FEATURES More Than Aviation

Government Executive March 15, 2005

TSA isn't all about aviation. But only a tiny - and shrinking - share of its budget goes to maritime, rail, highway, mass transit and pipeline transportation modes.

Fiscal 2006 Budget Request: $5.6 Billion
  • Aviation Security 89.6%
  • Transportation Security Support 9.8%
  • Surface Transportation Security 0.6%

Sourse: TSA

Covering the Bases

With the immediate crisis of meeting aviation security deadlines behind it, TSA has been able to pay more attention to security in the other modes of transportation. The effort focuses on information sharing and vulnerability assessment.

MARITIME

  • 361 domestic ports, 95 percent of inbound U.S. cargo
  • Restore maritime transportation after a port security incident
  • Operation Safe Commerce pilot with Customs and Border Protection
  • No authority over lead agency, Coast Guard

RAIL

  • 122,293 miles of track, 17.4 million freight carloads
  • Establishing 100-member security compliance inspection force
  • Issued security directives for passenger and commuter rail
  • Commuter rail bomb-detection pilot

HIGHWAY

  • 94.9 million trucks, 776,550 buses
  • Mandated background and fingerprint checks on 3.5 million hazmat-licensed commercial truckers
  • Capitalized on trucking industry's Highway Watch

MASS TRANSIT

  • 14 million workday riders
  • Provides bomb-sniffing dog teams to top 10 mass transit and passenger rail agencies
  • Inspects local transit authority security arrangements

PIPELINE

  • 2.3 million miles, natural gas and hazardous liquid
  • Expects operators to maintain security based on guidance issued in 2002
  • Cooperates with Department of Transportation Research and Special Projects Administration, lead safety regulator

Sources: DHS, TSA, FHWA, American Trucking Associations, Government Accountability Office, Congressional Research Service, news reports

Post a Comment

To post a comment, you must provide a name and a valid e-mail address. Messages must be limited to 400 words. By using this Service you agree not to post material that is obscene, harassing, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable. Although Government Executive does not monitor comments posted to this site (and has no obligation to), it reserves the right to delete, edit, or move any material that it deems to be in violation of this rule.

FEATURES More Than Aviation
*
*
*