Cory Booker: “yesterday I joined my colleagues Senators Nelson, Thune, and Fischer in introducing the Surface Transportation and…”

“yesterday I joined my colleagues Senators Nelson, Thune, and Fischer in introducing the Surface Transportation and Maritime Security Act. The security of our Nation's ports and rail and surface transportation systems is critical to the daily lives of Americans, as well as to the health of our national economy. I thank my colleagues for joining together on this important legislation and hope that it leads to improved safety for our country. This legislation comes months after the tragic attack on the Brussels metro and airport which killed 35 and injured over 300, and it comes just days after explosives were detonated in New Jersey and New York, threatening the lives of thousands. The sad reality is that attacks like these occur, and we must do more to protect our citizens. The fact is mass transit and rail systems are challenging to secure. Meeting this challenge requires us to have a strategy in place that recognizes the evolving threats to surface networks and puts sufficient resources in place to match those risks. Currently, less than 2 percent of the Transportation Security Administration's, TSA, budget and staff are dedicated to protecting surface transportation networks. While the Federal role has been to support and oversee State and local efforts to secure transit and other surface networks, we need to ask ourselves whether we are doing enough to protect passengers.…”