mr. chairman , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
mr. chairman , millions of americans travel to work , school and other activities aboard trains , buses , planes , and other forms of mass transportation . 
our railways are also a primary method of shipping raw materials and manufactured goods across the country . 
the openness of our rail and mass transportation network makes it a target for terrorists who would attack our nation . 
the network is also a target for people to make empty threats or disable on-track materials . 
these actions put rail employees and passengers at risk . 
threats and sabotage against railways also harm interstate commerce by causing delays on important transportation corridors . 
richard reid , now known as the shoe bomber , actually had a charge against him dismissed because current law does not explicitly define an airplane as a vehicle for the purpose of prosecuting . 
this amendment would change that and bring updated and uniform protections to all forms of railroad carriers and mass transportation providers . 
my amendment establishes penalties of up to 20 years for a person who knowingly wrecks , derails , or sets fire to a rail or mass transportation vehicle or knowingly disables on-track equipment or signals . 
the same penalty applies for conspiracy or threats against a rail or mass transportation system . 
the penalty is increased with life imprisonment with death-penalty eligibility if an attack results in the death of a person . 
my amendment allows the courts to consider an attack against a train carrying hazardous materials as an aggravated circumstance . 
the amendment includes a 30-year minimum sentence for an attack on a train carrying high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel . 
i first offered this amendment last october in the wake of the terrorist attack against the rail system in madrid . 
the house passed this amendment on the 9/11 commission implementation act , but it was removed in conference with the senate . 
the tragic attacks on london on july 7 and another attack there earlier today have demonstrated again the dangers facing rail and transit systems in the u.s. and throughout the world . 
we must not wait for another attack here at home to modernize our criminal penalties for attacks and sabotage against our transportation system . 
