Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Darren Drake Combatting 21st Century Weapons of Terror Act” or the “Darren Drake Act”.
Darren Drake Combatting 21st Century Weapons of Terror Act
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to carry out a pilot program for the prevention and mitigation of acts of terrorism using motor vehicles, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Findings
Congress makes the following findings:
From 2014 through 2017, terrorists carried out at least 17 known vehicle ramming attacks worldwide, resulting in 173 fatalities and 667 injuries.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIS, was designated by the State Department as a foreign terrorist organization on December 17, 2004 and was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) on October 15, 2004.
Al-Qa’ida and the Islamic State have promoted vehicle attacks for years, including in Inspire, the online magazine of al-Qa’ida and in Rumiya, the magazine of the Islamic State.
The Islamic State calls upon its followers to conduct vehicle ramming attacks by buying, renting, stealing, or borrowing trucks and targeting large outdoor events, crowded pedestrian streets, outdoor markets and rallies.
On November 21, 2017, a grand jury in the Southern District of New York returned a 22-count indictment against the perpetrator of an alleged vehicular terrorist attack carried out in the name of the designated foreign terrorist organization the Islamic State in lower Manhattan on October 31, 2017, which killed eight people, including Darren Drake of New Milford, New Jersey, and injured 12 more.
The automotive sale and rental industry has been a leader in strengthening security measures, working with government agencies and officials including the Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and continuing to innovate and improve to better protect its customers, employees, assets, and the general public.
Sec. 3 Study on information collected by rental agencies and dealers
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, shall—
conduct a study on the various types of information collected by rental companies and dealers that rent covered rental vehicles in the United States and Europe; and
develop and disseminate best practices for rental companies and dealers to report suspicious behavior to law enforcement agencies at the point of sale for such a covered rental vehicle.
Sec. 4 Pilot program
In general— Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish a pilot program, for a period not to exceed one year, to—
in consultation with representatives of the automotive sale and rental industry, develop a uniform standard for the type of information collected by rental agencies described in section 3, and the type of information used in submitting suspicious activity reports;
provide operators with a threat assessment prepared by the Undersecretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analysis regarding the terrorism threat of large vehicles;
distribute guidance for improving the suspicious activity reporting process, including training for designated employees to better identify suspicious activity;
provide technical assistance to operators to better access suspicious activity reports; and
if determined necessary by the Secretary, establish a procedure for checking information against a designated watch list that does not contain any classified information, and for dealers and rental companies to provide notice of a sale or rental to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Report to Congress— Once every 120 days, until the conclusion of the program under this section, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration shall jointly submit to Congress a report on the program under this section, including—
an assessment of the impact of the pilot program on privacy and civil liberties; and
the effect that permanent implementation of the program would have on efforts to protect the United States against terrorist attacks.
Exemption from liability— A dealer or rental company shall not be liable for any action taken in accordance with this pilot program under this section.
Definitions— In this section:
The term covered rental vehicle means a truck, tractor, trailer, bus, semitrailer, or van with more than 15 passengers.
The terms dealer and rental company have the meanings given those terms in section 30102 of title 49, United States Code.