Newly leading Democrats in both the House and Senate have placed funding for transit security on their list of priorities for homeland security.In the House Representative Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the incoming chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in an AP interview: "a real rail security plan doesn't exist. While between $8 and $9 is spent per air passenger on air security measures, only 2 cents to 3 cents per rail passenger is spent on rail security." Thompson wants to bring spending for mass transit and rail security more on a par with what is spent on security for air travel.
Senator Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., soon to take over the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, has made "more transit security funding" one of his top priorities. Other priorities include better information-sharing, homeland security grant distribution, more resources to state and local first responders, and interoperable communications equipment
Source: Associated Press
