[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 163 (Wednesday, November 17, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H12119-H12120]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            RAILROAD POLICE TRAINING AT FBI NATIONAL ACADEMY

  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate 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.
  The Clerk read 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.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arkansas (Mr. Hutchinson) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Weiner) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hutchinson).


                             General Leave

  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the Senate bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arkansas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of this important 
legislation which was unanimously approved by the other body last week. 
The bill amends 42 USC 3771(a) to authorize railroad police to attend 
the FBI's training academy in Quantico, Virginia. Current law permits 
State and local law enforcement agents to take advantage of the unique 
and high quality training available at the FBI academy, and this 
legislation merely adds railroad police officers to the list of 
approved personnel. Why do we need this?
  Railroad police increasingly are being called upon to assist Federal, 
State and local law enforcement agencies. Investigation and 
interdiction of illegal drugs crossing the southwest border by rail 
car, apprehension of illegal aliens using the railways to gain entry 
into the United States and investigating alleged acts of railroad 
sabotage are just some of the law enforcement functions being performed 
by the railroad police.
  As just an aside, Mr. Speaker, I would like to note that according to 
recent congressional testimony, in 1998 alone, over 33,000 illegal 
aliens were found hiding on board Union Pacific railroad cars. As sworn 
officers charged with enforcing State and local laws in any 
jurisdiction in which the rail carrier owns property, 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 FBI's New 
York City Joint Task Force on Terrorism and another assigned to the 
D.C./Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area to investigate 
illegal drug and weapons trafficking. Union Pacific railroad police 
receive 4,000 trespassing

[[Page H12120]]

calls a month, arrest almost 3,000 undocumented aliens per month and 
arrest an average of 773 people a month for burglaries, thefts, drug 
charges, and vandalism.
  This past summer, the FBI, local police and railroad police launched 
a 6-week manhunt in and around the Nation's rail system to apprehend a 
suspected serial killer. The suspect, a rail-riding drifter, has been 
linked to nine slayings and is responsible for spreading terror from 
Texas to Illinois. The railroad police were asked to play an important 
role in this search and would have been much more prepared to face the 
situation had they received equivalent training.
  Improving the law enforcement skills of railroad police will improve 
this interagency cooperation, ultimately making the rail system safer 
for America's travelers. Some Members have asked about the cost of 
this. I want to assure this body that all costs associated with the 
training of railroad police, their travel, tuition, and room and board 
will be covered by their employer. The rail lines acknowledge this 
responsibility and are committed to financing the costs of the 
training. This bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Leahy and 
Hatch is supported by the FBI, the International Association of Chiefs 
of Police, and the Association of American Railroads, a trade 
association which represents North America's major freight railroads, 
including Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, Kansas City Southern, 
Illinois Central, CSX, Conrail, and Amtrak. Mr. Speaker, I am unaware 
of any opposition to this legislation and urge my colleagues to support 
it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WEINER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. 
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. However, 
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.
  A recent example of this cooperative effort is the Texas railway 
killer case. Providing railroad police with the opportunity to obtain 
the training offered at Quantico would improve interagency 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 
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 ATF. This task force investigates domestic and 
foreign terrorist groups in response to actual terrorist incidents in 
my home area, Metropolitan New York.
  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, as my 
colleague pointed out, is supported by the FBI, the International 
Association of Chiefs of Police, the Union Pacific Company, and the 
National Railroad Passenger Corporation. I thank Senator Leahy for his 
work on this issue. I urge its passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hutchinson) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 1235.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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