[Senate Report 110-32]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                        Calendar No. 69
110th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                     110-32

======================================================================



 
         PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION TERRORISM PREVENTION ACT OF 2007

                                _______
                                

                 March 5, 2007.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Dodd, from the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 763]

    The Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs which 
considered the original bill (S. 763) to provide the resources 
to protect public transportation from terrorism, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon and recommends 
that the original bill do pass.

                              INTRODUCTION

    On February 8, 2007, the Senate Committee on Banking, 
Housing and Urban Affairs considered a Committee Print 
entitled, ``The Public Transportation Terrorism Prevention Act 
of 2007,'' a bill to provide the resources to better protect 
public transportation from terrorism. The Committee passed the 
bill by voice vote.

                       PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION

    Public transit has been a consistent target for terrorist 
attacks throughout the world. Current resources dedicated to 
protecting transit systems from terrorist attack are 
inadequate. The purpose of this legislation is to provide 
additional resources, distributed on the basis of risk, 
directly to public transit systems to better protect against 
terrorist attacks and mitigate the damage from any attack.

                                HEARINGS

    The Committee heard testimony in the 110th Congress on 
January 18, 2007 regarding transit security. The witnesses 
testifying were: The Honorable Dannel Malloy, Mayor of 
Stamford, Connecticut and a member of the Executive Committee 
of the U.S. Conference of Mayors; Mr. William (Bill) Millar, 
President of the American Public Transit Association (APTA); 
Mr. Warren George, President of the Amalgamated Transit Union 
(ATU); Mr. Aurelio Garrido, Operational Director of Metro 
Madrid and the Secretary General of the Association of Latin 
American Metros and Subways (ALAMYS); and Mr. Tim O'Toole, 
Managing Director of Transport, City of London.
    The Committee also held hearings in the 107th Congress. On 
October 4, 2001 the Housing and Transit Subcommittee conducted 
a hearing entitled, ``Transit Safety in the Wake of September 
11th.'' The witnesses testifying were: The Honorable Jennifer 
L. Dorn, Federal Transit Administrator, Department of 
Transportation; Mr. William W. Millar, President, APTA; Mr. 
Richard White, General Manager, Washington Metropolitan Area 
Transit Authority; and Mr. Robert A. Molofsky, General Counsel, 
ATU. On September 18, 2002, the Subcommittee on Housing and 
Transit conducted a hearing entitled, ``Transit Security: One 
Year Later''. The witnesses testifying were: The Honorable 
Jennifer L. Dorn, Federal Transit Administrator, Department of 
Transportation; and Peter Guerrero, Director of Physical 
Infrastructure, General Accounting Office.

                       PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION

    In the 109th Congress, on November 16, 2005, the Committee 
passed ``The Public Transportation Terrorism Prevention Act of 
2005.'' In the 108th Congress, on May 6, 2004, the Committee 
passed ``The Public Transportation Terrorism Prevention Act of 
2004.'' Both bills passed unanimously.

             SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION

Section 1: Short title

    The section provides a short title.

Section 2: Findings of the Congress

    The findings illustrate the importance of public transit to 
our nation and the significant investment that the Federal 
government has made to these public transit systems. They also 
detail the current level of transit security investment as 
compared to that for aviation. The point of noting this 
disparity is to highlight that there has been too little 
investment in protecting our transit systems.

Section 3: Security assessments

    This section requires security assessments conducted by the 
Federal Transit Administration to be turned over to the 
Department of Homeland Security within 30 days. DHS shall then 
augment these assessments with their own information. For each 
transit agency on which DHS has conducted an assessment, they 
shall also augment their assessment with direct consultation 
with both management and employee representatives of the 
transit system and relevant State and local officials. These 
assessments shall be the basis for establishing security 
improvements for each transit system. Security assessment 
information shall also be used to establish a process for 
developing security guidelines and designing a security 
strategy that minimizes the potential for terrorist threats and 
maximizes efforts to mitigate damage from attacks. The 
assessments and the security improvements will be the basis for 
the grant allocations. The assessments and identified security 
improvements are to be updated on an annual basis.

Section 4: Security assistance grants

    Grants shall be awarded directly to public transportation 
agencies for allowable capital and operating security 
improvement priorities. Allowable capital grants include, but 
are not limited to, tunnel protection systems, perimeter 
protection systems, fire protection equipment and closed 
circuit television monitoring systems. Allowable operating 
grants include, but are not limited to, security training for 
transit employees through qualified training programs, 
including the programs offered by the Transportation Technology 
Center in Pueblo, Colorado. Overtime reimbursement for enhanced 
security personnel during significant national and 
international events, which could include events like 
presidential inaugurations, meeting of international political 
or policy bodies, international sporting events (Olympics), or 
other major events that are potential targets for terrorist 
attacks are also eligible for operating grants. The purchase 
and training of canine patrols are considered capital expenses, 
while the use of these patrols are covered by operating 
assistance. Both are eligible under the program.
    The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security shall 
ensure that the Department's actions are consistent with 
relevant State Homeland Security Plans. Where there are multi-
state transportation systems, the Secretary must consider the 
risks of the entire system when it crosses state lines when 
awarding grants. No later than three days before the award of a 
grant, the Secretary must notify the Congress of the intent to 
award such a grant. Public transportation agencies must 
identify a security coordinator to develop a plan to operate 
and maintain equipment purchased with grant funds. They must 
also report annually to the Secretary on the use of grant funds 
received under this section. If the Secretary determines that 
grant funds were misspent, the grantee shall return grant funds 
to the Treasury of the United States.

Section 5: Public transportation security training program

    The Committee finds that the value of worker training is 
substantial and that each transit agency who receives a grant 
under this legislation shall be required to train its workers. 
The section details how the Secretary, in consultation with 
appropriate officials, shall develop and issue detailed 
regulations for a public transportation worker security 
training program. Public transportation agencies who receive 
security funding must develop a comprehensive worker training 
program and submit it to the Secretary for approval. The 
Secretary must review the program and make necessary revisions. 
No later than one year after the plan has been established and 
reviewed, the public transportation system must complete the 
training of all workers. The Secretary shall report to the 
Congress on the training program and update it as necessary.

Section 6: Intelligence sharing

    The Secretary shall provide sufficient financial assistance 
for the reasonable costs of the Information Sharing and 
Analysis Center for Public Transportation (ISAC). All transit 
agencies are encouraged to participate in the ISAC and those 
that the Secretary deems to be at significant risk shall be 
required to participate. No transit agency shall be charged a 
fee to participate in the ISAC, to prevent cost from being a 
reason for an agency not to participate.

Section 7: Research, development, and demonstration grants and 
        contracts

    The Secretary, through the Homeland Security Advanced 
Research Projects Agency, and in consultation with the Federal 
Transit Administration, shall award grants to public and 
private entities to conduct appropriate research into 
technologies or methods of deterring and mitigating the effects 
of terrorist attacks. The Secretary must report to the Congress 
on the use of these funds and if the Secretary determines that 
grant funds were misspent, the grantee shall return grant funds 
to the Treasury of the United States.

Section 8: Reporting requirements

    The Secretary must submit a semi-annual report to the 
Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, the Committee 
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Committee 
on Appropriations, on the implementation of the program, the 
use of funds and the state of public transportation security in 
the United States. The Secretary must submit an annual report 
to the Governor of each State with a public transportation 
agency that has received a grant regarding the amount and use 
of such grant funds.

Section 9: Authorization of appropriations

    This section details the size of the Capital Security 
Assistance Program, Operational Security Assistance Program and 
Research Program for each of the three fiscal years that the 
bill authorizes grants. The higher initial operating grants 
reflect the need to conduct initial worker training. The 
increasing capital grants will allow systems to more adequately 
address their more capital intensive needs. The section also 
authorizes necessary sums for the intelligence sharing program 
(ISAC) described in section 6. It is the Committee's 
understanding that funding the ISAC will be on the order of 
well less than a million dollars a year.

Section 10: Sunset provision

    This section sunsets the authorization to make grants on 
October 1, 2011.

                                                 February 22, 2007.
Hon. Christopher J. Dodd,
Chairman, Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for the Public 
Transportation Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew 
Pickford.
            Sincerely,
                                                   Peter R. Orszag.
    Enclosure.

S. 763--Public Transportation Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007

    Summary: The Public Transportation Terrorism Prevention Act 
of 2007 would authorize the Department of Homeland Security 
(DHS) to provide $3.5 billion in grants over the 2008-2010 
period to public transportation agencies to improve the 
security of transit systems, and grants and contracts to public 
and private entities to study methods of deterring terrorist 
attacks against transit systems and mitigating damages from 
such attacks. Assuming appropriation of the amounts specified 
in the bill for those grants, CBO estimates that implementing 
those provisions would cost about $2.9 billion over the 2007-
2012 period and about $570 million after 2012.
    In addition to authorizing appropriations for grants, the 
bill would require DHS to create a public transportation 
training program, review security assessments submitted by 
public transportation agencies, assess the security of bus and 
rural transportation systems, and report to the Congress and to 
the governor of each state on the use of the grants for 
security improvements. Finally, the legislation would authorize 
grants for the Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) 
for Public Transportation. Assuming appropriation of the 
necessary amounts, CBO estimates that implementing those 
provisions would cost about $5 million each year over the 2008-
2012 period.
    The bill contains an intergovernmental mandate as defined 
in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA), but CBO estimates 
that the costs to public transportation agencies would be 
minimal and would not exceed the threshold established in UMRA 
($66 million in 2007, adjusted annually for inflation). The 
legislation contains no new private-sector mandates as defined 
in UMRA.
    Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated 
budgetary impact of the legislation is shown in the following 
table. The costs of this legislation fall within budget 
function 400 (transportation).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                           -----------------------------------------------------
                                                              2007     2008     2009     2010     2011     2012
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

Capital Security Assistance Grants:
    Authorization Level...................................        0      536      772    1,062        0        0
    Estimated Outlays.....................................        0       80      277      498      533      393
Operational Security Assistance Grants:
    Authorization Level...................................        0      534      333      133        0        0
    Estimated Outlays.....................................        0      401      357      193       43        7
Research Grants and Contracts:
    Authorization Level...................................        0       30       45       55        0        0
    Estimated Outlays.....................................        0        8       25       43       38       17
Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) for Public
 Transportation:
    Estimated Authorization Level.........................        1        1        1        1        1        1
    Estimated Outlays.....................................        1        1        1        1        1        1
Guidance, Assessments, and Reports:
    Estimated Authorization Level.........................        4        4        4        4        4        4
    Estimated Outlays.....................................        2        4        4        4        4        4
Total Changes:
    Estimated Authorization Level.........................        5    1,105    1,155    1,255        5        5
    Estimated Outlays.....................................        3      494      663      739      640      421
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the 
legislation will be enacted in fiscal year 2007 and that the 
authorized amounts will be appropriated for each year. 
Estimates of spending are based on information from the ISAC 
for Public Transportation and historical spending patterns of 
similar programs.

Capital security assistance grants

    The bill would authorize the appropriation of $536 million 
for 2008, $772 million for 2009, and $1,062 million in 2010 for 
grants to public transportation agencies for capital security 
assistance grants to improve the security of their transit 
systems. This would include funds for tunnel and perimeter 
protection; surveillance, communications, and emergency 
response equipment; chemical, biological, radiological, and 
explosive detection systems; and evacuation improvements. 
Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates 
that implementing those provisions would cost about $80 million 
in 2008 and about $1.8 billion over the 2008-2012 period.

Operational security assistance grants

    The bill would authorize the appropriation of $534 million 
for 2008, $333 million for 2009, and $133 million in 2010 for 
grants to public transportation agencies for operational 
security improvements to improve the security of their transit 
systems. This would include funds for security training and 
emergency drills. Assuming appropriation of the authorized 
amounts, CBO estimates implementing those provisions would cost 
$401 million in 2008 and $1 billion over the 2008-2012 period.

Research grants

    The legislation would authorize the appropriation of $30 
million for 2008, $45 million for 2009, and $55 million in 2010 
for grants or contracts to public and private entities to 
research methods of deterring terrorist attacks against public 
transportation systems and mitigating damages from such 
attacks. Research projects could include studying chemical, 
biological, radiological, or explosive detection systems, or 
conducting product evaluations and testing. Assuming 
appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates that 
providing those grants would cost $8 million in 2008 and $130 
million over the 2008-2012 period.

ISAC for public transportation

    The ISAC for Public Transportation (a private entity) 
distributes information to public transportation agencies on 
security threats and helps transit agencies share security-
related information. The bill would require the Secretary of 
Homeland Security to cover the costs of the ISAC. Based on 
information from the ISAC and assuming appropriation of the 
necessary amounts, CBO estimates that implementing this 
provision would cost about $1 million each year beginning in 
2007.

Guidance, assessments, and reports

    The legislation would require DHS to review all security 
assessments submitted by public transportation agencies, 
evaluate the security of bus and rural public transportation 
systems, establish a public transportation training program, 
and report to the Congress and to the governor of each state on 
the use of the grants for security improvements. Based on 
information from DHS and assuming appropriation of the 
necessary amounts, CBO estimates that implementing those 
provisions would cost $2 million in 2007 and about $4 million 
each year over the 2008-2012 period.
    Estimated impact on state, local, and tribal governments: 
The bill contains an intergovernmental mandate as defined in 
UMRA. Section 6 would require certain public transportation 
agencies to participate in the ISAC. While the Department of 
Homeland Security would fund the ISAC, the requirement on 
certain public transportation agencies to participate in the 
ISAC would constitute a mandate as defined in UMRA. Since most 
public transportation agencies that could be at significant 
risk of a terrorist attack already participate in the ISAC, CBO 
estimates that the additional costs to public transportation 
agencies would be minimal and would not exceed the threshold 
established in UMRA ($66 million in 2007, adjusted annually for 
inflation).
    Eligible public transit agencies also would benefit from 
more than $3 billion in grants authorized by the bill to 
upgrade transit security. Any requirements associated with 
those grants would be conditions of receiving federal 
assistance.
    Estimated impact on the private sector: The legislation 
contains no new private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Matthew Pickford. 
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Sarah Puro. 
Impact on the Private Sector: Fatimot Ladipo.
    Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                                  
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