The House Highways, Transit and Pipelines Subcommittee of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will mark up on September 28 H.R. 5082, the Public Transportation Terrorism Prevention and Response Act of 2004. The bill will authorize $3.5 billion over the next three years for public transportation security grants. Funds will be discretionary grants and will go directly to local and regional transportation agencies. These will be based on assessments of risk and vulnerability consistent with the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.

Although H.R. 5082 is to receive a subcommittee mark up, we do not anticipate that the bill will become law this year. There is a slim chance that the bill could see action on the House floor during a lame duck session of Congress, but we see this as unlikely as well. This will serve as a starting point where the issue will be addressed fully next Congress.

The bill directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to define the respective public transportation security roles and responsibilities of the DOT and DHS. The bill authorizes DOT to award grants for specified capital transportation security improvements and operational transportation security improvements.

The bill also directs the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to submit all public transportation security assessments conducted by it to the DHS for review by the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Homeland Security. It requires such reviews to ensure that the assessment of each public transportation system identifies critical assets of the system, including threats and security weaknesses in the system and its assets. The Secretary of Transportation is required to use the assessment information to: (1) establish a process for developing security guidelines for public transportation security; and (2) design a security improvement strategy that minimizes terrorist threats to public transportation systems and maximizes the efforts of such systems to mitigate damage from terrorist attacks.

Under the legislation the Secretary of Transportation will need to establish a program for making grants to private operators of over-the-road buses for specified system-wide security improvements to their operations.

Funding would be divided as follows:

Capital (system protection; explosive/chemical detection; surveillance, communications, emergency response equipment; evacuation improvements) -

• $775 Million in 2005
• $825 Million in 2006
• $880 Million in 2007

Operations (security training, drills, canine patrols, overtime reimbursement) -

• $500 Million in 2005
• $300 Million in 2006
• $100 Million in 2007