This paper examines the prioritization of funding for critical transportation infrastructure security in the United States. It establishes the role of the Department of Homeland Security, the National Infrastructure Protection Plan, and Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7 in establishing a unified national approach to infrastructure protection. The paper discusses how risk assessment methodologies, including weighted impact analysis, inform funding decisions across aviation, rail, maritime, highway, and pipeline systems. It analyzes the Transportation Security Administration's dual mandate to secure both passenger and cargo infrastructure, explores the interconnected nature of transportation modes, and considers the resource allocation challenges inherent in protecting such a complex, globally integrated system.
The transportation network within the United States consists of several interdependent modes: aviation (commercial and air cargo), surface and mass transit, passenger rail, highway, maritime, freight rail, and pipelines for transporting water, gas, and petroleum products. Each of these modes requires critical infrastructure essential to the nation's viability and survivability.
The transportation infrastructure of the United States is a valued national asset that assures citizens of continued economic strength in global markets while providing safety, public health, and economic security. Damage, destruction, or incapacitation of these assets can severely impact economic stability, national security, and public health. Since September 11, 2001, the constant threat of terrorist attacks against critical infrastructure has prompted local, state, and federal officials to prioritize resource allocation for infrastructure protection.
In response to escalating security concerns, the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) and Sector-Specific Plans (SSPs) were created following Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7 (HSPD-7), which mandated a unified national approach to critical infrastructure protection in place of fragmented organizational strategies. This directive established that protecting critical infrastructure is essential to maintaining democratic function and national security. According to the NIPP, safeguarding critical infrastructure is vital to the nation's security, public health, safety, economic vitality, and way of life.
Under HSPD-7, the Department of Transportation coordinates with the Department of Homeland Security on all matters pertaining to the identification, prioritization, and protection of transportation security assets and infrastructure. The transportation infrastructure comprises a vast, complex network of facilities—roads, pipelines, rivers, seaports, airports, air routes, and rail lines—connected globally at national and international levels. These multiple, individually large and complex entities are interdependent because of their interconnected nature.
The prioritization of funding for transportation infrastructure security is complicated by factors that are both political and industry-specific in nature. However, the approach to prioritization should be grounded in the impact that damage or destruction of specific critical infrastructure would have on national security and the economy. This is best achieved through risk assessment to determine which infrastructure, if damaged, would have the greatest financial impact on the economy, disrupt the global supply chain, and threaten national security.
Thomas (2009) proposed a methodology for weighting disruptive impacts. Severities of disruption are estimated for the best-case risk, worst-case risk, and most-likely risk for each disruptive cause and source of risk. The most-likely risk impact is weighted at four times the weight of both the best-case and worst-case risk impacts. Using this approach, practitioners in homeland security can create a risk management matrix to determine the amount of risk each transportation infrastructure is exposed to, the financial and economic impact, and base funding priorities on the results of their risk assessment.
The transportation infrastructure is intertwined with the global supply system, making funding prioritization decisions interdependent. According to Thomas (2009), the determination of risk severity, the impact of disruption on the economy and national security, directly influences the prioritization of funding for transportation assets. The key to calculating risk is ensuring that one consistent method is used across the entire organization. Risk management is integral to the emergency response process; risks are assessed and analyzed continuously, and mitigating procedures are developed to minimize loss of life and destruction of property.
The goal of risk reduction in emergency management is to lower the probability of lives lost or property damaged during catastrophic events. This is achieved through regulations, local ordinances, land-use practices, building codes, and mitigation projects that reduce or eliminate long-term risk from hazards. Comprehending the need for risk management correlates with understanding the potential for loss and factors contributing to loss, which directly influence funding allocation decisions.
A mode of transport is a solution using a particular type of vehicle, infrastructure, and operation. Transport of persons or cargo may involve one mode or multiple modes—the latter called intermodal or multimodal transport. Each mode has distinct advantages and disadvantages, chosen on the basis of cost, capability, route, and speed. The five basic modes of transportation are air, rail, road, water, and pipeline.
Railroads are capable of carrying a wide variety of products in greater volume than other modes. Rail is a long-haul, large-volume system with high fixed costs and dedicated rights-of-way. Accessibility can be problematic, and transit times are generally long. Railroads are vulnerable critical infrastructure; a major incident involving a train hauling hazardous materials through a populated area could have severe adverse impacts on the economy and population.
Motor carriers are characterized by a large number of small firms and independent contractors. Security for this mode relies on tracking devices such as RFID tags. Some motor carriers are given armed escorts when hauling hazardous materials such as nuclear waste through population centers.
Waterways carry the majority of goods within the global supply system. A terrorist attack on critical maritime infrastructure could have major impact on the U.S. population and economy. The United States Coast Guard plays a vital role in maritime safety, securing more than 290,000 square miles of water from waterborne terrorist activity while working with federal agencies, state, and local governments.
"TSA's dual mandate and resource deployment strategies"
The mission of the Transportation Security Administration is to secure the entire transportation network within the United States. Resource allocation to protect this complex network is based on threat assessment, risk assessment, and the overall impact that disruption of service or infrastructure damage would have on national security and global economy and supply networks. The TSA occupies a unique position because it manages security for both passenger and cargo infrastructure; an attack on either could adversely impact the economy and national security.
To address this dual mandate, the TSA deploys various programs throughout the country, including Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) teams and Surface Transportation Security Inspectors (STSI). VIPR teams employ various tactics to deter terrorism, including random high-visibility patrols at mass transit and passenger rail stations using behavior-detection officers, canine detection teams, and explosive-detection technologies. STSIs conduct on-site inspections of U.S. rail systems—including mass transit, passenger rail, and freight rail—to identify best security practices, evaluate security system performance, and discover and correct deficiencies and vulnerabilities in the rail industry's security systems.
Prioritization of funding for transportation security assets is a daunting process because every component of the TSA mission is intertwined. The TSA can realize savings by eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse while simultaneously identifying duplicative efforts to consolidate operations wherever possible. Such consolidation can create efficiencies without reducing security funding for the different types of infrastructure under TSA purview.
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