By Ron Thaniel
January 22, 2007

Testifying before the January 18 inaugural meeting of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Conference of Mayors Trustee Stamford Mayor Dannel P. Malloy urged the 110th Congress to act decisively and safeguard America’s bus, rail, and ferry systems.

Also on the panel were Tim O’Toole, Managing Director of Transport, City of London, England; Aurelio Rojo Garrido, Operation Director, Metro Madrid and Secretary General, Association of Latin American Metros and Subways; William Millar, President, American Public Transportation Association; and Warren George, President, Amalgamated Transit Union. Malloy testified that, “The U.S. Conference of Mayors and its members have dedicated themselves to making America’s cities safer by preventing possible acts of terrorism, and being ready to respond should terrorists strike.”

“Mayors have never waited for assistance from others to act,” noted Malloy.

Emphasizing that transit security is a federal responsibility, Malloy said, “We must further strengthen our partnership with the federal government to make sure that our ‘first preventers’ and ‘first responders’ have the resources and training they need to succeed, and that all necessary federal support is ready in the event of a catastrophic event.”

“The nation’s mayors believe more must be done at the federal level of government to make sure that our cities are able to respond to the growing challenges of securing public transportation infrastructure,” insisted Malloy.

Malloy urged Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd (CT), Ranking Member Richard C. Shelby (AL), and the members of the Committee to include in any transit security legislation four guiding principles as outlined in the Conference’s “Strong Cities, Strong Families for a Strong America 10-Point Plan.” Those principles are:

• The establishment of a flexible federal transit security grant program;

• As with aviation security, securing public transit is a federal responsibility and should not require a local or state match;

• Transit security funds should go directly to the transit authority or the jurisdiction providing security; and

• There should be a funding source for transit-related security research and development technology.

In his closing remarks, Malloy praised, then cautioned the Committee, stating, “Our nation has made significant progress on increasing homeland security since September 11, and that our federal-local partnership is much stronger with more resources, better information sharing, and a greater level of general communication. But I fervently hope that the tragic attacks in India, The United Kingdom, Spain, Moscow, and Israel serve as a reminder that we must not settle for ‘good enough.’”

“These and other attacks dramatically highlight the vulnerability of mass transit worldwide to terrorism and the need for an increased focus by the federal government on security for these systems,” said Malloy.

Malloy’s full testimony and the Strong Cities, Strong Families for a Strong America 10-Point Plan are available at usmayors.org. For more information on The U.S. Conference of Mayors transit security recommendations, send e-mail to Conference Assistant Executive Director Ron Thaniel at rthaniel@usmayors.org.