Department of Homeland Security Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008

Floor Speech

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008 -- (House of Representatives - May 09, 2007)

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Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Chairman, I thank the ranking member from New York for yielding me this time.

I rise in strong support of this amendment. I believe its passage is important to ensure that our local first responders are prepared for major disasters.

Over the years, volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel have repeatedly answered the call of duty. In fact, my home State of Delaware, which is served almost entirely by volunteer firefighters, sent 37 ambulances to New York City on September 11. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, as fires spread throughout New Orleans and survivors struggled to find dry land, volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel rose to the occasion and proved to be crucial in the massive rescue operation.

Unfortunately, under current law, volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel are not protected from termination or demotion by their employer when they respond to national disasters.

As a result, just a few weeks after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the gulf coast, a group of us got together here on Capitol Hill to craft this legislation which will make certain that our volunteer responders are more readily available to assist local authorities in major disasters.

This proposal is similar to the job protections given to members of the National Guard who serve their country on the battlefield, and it will go a long way in enhancing our ability to respond to catastrophic events and save lives.

Mr. Chairman, last Congress, we collected over 70 bipartisan co-sponsors on this legislation. I appreciate the support of the gentleman from New Jersey and his introduction of this and all the others who have been involved. I urge Members to support this amendment.

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Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise to offer a critical amendment to this legislation before us today.

Yesterday, it was revealed that several individuals operating out of the Philadelphia area had plotted to attack key installations in the Northeast, including Fort Dix, New Jersey, and Dover Air Force Base in my home State of Delaware. While the tremendous work of our law enforcement community prevented these attacks from taking place, this case serves as a clear reminder that terrorists are intent on attacking us wherever we are vulnerable.

One of our greatest vulnerabilities remains our mass transit systems, which move millions of people every year. In fact, terrorists are increasingly targeting rail and transit systems throughout the world, and the recent bombings in India, London and Madrid are clear evidence of this dangerous trend.

While the concept of rail security is relatively new here at home, security officials in Europe and Asia have decades of experience with terrorist attacks, and I have long believed in the importance of leveraging this experience to improve our own system.

In 2003, I asked the General Accountability Office to undertake an in-depth study of foreign rail security practices. Over the course of several months, the GAO team visited 13 different foreign rail systems, and its subsequent report identified several innovative measures to secure rail systems, many of which are currently being used in the United States.

Most significantly, however, the GAO report identified four important foreign rail security practices that are not currently being used to any great extent in the United States.

First, the report found that other nations had improved the vigilance of their security staff by performing daily unannounced events, known as covert testing, to gauge responsiveness to incidents such as suspicious packages or open emergency doors.

Similarly, two of the 13 foreign operators interviewed by GAO also reported success using some form of random screening to search passengers and baggage for bombs and other suspicious materials. This practice has been used sporadically in the U.S., including in New York City following the 2005 London bombings, but it has never been implemented for any continuous period of time.

The GAO also noted that many foreign governments maintain a national clearinghouse on security technologies and best practices. Such a government-sponsored database would allow rail operators to have one central source of information on the merits of rail security technology, like chemical sensors and surveillance equipment.

Finally, while GAO noted that the Department of Transportation has taken steps to encourage rail operators to consider security when renovating or constructing facilities, many foreign operators are still far more advanced when it comes to incorporating aspects of security into infrastructure design.

For example, this photograph of the London Underground demonstrates several security upgrades, such as vending machines with sloped tops to reduce the likelihood of a bomb being placed there, clear trash bins and netting throughout the station to prevent objects from being left in recessed areas. As you can see, the London stations are also designed to provide security staff with clear lines of sight to all areas of the station, including underneath benches and ticket machines.

The British Government has praised these measures for deterring terrorist attacks, and in one incident, their security cameras recorded IRA terrorists attempting to place an explosive device inside a station. According to London officials, due to infrastructure design improvements, the terrorists were deterred when they could not find a suitable location to hide the device inside the station.

While the GAO acknowledged that deploying these four practices in this country may be difficult, in fact random screening may pose many challenges, it is clear that these foreign security techniques deserve greater consideration.

Therefore, the amendment I am offering today would take steps to improve rail and transit security by requiring the Secretary of Homeland Security to study the cost and feasibility of implementing these practices and submit a report making recommendations to the Homeland Security and Transportation Committees within 1 year of enactment.

Mr. Chairman, recent attacks on rail and transit throughout the world underscore the importance of acting now to upgrade security here at home. My amendment will make certain that we are knowledgable and consider all available options when it comes to ensuring the safety and security of our rail system.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Chairman, let me just close by thanking those on the other side who have spoken in favor of the amendment and for their support of it. I truly believe that this is a small but a very significant step perhaps in preventing terrorism in mass transit in the United States. It is the reason I hope we all can support it.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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