National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004

NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE REFORM ACT OF 2004

AMENDMENT NO. 3908

(Purpose: To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to award grants to public transportation agencies to improve security, and for other purposes)

Mr. REED. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 3908.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.

The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

The Senator from Rhode Island [Mr. REED], for himself, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Schumer, Mrs. Boxer, and Mr. Corzine, proposes an amendment numbered 3908.

Mr. REED. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

(The amendment is printed in the RECORD of Thursday, September 30, 2004, under "Text of Amendments.")

Mr. REED. Mr. President, I offer this amendment along with Senators SARBANES, SCHUMER, BOXER, and CORZINE.

This amendment is, in essence, the text of S. 2453, which the Banking Committee reported out unanimously on May 6 and placed on the calendar on May 20.

Since that time, we have sought to pass the bill along with the Commerce Committee's similar rail security bill by unanimous consent, but an objection has, to date, blocked the Senate from passing this bipartisan transit security legislation. Therefore, I rise with my colleagues today to continue this effort to improve the security and safety of our transit systems in the United States which on a daily basis transport 14 million Americans.

Our amendment is straightforward and meets the 9/11 Commission's recommendation on page 391 for improved transportation security, which states in part:

The U.S. government should identify and evaluate the transportation assets that need to be protected, set risk-based priorities for defending them, select the most practical and cost-effective ways of doing so, and then develop a plan, budget, and funding to implement the effort. The plan should assign roles and missions to the relevant authorities (federal, state, regional, and local) and to private stakeholders. In measuring effectiveness, perfection is unattainable. But terrorists should perceive that potential targets are defended. They may be deterred by a significant chance of failure.

In essence, the 9/11 Commission has called for three steps: first, clear responsibility; second, risk-based policies; and third, resources to meet these threats. Our amendment corresponds to these recommendations by the Commission.

First, our amendment would require the Department of Homeland Security to clearly accept responsibility for transit security by signing a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Transit Administration. Unfortunately, this is something that the Department of Homeland Security has failed to do, even after numerous Senate inquiries and the passage of a Senate amendment requiring it to do so.

Second, our amendment embodies the kind of risk-based priorities that the Commission recommended by requiring the Department of Homeland Security to review the security assessments conducted by the Federal Transit Administration. DHS would then use these risk-based assessments as the basis for allocating any funds. The Department would also have to annually update these assessments.

Third, our amendment would authorize real resources over 3 years that are still a fraction of our investment in aviation security for a wide variety of known capital and operating security needs, including surveillance technologies, tunnel protection, chemical, biological, radiological, and explosive detection systems, perimeter protection, training, and other security improvements approved by the Department.

In sum, our amendment is not overly prescriptive and relies on the wisdom of the Nation's intelligence systems and the Department of Homeland Security to identify the threats, develop solid plans, and invest in those initiatives which will do the most to make our transit systems more secure.

Fourteen million Americans each day rely on transit systems. We only have to recall the horrible and tragic incident in Spain a few months ago to understand that these individuals are the potential targets for terrorist acts. It is incumbent upon us to take these steps today to protect the transit systems for the people of America as we go forward.

I yield the floor.