[House Report 117-119]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


117th Congress    }                                    {        Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session      }                                    {       117-119

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



 
                            DARREN DRAKE ACT

                                _______
                                

 September 14, 2021.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, from the Committee on Homeland Security, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 4089]

    The Committee on Homeland Security, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 4089) to direct the Secretary of Homeland 
Security to develop and disseminate best practices for rental 
companies and dealers to report suspicious behavior to law 
enforcement agencies at the point of sale of a covered rental 
vehicle to prevent and mitigate acts of terrorism using motor 
vehicles, and for other purposes, having considered the same, 
reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that 
the bill as amended do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     2
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Hearings.........................................................     3
Committee Consideration..........................................     3
Committee Votes..................................................     4
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     4
C.B.O. Estimate, New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and 
  Tax Expenditures...............................................     4
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     4
Duplicative Federal Programs.....................................     4
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     4
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
  Benefits Advisory Committee Statement..........................     4
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................     5
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     5

    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Darren Drake Act''.

SEC. 2. BEST PRACTICES RELATED TO CERTAIN INFORMATION COLLECTED BY 
                    RENTAL COMPANIES AND DEALERS.

  (a) Development and Dissemination.--
          (1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security 
        shall develop and disseminate best practices for rental 
        companies and dealers to report suspicious behavior to law 
        enforcement agencies at the point of sale of a covered rental 
        vehicle.
          (2) Consultation; updates.--The Secretary shall develop and, 
        as necessary, update the best practices described in paragraph 
        (1) after consultation with Federal, State, local, and Tribal 
        law enforcement agencies and relevant transportation security 
        stakeholders.
          (3) Guidance on suspicious behavior.--The Secretary shall 
        include, in the best practices developed under paragraph (1), 
        guidance on defining and identifying suspicious behavior in a 
        manner that protects civil rights and civil liberties.
  (b) Report to Congress.--Not later than one year after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
submit to Congress a report on the implementation of this section, 
including an assessment of--
          (1) the impact of the best practices described in subsection 
        (a) on efforts to protect the United States against terrorist 
        attacks; and
          (2) ways to improve and expand cooperation and engagement 
        between--
                  (A) the Department of Homeland Security;
                  (B) Federal, State, local, and Tribal law enforcement 
                agencies; and
                  (C) rental companies, dealers, and other relevant 
                rental industry stakeholders.
  (c) Definitions.--In this section:
          (1) The terms ``dealer'' and ``rental company'' have the 
        meanings given those terms in section 30102 of title 49, United 
        States Code.
          (2) The term ``covered rental vehicle'' means a motor vehicle 
        that--
                  (A) is rented without a driver for an initial term of 
                less than 4 months; and
                  (B) is part of a motor vehicle fleet of 35 or more 
                motor vehicles that are used for rental purposes by a 
                rental company.

                          PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    The purpose of H.R. 4089, the ``Darren Drake Act,'' is to 
enhance the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) efforts to 
prevent and mitigate acts of terrorism committed using rental 
vehicles. Specifically, the bill requires DHS to develop and 
disseminate best practices for vehicle rental companies and 
dealers to report suspicious behavior to law enforcement. These 
best practices, which must contain guidance on identifying 
suspicious behavior in a manner that protects civil rights and 
civil liberties, will be developed and updated in consultation 
with Federal, State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies 
and relevant transportation security stakeholders. The bill 
also requires DHS to report to Congress regarding the 
implementation of these best practices and other potential ways 
to improve coordination between DHS, Federal, State, local, and 
Tribal law enforcement, and rental vehicle providers.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    In October 2017, a lone wolf terrorist inspired by ISIS 
killed eight people and injured 11 others by ramming a pickup 
truck into cyclists and runners along the Hudson River Park 
bike path in New York City. The perpetrator rented the pickup 
truck used in the attack from a vehicle rental facility at a 
home improvement store in New Jersey. Among the deceased was a 
32-year-old bicyclist named Darren Drake.
    Unfortunately, this deadly vehicle-ramming attack was far 
from an isolated incident. To the contrary, terrorists who 
subscribe to a wide variety of ideologies have used vehicle-
ramming attacks. In 2016, a terrorist drove a rental truck into 
a celebration in Nice, France, killing 86 people. During the 
white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, 
one person was killed and 35 others were injured when a 
domestic terrorist rammed his personal car into a crowd. Rental 
vehicles have also been used in more elaborate terrorist plots. 
Timothy McVeigh rented a truck to bomb the Alfred P. Murrah 
Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1995. Likewise, 
the vehicle that was used in 1993 to plant a bomb at the World 
Trade Center in New York City was a rental truck.
    The use of vehicles in terrorist attacks is unlikely to 
abate. In recent years, pro-ISIS online magazines have 
explicitly endorsed and advocated vehicle-ramming attacks. 
Meanwhile, there was a surge in vehicle-ramming attacks by far-
right extremists last summer. Unlike bombings, hijackings, and 
other more complicated terrorist plots, a vehicle-ramming 
attack requires little expertise and can be conducted at a 
negligible cost. Moreover, a single individual can easily carry 
out such an attack without coordinating with others.
    Given the frequency with which bad actors have carried out 
attacks using rental vehicles, it is imperative that DHS work 
with rental vehicle providers to preempt potential attacks 
before they occur. By requiring DHS to provide information to 
vehicle rental facilities regarding how to identify suspicious 
behavior in a non-discriminatory manner and report such 
suspicions to law enforcement, H.R. 4089 will increase the 
reporting of suspicious behavior and reduce the likelihood of 
additional successful vehicular attacks. The development and 
dissemination of these best practices will also help enhance 
the working relationship between DHS, other law enforcement 
agencies, and rental vehicle providers on such matters.

                                HEARINGS

    For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, the following hearings 
were used to develop H.R. 4089:
    The Committee did not hold a legislative hearing on H.R. 
4089 in the 117th Congress. The legislation was informed by a 
hearing held in the 116th Congress. On May 6, 2019, the 
Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism held a 
hearing entitled ``Local Efforts to Counter the Terror Threat 
in New York City: A Retrospective and a Roadmap,'' where the 
truck attack that resulted in Darren Drake's death was 
specifically discussed. The Subcommittee received testimony 
from John Miller, Deputy Commissioner, Intelligence and 
Counterterrorism, New York Police Department; Thomas Currao, 
Chief of Counterterrorism, Fire Department of the City of New 
York; and Louis Klock, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Port 
Authority of New York and New Jersey.

                        COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

    The Committee met on July 28, 2021, a quorum being present, 
to consider H.R. 4089 and ordered the measure to be favorably 
reported to the House, as amended, by voice vote.

                            COMMITTEE VOTES

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII requires the Committee to list the 
recorded votes on the motion to report legislation and 
amendments thereto.
    No recorded votes were requested during consideration of 
H.R. 4089.

                      COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII, the 
Committee advises that the findings and recommendations of the 
Committee, based on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) 
of rule X, are incorporated in the descriptive portions of this 
report.

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE, NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT 
                    AUTHORITY, AND TAX EXPENDITURES

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule 
XIII and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974, and with respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(3) of 
rule XIII and section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974, the Committee has requested but not received from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office a statement as to 
whether this bill contains any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.

                       FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

    An estimate of Federal mandates prepared by the Director of 
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act was not made available to the 
Committee in time for the filing of this report. The Chairman 
of the Committee shall cause such estimate to be printed in the 
Congressional Record upon its receipt by the Committee.

                      DUPLICATIVE FEDERAL PROGRAMS

    Pursuant to clause 3(c) of rule XIII, the Committee finds 
that H.R. 4089 does not contain any provision that establishes 
or reauthorizes a program known to be duplicative of another 
Federal program.

         STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the objectives of 
H.R. 4089 are to increase reporting of suspicious behavior at 
rental vehicle facilities and enhance the working relationship 
between rental vehicle providers and law enforcement to prevent 
vehicular terrorist attacks.

   CONGRESSIONAL EARMARKS, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS, AND LIMITED TARIFF 
                 BENEFITS ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

    In compliance with rule XXI, this bill, as reported, 
contains no congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or 
limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), or 
9(f) of rule XXI.

                  APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that H.R. 4089 does not relate to the 
terms and conditions of employment or access to public services 
or accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of 
the Congressional Accountability Act.

             SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION

Section 1. Short Title.

    This section provides that the bill may be cited as the 
``Darren Drake Act''. The bill's namesake, Darren Drake, was a 
victim of a vehicle-ramming terrorist attack in 2017 that 
utilized a rental truck.

Sec. 2. Best Practices Related to Certain Information Collected by 
        Rental Companies and Dealers.

    This section requires DHS to develop and disseminate best 
practices for vehicle rental companies and dealers to report 
suspicious behavior related to covered rental vehicles to law 
enforcement. The best practices shall be disseminated within 1 
year of the date of enactment.
    These best practices shall be developed, and thereafter 
updated, in consultation with Federal, State, local, and Tribal 
law enforcement agencies and relevant transportation security 
stakeholders, such as rental companies and dealers. This 
provision will help reduce the likelihood of successful acts of 
terrorism utilizing rental vehicles by providing rental 
companies and dealers with information on how to identify and 
report suspicious behavior and ensuring DHS, other law 
enforcement agencies, and rental vehicle facilities engage with 
one another on such matters.
    In addition, to prevent discriminatory profiling, the best 
practices produced pursuant to this section must include 
guidance on defining and identifying suspicious behavior in a 
manner that protects civil rights and civil liberties.
    The bill also requires DHS to submit a report to Congress 
within 1 year regarding the impact of the best practices on 
efforts to prevent vehicular terrorist attacks in the United 
States. The report will also include an assessment of ways to 
further enhance cooperation and engagement between DHS, other 
Federal, State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies, and 
rental vehicle companies and dealers.
    Finally, this section defines key terms used in the bill. 
The terms ``rental company'' and ``dealer'' are afforded the 
same meanings as in 42 U.S.C. 30102. Meanwhile, a ``covered 
rental vehicle'' is defined as any motor vehicle that is rented 
without a driver for a term of less than 4 months and is part 
of a rental fleet of 35 or more vehicles.

                                  [all]