** Audio recording unavailable due to the fall state work period**

On the evening of Saturday, September 17, a bomb exploded in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood. Thirty-one people were injured. Two days later, police in Elizabeth, New Jersey removed from a public trashcan a backpack filled with pipe bombs. The devices were discovered near the town’s train station. Fortunately, no one was killed in either bombing.

But earlier this year, in Nice, France, a member of ISIL drove a commercial truck into a crowded promenade, killing 84 people. In March, 16 others were killed in a bomb blast at a metro station in Brussels, Belgium.

These tragic events underscore a dangerous reality: our surface transportation, rail, pipelines, and mass transit systems are at serious risk of attack.

Americans rely on cars, buses, trucks, and railways every day.

In our country, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is responsible for protecting surface and aviation transportation networks. When we think of the TSA, we imagine going through security at an airport. But in fact, the agency is responsible for working with operators to protect our surface transportation as well. Despite the many threats across this system, only about 3 percent of the agency’s budget, and less than 2 percent of its workforce, are dedicated to protecting it. Further, the Department of Homeland Security recently released an alarming report, writing that the TSA, “…lacks an intelligence-driven, risk-based security strategy that informs security and resource decisions across all transportation modes.”

As chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security, I work with my colleagues to conduct oversight of America’s transportation network. We take this responsibility very seriously.

That’s why I joined a bipartisan group of my fellow Senate Commerce Committee members to introduce a bill to strengthen surface and maritime transportation security. Last month, after working closely with Senators John Thune of South Dakota, Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Bill Nelson of Florida, we introduced S. 3379, the Surface Transportation and Maritime Security Act.

This legislation would require the TSA to re-evaluate its mission, specifically how it budgets for and assesses the risks to surface transportation. It would add as many as 70 new canine teams to make our transit hubs safer, with plans to raise the number of teams to 200 more than those currently in place. Additionally, our bill reforms port security by requiring the TSA to improve the screening process for workers accessing our ports. The bill also authorizes access to computerized vetting tools and programs for passenger railroads, like those for commercial airlines.

Like much in our modern age, America’s ports, pipelines, rail, and transit structures are relying more on emerging technologies. This includes real-time monitoring and analytics and autonomous mechanisms. Nevertheless, increased reliance on data-driven networks and technology also makes our transportation system more vulnerable to new threats and cyberattacks.

To address this, our bill requires the Government Accountability Office to analyze and report on cybersecurity best practices. It focuses on examples from our national agencies, private industry, and state and local governments, both here in America, and overseas. This report will build on research initiated by Senator Booker and I earlier this year, when we sent a letter to TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger. We asked him to identify areas within our surface transportation system that may be vulnerable to cyberattack and detail which steps the agency was taking to protect them.

I am confident that through bipartisan initiatives like this transportation security legislation, we can strengthen our surface infrastructure, safety, and security measures to better protect our citizens.

Thank you for participating in the democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week.