Lawmakers call for greater security funding and oversight for U.S. transit systems

Lawmakers call for greater security funding and oversight¹ for U.S. transit² systems

Transcript³

Open drug use and the threat of mass violence have prompted calls for more security funding for mass transit. Congress also says better oversight of existing security is needed.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

America's rail and subway systems are struggling to rebound⁴ after ridership plummeted⁵ during the pandemic. Part of riders' hesitancy is tied to safety, as they see things like open drug use and, in some cities, rising assaults and robberies on public transit. And while rare, a recent mass shooting in New York City's subway saw 10 people wounded. Now some in Congress are calling for greater security funding and oversight for America's vulnerable transit systems. Here's NPR's Eric Westervelt.

ERIC WESTERVELT, BYLINE⁶: At a recent windswept rooftop press event, Janno Lieber, the CEO of New York City's Metropolitan⁷ Transportation Authority, praised the camera security system now in place in every subway station in North America's largest transit agency.

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JANNO LIEBER: The story of the cameras at the MTA is pretty amazing. We have gone up by, like, 60% in a few short years because we decided⁸ to make it a priority. Nobody sent us a pile of additional money to do it. We made it a priority.

WESTERVELT: But those pretty amazing security cameras at both the 36th Street and 25th Street stations failed to transmit footage back to MTA and NYPD headquarters during the recent mass shooting at a Brooklyn subway station. Officials blamed a faulty internet connection. The MTA insists the camera failure rate overall is tiny and that images from other cameras that worked helped catch the suspect. But the MTA's acting⁹ inspector¹⁰ general recently announced she's launched a probe, saying the camera failures raise questions. And members of Congress now want to know how federal money has been spent on security cameras, how often they're checked and maintained and more.

ERIC SWALWELL: I want every dollar that we spend or invest to be used to protect people. And so we want to make sure that if we fund it, it actually functions and the money goes to keeping people safe.

WESTERVELT: That's Representative Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat¹¹ who sits on the Homeland Security Committee. He was one of the signers of a recent bipartisan letter demanding answers. Congress members wrote to the MTA - given the disturbing and continued rise of subway attacks this year, we write to urge you to be more transparent¹² in how you use federal funding. The MTA, in fact, got about $50 million over the last two years from the Department of Homeland Security's Transit Security Grant Program. Representative Swalwell is calling for an increase in that grant program and greater accountability. The increase, if approved, he says, will help agencies add detection equipment, cameras and surveillance training to help harden America's rail, bus and ferry networks.

SWALWELL: We also have to make sure that people use the systems that we fund, and if they don't feel safe, then they're not going to use them. And I don't want this to entirely¹³ fall on local, stretched police departments.

WESTERVELT: The New York City shooting raises questions about how federal money is actually being spent by cities and counties. And the Biden administration's $1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure¹⁴ Jobs Act will see the largest infusion¹⁵ of money into American rail and mass transit in a generation. That welcomed funding, says Sean Jeans-Gail, needs to come with increased monitoring of spending in New York and everywhere, whether it's for upgrading rail infrastructure or security. Jeans-Gail is the head of government affairs at the Rail Passengers Association.

SEAN JEANS-GAIL: Given the exponential increase in money going towards intercity rail specifically but also transit, there will be a need for strong congressional oversight because, otherwise, a lot of this money could get frittered away.

WESTERVELT: With transit ridership still down, absolute crime numbers on most subway and rail systems are down, too. But when adjusted for ridership, crime in many transit systems, including Chicago, New York and Philadelphia, remain well above pre-pandemic figures. Still, overall, America's transit systems have proved mostly immune from larger attacks, such as mass shootings and terrorist strikes. But they remain vulnerable, and more cameras by themselves, some argue, are not a cure-all.

ABIGAIL SPANBERGER: There has to be a person behind the camera. There has to be someone watching it, and there needs to be somebody else able to respond in the event that there is a threat.

WESTERVELT: Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger is a former CIA officer. She says for any local security monitoring to be effective, it needs to be tied into robust¹⁶ human intelligence and a clear plan.

SPANBERGER: Frequently, when there's any sort of concern, people automatically go towards monitoring or go towards camera systems. But that requires humans. That requires monitoring. That requires people knowing what they're looking for. That's training, training, training, and training is expensive, expensive, expensive.

WESTERVELT: No one wants to add anything like the kind of security screenings at subways and trains that we see at airports, but critics have long said that the Federal Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, focuses too much on airports. The TSA does have roving specialized¹⁷ security teams with the dramatic sounding acronym¹⁸ VIPR, for Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response. A TSA official says VIPR teams conduct thousands of operations each year in transportation systems nationwide, but the official declined to provide any details of VIPR's size and work, citing sensitive security information. But multiple Government Accountability Office reports have questioned TSA's and VIPR's effectiveness. One report in 2018 found that the TSA's performance measures for VIPR failed to show the program's usefulness and how the teams actually contribute to the TSA's larger security mission.

Eric Westervelt, NPR News.

1 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

2 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

5 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

10 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

11 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

12 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

13 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

14 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

15 infusion   

n.灌输

参考例句：

• Old families need an infusion of new blood from time to time.古老的家族需要不时地注入新鲜血液。
• Careful observation of the infusion site is necessary.必须仔细观察输液部位。

16 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

17 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

18 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。