Homeland Security

Good morning Mr. Chairman, Senator Hollings, and Members of the Committee. It is my pleasure to be here today to speak with you about the Department's ongoing and planned efforts to enhance Passenger Rail and Mass Transit security.

The tragic bombings that occurred in Madrid on March 11, and those that occurred in Moscow on February 6 were terrible reminders that the war on terror is not yet over and that much work remains to be done. Our prayers and our deepest sympathies are with the families and friends of the hundreds of innocents who died in these attacks, and with those for whom the road to recovery will be long and painful. And our resolution remains firm. We will not tolerate these sorts of cowardly acts, nor will they deter us from support of the liberties that make our nation great.

I would like to begin by stating that we do not have any specific indications that terrorist groups are planning such attacks in the U.S. Furthermore, in the months preceding the Madrid and Moscow incidents, the Department, in close cooperation and coordination with our partners at the Department of Transportation, and state and local governments and transit and rail operators, has taken a number of steps to respond to vulnerabilities in the rail and transit systems and improve our security posture against similar attacks.

In the immediate aftermath of the Madrid attacks, the Department released two Information Bulletins on the Madrid Bombing to the transportation sector, state and local homeland security officials, public safety community, and law enforcement. The Bulletins provided specific indicators of such operations and suggested protective measures. It is important to note that over the last year, the Department has issued a number of such bulletins to rail and transit operators. We have long been aware of the possibility of such attacks and have sought to provide as much information as possible to those at the state and local level who are responsible for keeping the trains running on time, so to speak.

After Madrid, the Department also hosted a National Conference Call with over 170 participants from federal, state and local public safety communities, all State and Territorial Homeland Security Advisors, and officials from 50 major urban areas. In addition, we hosted a conference call with approximately 75 participants from Association of American Railroads (AAR), American Public Transportation Association (APTA), and the Surface Transportation Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ST-ISAC), and representatives from the nation's largest transit systems. We used these calls to communicate current information on the attacks, obtain an assessment of the level of preparedness of transit and rail systems in the U.S., and determine what short-term measures ought to be taken to reduce vulnerabilities across our nation's transit and rail systems.

It is also very important that we analyze carefully what happened in Spain two weeks ago and apply lessons learned in order to deter and prevent similar attacks in the United States. To that end, DHS is working closely with Spanish authorities to examine available information, and generate "lessons learned" on how these terrible attacks transpired for application here in the U.S. In addition, the Department continues to share intelligence and other information with state and local authorities, as well as with the private sector, to ensure vigilance in light of these incidents.

DHS Initiatives

Prior to the attacks in Moscow and Madrid, agencies within the Department were already working with their Federal and state counterparts to bolster the security of rail and mass transit systems for the approximately 11.3 million passenger trips each weekday. DHS efforts have focused on information sharing, awareness, prevention, response and recovery to a potential terrorist rail attack in the United States.

Over the last two years, DHS and DOT have worked with transit and rail operators to improve security significantly. TSA, the Infrastructure Protection Division of the Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection (IAIP) Directorate, and DOT's FRA and FTA have conducted criticality assessments of rail and transit networks operating in high-density urban areas. As a result of these assessments, these systems produce robust security and emergency preparedness plans.

Between FY 2003 and this year, DHS has used information from these assessments to allocate $115 million to high-risk transit systems through the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) in the Office of Domestic Preparedness. Sixty-five million dollars ($65 million) was allocated in fiscal year 2003 and $50 million was allocated in fiscal year 2004. Grantees may use these funds for such expenses as the installation of physical barricades, video surveillance systems, motion detectors, thermal/IR imagery and chemical/radiological material detection systems, integrated communications systems and for prevention planning, training and exercises, among other things.

The Department is coordinating information and threat sharing through the Information Sharing and Analysis Center in partnership with the Association of American Railroads and American Public Transportation Association. As part of the significant partnership that the Department has developed with AAR and the ST-ISAC, TSA hosts ST-ISAC representatives at the Transportation Security Coordination Center (TSCC) in Virginia.

TSA has partnered with FTA on its "Transit Watch" Program, and is coordinating with FRA to develop a rail system inspection guide for use by rail law enforcement and security personnel to inspect trains for explosives and other threats. The BTS Federal Law Enforcement Training Center has provided security training to rail and transit operators; and TSA has distributed educational information to transit system employees on how to recognize and respond to potential terrorist attacks.

TSA has also hosted numerous security exercises to bring together rail carriers, federal and local first responders, and security experts, to address potential gaps in antiterrorism training among rail personnel. One such security exercise occurred at Union Station Washington, DC in July 2003 and involved stakeholders, emergency responders and enforcement agencies all working to implement the station's Emergency Response Plan. The lessons learned from this exercise are being utilized to enhance rail security for the entire Northeast corridor.

In another security exercise, DHS, through TSA, co-partnered with the Naval War College Gaming Department to conduct the exercise game, "Operation Heartland" at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island on January 27-28, 2004. Operation Heartland was designed to exercise and evaluate security awareness, prevention, response and recovery of the national transportation system to a security incident. Participation included eleven federal agencies, state and local agencies from Iowa and Illinois, Amtrak, and representatives from private industry including BNSF Railroad, Union Pacific Railroad, and Ingram Barge Company.

State/local/private sector actions:

In addition to the Federal government's actions and initiatives, I would be remiss if I didn't commend the mass transit and rail industry, and State and local governments, for their proactive response in addressing homeland security issues, both pre and post-9/11, and following the Moscow and Madrid bombing incidents. Most recently, transit and rail system operators have enhanced their existing security plans by taking various preventive measures in cooperation with the Department. While specific examples should not be given in a public forum, significant commitments have been made in increased canine and uniformed patrols, increased surveillance, and reporting and awareness campaigns in the passenger environment. Relatedly, cargo rail companies are continuing their Alert Level 2, which includes increased security at designated facilities, security plan review, and increased spot identification checks.

Near Term Actions

In the wake of Madrid, the Department immediately identified additional measures that could be implemented in the near term to further strengthen our rail and transit systems. A working group comprised of senior members of my staff, officials from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection (IAIP) Directorate; the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA), identified several such measures. Yesterday, Secretary Ridge and I met with rail and transit officials and announced the following measures to provide additional federal leadership and guidance in the rail and transit security arena:

Leadership

The Department will build on many of the security measures recommended during the past two years for implementation to mass transit and passenger rail authorities by DHS, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). The Department will engage the industry and state and local authorities to establish base-line security measures based on current industry 'best practices'. This includes all existing security measures currently being implemented consistently in the mass transit system and the commuter rail environment. These base-line measures could be adjusted in consultation with transit and rail system owners and operators in response to higher threat levels or specific threats in the future. Additional measures could be achieved through the use of security directives or technical assistance, which would specifically target mitigation of identified vulnerabilities. DHS, in coordination with DOT, will ensure compliance with security standards for commuter and rail lines

Threat Response Support Capability

Mass Transit K-9 Program The Department will develop a rapid deployment Mass Transit K-9 program by utilizing existing Homeland Security explosive K-9 resources. These mobile DHS response teams will be prepared to assist local law enforcement teams. Federal Protective Services K-9 teams would also be cross-trained for utilization in the rail and transit environment. Building upon TSA's work in the aviation context, DHS will partner with local authorities to provide additional training and assistance for local K-9 teams. The mobile program would predominantly be used in special threat environments and provide additional federal resources to augment state and local transit and rail authorities security measures.

Transit Inspection Pilot TSA will implement a pilot program to test the feasibility of screening luggage and carry-on bags for explosives at rail stations and aboard trains. The initial program will be implemented at one station with commuter rail service in conjunction with Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration. The pilot program would not resemble an aviation-type solution to transit and rail, but rather provide the Department with a venue to test new technologies and screening concepts. The lessons learned from the pilot could allow transit operators to deploy targeted screening in high threat areas or in response to specific intelligence.

Education and Awareness

DHS will integrate existing passenger and rail education and awareness programs that have been developed by industry, TSA and FTA. Where necessary, the Department will create new programs to increase passenger, rail employee, and local law enforcement awareness through public awareness campaigns and security personnel training. A number of training templates and rider education materials are currently in development by TSA and FTA allowing the Department to leverage existing efforts to generate additional public awareness. The Department's Federal Law Enforcement Training Center will also accelerate current security training programs for transit law enforcement personnel.

Future Technological Innovations

The Department's Science and Technology division is focusing on development of a number of homeland security technologies. Many of these could or are being used in the mass transit environment including chemical and biological countermeasures.

High Explosives Countermeasures The Department's Homeland Security Advanced Research Project Agency is developing a Broad Agency Announcement on bomb interdiction for truck and suicide threats with approximately $5 million in funding that will be released in the coming months. This program will focus on research and development of next generation technology for High Explosives Countermeasures. In the future, these countermeasures could address the threat that terrorists might use explosives in attacks on buildings, critical infrastructure, and the civilian population of the United States. The goal of the program will be to develop and test field equipment, technologies and procedures to interdict suicide bombers and car and truck bombs before they can reach their intended targets while minimizing the impact on the American way of life. This effort will be closely coordinated with the activities ongoing in TSA to ensure that research and development activities are complementary and allow potential future testing be carried out through TSA's Transit Inspection Pilot.

Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you on this important topic. I look forward to answering any questions you may have.