Biden chides Bush on rail security

In the year since terrorists bombed commuter trains in Madrid, the Bush administration "has done next to nothing to protect passenger rails," Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) said at a press conference March 10.

Biden, the senior Democrat on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, and 12 other Democrats want to spend more than $1 billion over five years to enhance security on freight and passenger rails. The White House fiscal 2006 budget for the Homeland Security Department sets aside just $32 million for rail security.

That funding is adequate, said David Stone, Transportation Security Administration chief, because state and local governments are getting other grant money that can be used to secure mass transit systems.