroad' have the 
     meanings given such terms in section 20102 of title 49, 
     United States Code; and
       ``(2) the term `railroad police officer' means a peace 
     officer who is commissioned in his or her State of legal 
     residence or State of primary employment and employed by a 
     rail carrier to enforce State laws for the protection of 
     railroad property, personnel, passengers, or cargo.''.

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