Homeland Security

Senator Tom Carper Statement on Rail Security Commerce Committee Hearing on Rail Security 3/23/04

I'd like to thank the Commerce Committee for inviting me here today to discuss something that is a serious concern to millions of Americans, especially in light of the tragedy that occurred in Madrid, Spain a few weeks ago. As a daily Amtrak passenger and a former member of the Amtrak Board of Directors, I have known for some time about the unique security needs of our nation's rail transportation system.

Today, approximately 24 million passengers ride Amtrak annually and there are nearly 3.4 billion rail transit trips each year. With that in mind, I have worked since September 11th, 2001 with a number of my colleagues, including you, Mr. Chairman, and Senator Hollings, to improve the security of our nation's passenger, freight and commuter railroads.

We are mindful every time we visit an airport or board an airplane of the work we have done in the years since September 11th to make air travel safer in this country. We have also made strides in other areas, such as port security. I firmly believe that we have an obligation to ensure that Americans who ride trains are as safe as those that travel by air or any other mode of transportation. Likewise, citizens across America deserve to know that the thousands of rail shipments carrying hazardous materials that pass through their communities on a daily basis are as secure as is reasonably possible. Amtrak, freight railroads, and local transit agencies are doing all that they can to strengthen the security of their systems, but the federal government must do more to help them, as we have done with other transportation sectors.

I come before the Committee today as a member of the Governmental Affairs Committee, which has general oversight over the Department Homeland Security. During the creation of the Department and through numerous oversight hearings, I've attempted to bring the issue of rail security to the attention of my colleagues. In hearings with Homeland Security officials such as Secretary Ridge and Deputy Secretary Loy, I've urged that they consider the needs of rail security and have sought to understand what rail security efforts are ongoing at the Department.

On the legislative front, I cosponsored Senator Hollings' original rail security measure in the 107th Congress and worked to support his efforts with Chairman McCain to pass the Rail Security Act of 2001. Following this, I successfully offered a rail security amendment to the bill creating the Department of Homeland Security that was reported out of Governmental Affairs. That language was ultimately dropped from the bill before final passage, despite my opposition to its removal. Since then, I've introduced ARRIVE-21 with Senators Hollings and Collins, a comprehensive rail infrastructure financing package and Amtrak reauthorization, which includes funding for rail security. I've also cosponsored a separate effort, S. 2216, the Rail Transportation Security Act, introduced last week.

Time after time, I've been told that the Department understands the real security needs of our rail transportation system. During his confirmation process in January 2003, Secretary Ridge stated;

"I believe that Congress will need to address Amtrak and freight rail security. Amtrak and freight rail are at considerable risk to terrorist attack. Moreover, state and local police and fire officials have confirmed their limited ability to respond to a major attack...I look forward to working with Congress to support legitimate security enhancements such as better fencing, enhanced lighting, video surveillance for stations, bridges and tunnels, and implementing measures to screen passengers and baggage for dangerous weapons and explosives."

Additionally, the Secretary acknowledged the role that the Department has in ensuring the security of Amtrak, saying;

"I think there is a need for us to take a look at the legitimate security enhancements with Amtrak, and obviously, through whatever appropriation measure that the Congress may be supportive of in the future..and if you don't fund it, then we will have to work with you to find some other ways to help them on a priority basis deal with most problematic vulnerabilities. I can't tell you what they are, but we need to do a vulnerability assessment and then set priorities and then go about addressing them."

Secretary Ridge has also stated that the Transportation Security Administration was working on a number of its own initiatives. He said they were considering installing Radiological Dispersal Devices (RDD) at key freight rail locations and were addressing the movement of bulk hazardous materials through a "chlorine initiative" pilot project. He also said they had been developing a Rail Inspection Guide for use by rail employees in identifying security risks. I urge my colleagues to inquire today as to the status of these efforts.

At his confirmation hearing this past November, Admiral Loy also acknowledged our nation's rail security needs and said rail would need to be a part of the transportation security plan that Homeland Security is apparently developing. At that same hearing, however, he hinted that it probably is not possible to make rail as secure as the aviation sector, saying we should focus more on how to recover from an attack than on how to prevent one.

While this statement is alarming, Admiral Loy makes a valid point. It is not possible, nor necessarily desirable, to implement exactly the same kinds of security measures at train stations as we have at airports. However, there is much we can do and I have not seen a concerted effort at Homeland Security to strengthen rail security using all available and reasonable means. In a lot of ways, our nation's rail infrastructure is probably as vulnerable today as it was on September 10th, 2001.

To date, the Department of Homeland Security has been unable to tell me the amount of resources and the number of staff that are specifically dedicated to rail security. To my knowledge, they have not undertaken a coordinated, systematic assessment of the vulnerabilities of our national passenger and freight railroads, beyond ad hoc local efforts. In addition, no funds other than those granted to Amtrak to reimburse security costs directly associated with 9/11 have been made available for increased intercity passenger rail security. In fact, when my staff recently asked Homeland Security officials, they said that they were not sure if Amtrak was even eligible for funds from the Department through any existing grant program.

On a related point, the $100 million for life safety improvements given to Amtrak through the U.S. DOT for the New York rail tunnels in 2002 is primarily for safety improvements, not security, as the Administration has claimed. Indeed, we still have $775 million in unmet safety improvements for Amtrak's Northeast Corridor tunnels. Much has also been made of the $115 million Homeland Security has made available for transit security grants. It is my understanding, however, that only $35 million of this $115 million has actually made it out to local transit agencies. In addition, this money does nothing to address Amtrak and freight rail security.

President Bush's FY 05 budget, like its predecessors, requests no specific funding for rail security efforts. The budget we passed just before recess also includes no specific rail security money. The Department of Homeland Security announced a handful of new rail security initiatives just yesterday but it is unclear right now how they will be funded and how aggressively they will be pursued.

I believe the recent tragedy in Madrid has opened the eyes of many of my colleagues to the security risks that our railways face. I urge them and the Department of Homeland Security to step up efforts to improve the security of our railroads. The first step should be to begin conducting comprehensive risk assessments of our major rail assets, as Secretary Ridge has already endorsed. We should also have TSA study the possibility of selected screening of rail passengers. Secretary Ridge stated before the Governmental Affairs Committee that TSA is already engaged in such a study, saying; "TSA is working with Amtrak to identify requirements for a test project using screening technologies as designated locations. The team's effort is focused on identifying cost-effective technologies that can be implemented with minimum impact on the passenger flow and efficiency of rail operations... DHS and TSA will continue to work closely with the rail carriers to implement appropriate countermeasures and technologies that will ensure the security of the tunnels and bridges on Amtrak's northeast corridor and in Washington, DC area specifically."

However, I'm unaware of the status of this effort and understand that a pilot screening project at a station near Washington, D.C. has been indefinitely postponed.

We need to begin a serious effort to help railroads, states, cities, and transit agencies pay for key rail security efforts, such as more police and bomb sniffing dogs. Many rail operators, especially Amtrak, barely have enough resources to operate from day to day. We can't expect them to shoulder 100 percent of their security costs, just as we don't expect the aviation industry to cover all of its security costs.

S.2216, the Rail Transportation Security Act, incorporates many of these suggestions and provides dedicated resources for rail security to the DHS. I urge its quick review and adoption by the Senate.

I hope the Committee today will ask tough questions of our witnesses and attempt to ascertain the full scope and status of the Department of Homeland Security's rail security efforts. We have received a lot of assurances, but I believe we've seen very little action. I hope today's hearing can help us build momentum for efforts to strengthen the security of our rail system.