HR 754 Now Includes Transportation Security Planning

On Friday, the House passed HR 754, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 by a bipartisan vote of 392-15. An amendment offered on the floor regarding transportation security issues was adopted.

Transportation Security Plans

Amendment 8 offered by Rep. Carney (D, DE) added Sec 501 to the legislation that expressed the non-binding ‘sense of Congress’ that railway transportation (including transit) should:

• Be “prioritized in the development of transportation security plans by the intelligence community”; and

• Be “included in transportation security budgets of the intelligence community”.

Not much to this. A ‘sense of Congress’ listing has even less authority than a House Resolution. It does imply that there is a ‘transportation security plan’ for the intelligence community, but I think that that is probably a misnomer. It is more likely a plan for looking at transportations security indicators; now what most people think about when they hear the words ‘transportation security plan’.

In any case, I’m sure that the Intelligence Community will pay diligent attention to this sense of Congress in developing their plan for looking at transportation security issues. You bet; especially since no money was attached to this ‘requirement’.