Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011

Floor Speech

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Mr. CARNEY. Mr. Chairman, over the past week, officials have announced that preliminary intelligence gathered from Osama bin Laden's Pakistan hideout shows that al Qaeda had been plotting a terrorist attack on our Nation's rail system. While roughly 1.7 million passengers ride on domestic and international flights daily, every weekday 34 million Americans ride on trains and transit systems. The issue of rail security is more relevant now than ever. And I'm here today to argue for making rail security a national intelligence priority.

On March 11, 2004, nearly 200 people were killed in Madrid as a result of a terrorist bombing while riding the commuter rail to work. In 2005, over 50 people were killed and 700 injured on the London transit system in a series of explosions during the morning rush hour. An attack on our rail system here in the United States would be devastating. It would almost certainly result in the loss of life.

Clearly, terrorist organizations around the world have made rail systems a target. I strongly believe that we need to address the vulnerabilities in our rail system by ensuring that rail security is one of our Nation's top intelligence priorities. That's why I offered this amendment directing the intelligence community to include rail and subway transit security in its transportation security plans and budgets.

The 9/11 Commission report found that over 90 percent of the Nation's annual investment in transportation security is spent on aviation security. While addressing security vulnerabilities within aviation is critical, this allocation leaves too little for surface transportation security, particularly on our rail systems.

``For now, riding trains is safe.'' That's how Transportation Secretary LaHood described the state of our rail system in light of the intelligence found in Osama bin Laden's compound. But we need to do better than that. As a near daily rider of Amtrak myself, I want to know that the United States Government is doing all it can to keep my fellow passengers safe. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment so that our intelligence community is able to identify and prevent a terrorist attack on our rail system.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. CARNEY. I would just like to add that I listened to the gentleman and I appreciate his comments. I listened to his remarks earlier on the previous amendment, and he said that the intelligence agencies spend all their time, every waking hour, targeting people trying to kill Americans every day. The facts are that these terrorists are trying to kill Americans on American rail transit systems. And that's the purpose of this amendment--to make sure that this is given a priority in our intelligence plans.

With that, I yield such time as he may consume to the ranking member, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ruppersberger).

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Mr. CARNEY. Mr. Chair, I would just like to add a few more things before finishing up here. Between 2004 and 2008, there were 500 terrorist attacks waged worldwide against mass transit and passenger rail targets, resulting in over 2,000 deaths and over 9,000 injuries. Five billion passenger miles, intercity and commuter rail, are logged every day in the northeast corridor alone here in the U.S. That represents more than one-third of the daily vehicle miles logged on I-95 between Washington, D.C. and New York City.

My amendment will ensure that the U.S. Government places a priority on ensuring the safety of rail passengers around the country by working to prevent a terrorist attack on our rail system. And I would ask support for this amendment.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. CARNEY. I certainly thank the gentleman and appreciate his comments and certainly respect his expertise. But I can't imagine that the intelligence agencies aren't, as they're doing their activities--intelligence activities overseas--aren't finding out that there are threats to the U.S. rail system. My amendment would just make that a priority within all the things that they do.

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