Sutton Supports Bill to Make Americans Safer

Press Release

Sutton Supports Bill to Make Americans Safer

Today U.S. Congresswoman Betty Sutton voiced her strong support on the House floor for the Rail and Public Transportation Security Act. The bill strives to make public transportation as secure as air travel and provides essential security improvements for rail, bus, and public transportation. Sutton voted in support of the bill, which passed with broad bipartisan support by a vote of 299-124.

"Americans must have top notch transportation security. Members of the 9/11 Commission gave overall transportation security a C minus-that is unacceptable and must be fixed," said Sutton. "These are common sense reforms that will, for the first time, make security on our nation's mass transit system a top priority. This comprehensive, bipartisan legislation will overhaul public transportation security as we know it, making it safe for all who ride and work on our railway and bus systems."

This legislation also provides whistleblower protections for federal employees, contractors, and public transportation employees so they will not need to fear repercussions for reporting security risks or violations. The bill also creates three new security grant programs: $2.4 billion over four years for a rail security grant program; $3.4 billion over four years for a public transportation security grant program; and $87 million over four years for a bus security grant program, and requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop a national rail and public transportation security plan.

The bill also requires rail and public transportation systems to train their employees on how to prevent, prepare for, and respond to a terrorist attack and authorizes $200 million over the next four years for advanced research and development on finding solutions to the security threats faced by rail, transit, and bus systems.

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