Department of Homeland Security Vehicular Terrorism Prevention and Mitigation Act of 2025

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1608 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1608

 To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to produce a report on
 emerging threats and countermeasures related to vehicular terrorism,
                        and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 26, 2025

  Mr. Gimenez (for himself and Mr. Green of Tennessee) introduced the
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland
                                Security

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to produce a report on
 emerging threats and countermeasures related to vehicular terrorism,
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Department of Homeland Security
Vehicular Terrorism Prevention and Mitigation Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) On January 1, 2025, a devastating vehicular terrorist
        attack occurred on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana,
        when an assailant inspired by the Islamic State drove a vehicle
        into a crowd and engaged in a shootout with law enforcement.
        This tragic incident resulted in the loss of fifteen lives and
        injuries to at least thirty-five others, including two police
        officers.
            (2) Vehicle-ramming attacks and other vehicular terrorist
        incidents represent an enduring and evolving threat to public
        safety in the United States and around the world, targeting
        innocent civilians and first responders.
            (3) These attacks, carried out by both organized terrorist
        groups and individual actors, often aim to exploit high-density
        public gatherings, critical infrastructure, and key
        transportation hubs, causing mass casualties and widespread
        disruption.
            (4) Emerging automotive technologies, such as autonomous
        vehicles, Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS)
        capabilities, and ride-sharing platforms, create new
        vulnerabilities that could be leveraged by malicious actors to
        conduct sophisticated vehicle-based attacks.
            (5) The Department of Homeland Security, through agencies
        like the Transportation Security Administration and the
        Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, plays a vital
        role in detecting, assessing, and mitigating the risks
        associated with vehicle-based threats.
            (6) Strengthened coordination between Federal, State,
        local, Tribal, territorial, and private sector stakeholders is
        essential to enhance prevention, preparedness, and response
        efforts, ensuring the safety of communities across the nation.

SEC. 3. REPORT ON EMERGING THREATS AND COUNTERMEASURES RELATED TO
              VEHICULAR TERRORISM.

    (a) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security,
        in coordination with the Administrator of the Transportation
        Security Administration and the Director of the Cybersecurity
        and Infrastructure Security Agency, shall submit to the
        appropriate congressional committees a report on the Department
        of Homeland Security's efforts to prevent, deter, and respond
        to vehicular terrorism.
            (2) Elements.--The report under paragraph (1) shall include
        the following:
                    (A) An assessment of the current and emerging
                threats posed by vehicular terrorism, as well as the
                following:
                            (i) An analysis of the methods, tactics,
                        and motivations used by perpetrators of
                        vehicular terrorism.
                            (ii) An evaluation of domestic and
                        international trends in vehicular terrorism.
                            (iii) An identification of potential future
                        threats related to the misuse of connected or
                        autonomous vehicles, Advanced Driver Assistance
                        System (ADAS) -equipped vehicles, ride-sharing
                        services, and advancements in automotive
                        technologies, including cybersecurity threats
                        to underlying software technologies (including
                        artificial intelligence-enabled technologies)
                        powering autonomous vehicles.
                    (B) A review of higher-risk locations and events
                that may be vulnerable to vehicular terrorism,
                including the following:
                            (i) Critical infrastructure sites such as
                        the following:
                                    (I) Airports.
                                    (II) Seaports.
                                    (III) Federal, State, local,
                                Tribal, and territorial government
                                facilities.
                                    (IV) Power plants.
                                    (V) Substations.
                                    (VI) Oil refineries.
                                    (VII) Public transportation hubs.
                                    (VIII) Healthcare facilities.
                            (ii) Soft-targets and crowded spaces,
                        including mass gatherings and widely attended
                        events such as parades, concerts, sporting
                        events, political rallies, holiday markets,
                        places of worship, authorized protests, and
                        ceremonial events.
                            (iii) High-density urban areas with limited
                        physical security measures such as
                        pedestrianized city centers, commercial
                        districts, residential neighborhoods, public
                        parks, recreational areas, educational
                        institutions, and tourist destinations.
                    (C) A comprehensive summary of actions taken by the
                Department of Homeland Security, the Transportation
                Security Administration, and the Cybersecurity and
                Infrastructure Security Agency to research measures
                that prevent, deter, and respond to vehicular
                terrorism, including the following:
                            (i) The identification and coordination
                        with State, local, Tribal, and territorial
                        governments and industry partners for the
                        strategic placement of physical barriers,
                        bollards, and other protective infrastructure
                        at higher-risk locations.
                            (ii) The research, testing, and deployment
                        of geofencing, surveillance systems,
                        cybersecurity measures, and other technologies
                        designed to monitor, restrict, and manage
                        vehicle access to such higher-risk locations.
                            (iii) The creation of real-time response
                        strategies and operational plans to neutralize
                        vehicular terrorism, including ongoing research
                        into best practices for threat detection,
                        incident management, and threat containment.
                    (D) An evaluation of the Department's engagement
                with private and public sector stakeholders to address
                risks of vehicular terrorism, including the following:
                            (i) Collaboration with vehicle rental
                        companies, ride-sharing platforms, vendors of
                        connected, autonomous, and ADAS technologies,
                        freight operators, and automotive
                        manufacturers.
                            (ii) Development of industry-specific best
                        practices to prevent the misuse of vehicles.
                            (iii) Protocols for sharing threat
                        intelligence and security guidance with private
                        sector partners.
                    (E) A description of the Department's coordination
                efforts with Federal, State, local, Tribal, and
                territorial law enforcement agencies to prevent
                vehicular terrorism, including the following:
                            (i) Mechanisms for sharing threat
                        intelligence and situational awareness.
                            (ii) Guidance provided to such law
                        enforcement agencies regarding implementing
                        countermeasures, such as traffic control
                        measures and rapid vehicle containment
                        protocols.
                            (iii) Joint exercises and training programs
                        to enhance interagency preparedness and
                        response.
                            (iv) Efforts to equip law enforcement,
                        first responders, and private sector partners
                        with the knowledge and skills to recognize and
                        respond to vehicular terrorism, including the
                        development of specialized curricula addressing
                        emerging threats, such as connected or
                        autonomous vehicles and other advanced
                        technologies.
                            (v) Outreach efforts to ensure that smaller
                        jurisdictions have access to necessary training
                        resources and public safety awareness tools.
                    (F) Recommendations for the research, development,
                and deployment of technologies to detect, deter, and
                mitigate vehicular terrorism, including the following:
                            (i) Vehicle immobilization systems and
                        remote disablement technologies.
                            (ii) Predictive analytics and threat
                        detection software that incorporate artificial
                        intelligence and machine learning algorithms to
                        identify and flag in real time anomalous or
                        suspicious vehicle behavior, as well as
                        associated technologies to disable or divert a
                        vehicle before it becomes a threat.
                            (iii) Innovations in cybersecurity to
                        prevent the hacking or misuse of connected,
                        autonomous, or ADAS-equipped vehicles.
                    (G) A description of the Department's engagement
                with privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties
                stakeholders to ensure all countermeasures and
                technologies, including artificial-intelligence and
                machine learning algorithms, deployed to prevent
                vehicular terrorism are implemented in a manner that
                respects individual rights and freedoms.
                    (H) A review of the Department's public awareness
                initiatives focused on the following:
                            (i) Educating the public on recognizing
                        suspicious vehicle-related behavior and
                        reporting potential threats.
                            (ii) Building trust and fostering
                        collaboration between communities and law
                        enforcement agencies.
                            (iii) Enhancing resilience by encouraging
                        community-based security measures.
                    (I) Such other elements as the Secretary of
                Homeland Security considers appropriate.
            (3) Form.--The report under paragraph (1) shall be
        submitted in classified form, but may include an unclassified
        executive summary.
            (4) Publication.--The unclassified executive summary of the
        report required under paragraph (1) shall be published on a
        publicly accessible website of the Department of Homeland
        Security.
    (b) Annual Briefings.--Not later than 30 days after the submission
of the report under subsection (a), the Secretary of Homeland Security
shall provide to the appropriate congressional committees a briefing on
the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of such report.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House
                of Representatives; and
                    (B) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
                Transportation and the Committee on Homeland Security
                and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.
            (2) Vehicular terrorism.--The term ``vehicular terrorism''
        means an action that utilizes automotive transportation to
        commit terrorism (as such term is defined in section 2(18) of
        the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101(18))).
                                 <all>