Congressmen push for an increase in funds to bolster security
House Democrats recently asked for a funding increase that would be directly used to bolster the security of mass transit systems across the United States.
All told, 66 congressmen and congresswomen officially requested from the Department of Homeland Security(DHS) an increase of the Transit Grant Security Program (TGSP) [link url=”https://swalwell.house.gov/sites/swalwell.house.gov/files/wysiwyg_uploaded/Transit%20Security%20Grant%20Program%20FY%202017.pdf” title=”up to $105 million for fiscal year 2017.“]
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administers TSGP, which is a competitive grant program that supports efforts to build and sustain secure transit environments.
Raw video: Passengers evacuate from subway cars following a terror attack at the Maalbeek metro station in Brussels.https://t.co/fJ4IKu3m8A
— CNN (@CNN) March 22, 2016
Bombing at the metro station in Brussels
The requested funding increase comes in the wake of the [link url=”http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/brussels-attacks-maalbeek-maelbeek-metro-explosion-live-updates-zaventem-airport-a6945401.html” title=”attack at the Maalbeek metro station in Brussels“] last week that ended with at least 15 dead and at least a dozen more injured.
The Brussels attacks hit two transportation hubs in Belgium — the Maalbeek metro station and the city’s Zaventem International Airport — leading many American lawmakers to turn their attention toward securing transit centers on U.S. soil.
Keep the focus on mass transit
In the [link url=”https://swalwell.house.gov/sites/swalwell.house.gov/files/wysiwyg_uploaded/Transit%20Security%20Grant%20Program%20FY%202017.pdf” title=”funding request,“] lawmakers also specifically that any increase in funding be kept separate from other multipurpose homeland security grant programs.
Keeping the separation of funds, they said, could help ensure that mass transit security is properly funded. In 2014 alone, Americans took [link url=”http://www.apta.com/mediacenter/pressreleases/2015/pages/150309_ridership.aspx” title=”nearly 11 billion trips on public transportation.“]
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