[House Report 117-119]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
117th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 117-119
======================================================================
DARREN DRAKE ACT
_______
September 14, 2021.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, from the Committee on Homeland Security,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 4089]
The Committee on Homeland Security, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 4089) to direct the Secretary of Homeland
Security to develop and disseminate best practices for rental
companies and dealers to report suspicious behavior to law
enforcement agencies at the point of sale of a covered rental
vehicle to prevent and mitigate acts of terrorism using motor
vehicles, and for other purposes, having considered the same,
reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that
the bill as amended do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 2
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 2
Hearings......................................................... 3
Committee Consideration.......................................... 3
Committee Votes.................................................. 4
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 4
C.B.O. Estimate, New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and
Tax Expenditures............................................... 4
Federal Mandates Statement....................................... 4
Duplicative Federal Programs..................................... 4
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............ 4
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff
Benefits Advisory Committee Statement.......................... 4
Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................. 5
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................... 5
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Darren Drake Act''.
SEC. 2. BEST PRACTICES RELATED TO CERTAIN INFORMATION COLLECTED BY
RENTAL COMPANIES AND DEALERS.
(a) Development and Dissemination.--
(1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security
shall develop and disseminate best practices for rental
companies and dealers to report suspicious behavior to law
enforcement agencies at the point of sale of a covered rental
vehicle.
(2) Consultation; updates.--The Secretary shall develop and,
as necessary, update the best practices described in paragraph
(1) after consultation with Federal, State, local, and Tribal
law enforcement agencies and relevant transportation security
stakeholders.
(3) Guidance on suspicious behavior.--The Secretary shall
include, in the best practices developed under paragraph (1),
guidance on defining and identifying suspicious behavior in a
manner that protects civil rights and civil liberties.
(b) Report to Congress.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall
submit to Congress a report on the implementation of this section,
including an assessment of--
(1) the impact of the best practices described in subsection
(a) on efforts to protect the United States against terrorist
attacks; and
(2) ways to improve and expand cooperation and engagement
between--
(A) the Department of Homeland Security;
(B) Federal, State, local, and Tribal law enforcement
agencies; and
(C) rental companies, dealers, and other relevant
rental industry stakeholders.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The terms ``dealer'' and ``rental company'' have the
meanings given those terms in section 30102 of title 49, United
States Code.
(2) The term ``covered rental vehicle'' means a motor vehicle
that--
(A) is rented without a driver for an initial term of
less than 4 months; and
(B) is part of a motor vehicle fleet of 35 or more
motor vehicles that are used for rental purposes by a
rental company.
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
The purpose of H.R. 4089, the ``Darren Drake Act,'' is to
enhance the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) efforts to
prevent and mitigate acts of terrorism committed using rental
vehicles. Specifically, the bill requires DHS to develop and
disseminate best practices for vehicle rental companies and
dealers to report suspicious behavior to law enforcement. These
best practices, which must contain guidance on identifying
suspicious behavior in a manner that protects civil rights and
civil liberties, will be developed and updated in consultation
with Federal, State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies
and relevant transportation security stakeholders. The bill
also requires DHS to report to Congress regarding the
implementation of these best practices and other potential ways
to improve coordination between DHS, Federal, State, local, and
Tribal law enforcement, and rental vehicle providers.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
In October 2017, a lone wolf terrorist inspired by ISIS
killed eight people and injured 11 others by ramming a pickup
truck into cyclists and runners along the Hudson River Park
bike path in New York City. The perpetrator rented the pickup
truck used in the attack from a vehicle rental facility at a
home improvement store in New Jersey. Among the deceased was a
32-year-old bicyclist named Darren Drake.
Unfortunately, this deadly vehicle-ramming attack was far
from an isolated incident. To the contrary, terrorists who
subscribe to a wide variety of ideologies have used vehicle-
ramming attacks. In 2016, a terrorist drove a rental truck into
a celebration in Nice, France, killing 86 people. During the
white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017,
one person was killed and 35 others were injured when a
domestic terrorist rammed his personal car into a crowd. Rental
vehicles have also been used in more elaborate terrorist plots.
Timothy McVeigh rented a truck to bomb the Alfred P. Murrah
Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1995. Likewise,
the vehicle that was used in 1993 to plant a bomb at the World
Trade Center in New York City was a rental truck.
The use of vehicles in terrorist attacks is unlikely to
abate. In recent years, pro-ISIS online magazines have
explicitly endorsed and advocated vehicle-ramming attacks.
Meanwhile, there was a surge in vehicle-ramming attacks by far-
right extremists last summer. Unlike bombings, hijackings, and
other more complicated terrorist plots, a vehicle-ramming
attack requires little expertise and can be conducted at a
negligible cost. Moreover, a single individual can easily carry
out such an attack without coordinating with others.
Given the frequency with which bad actors have carried out
attacks using rental vehicles, it is imperative that DHS work
with rental vehicle providers to preempt potential attacks
before they occur. By requiring DHS to provide information to
vehicle rental facilities regarding how to identify suspicious
behavior in a non-discriminatory manner and report such
suspicions to law enforcement, H.R. 4089 will increase the
reporting of suspicious behavior and reduce the likelihood of
additional successful vehicular attacks. The development and
dissemination of these best practices will also help enhance
the working relationship between DHS, other law enforcement
agencies, and rental vehicle providers on such matters.
HEARINGS
For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, the following hearings
were used to develop H.R. 4089:
The Committee did not hold a legislative hearing on H.R.
4089 in the 117th Congress. The legislation was informed by a
hearing held in the 116th Congress. On May 6, 2019, the
Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism held a
hearing entitled ``Local Efforts to Counter the Terror Threat
in New York City: A Retrospective and a Roadmap,'' where the
truck attack that resulted in Darren Drake's death was
specifically discussed. The Subcommittee received testimony
from John Miller, Deputy Commissioner, Intelligence and
Counterterrorism, New York Police Department; Thomas Currao,
Chief of Counterterrorism, Fire Department of the City of New
York; and Louis Klock, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey.
COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
The Committee met on July 28, 2021, a quorum being present,
to consider H.R. 4089 and ordered the measure to be favorably
reported to the House, as amended, by voice vote.
COMMITTEE VOTES
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII requires the Committee to list the
recorded votes on the motion to report legislation and
amendments thereto.
No recorded votes were requested during consideration of
H.R. 4089.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII, the
Committee advises that the findings and recommendations of the
Committee, based on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1)
of rule X, are incorporated in the descriptive portions of this
report.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE, NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT
AUTHORITY, AND TAX EXPENDITURES
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule
XIII and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974, and with respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(3) of
rule XIII and section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974, the Committee has requested but not received from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office a statement as to
whether this bill contains any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT
An estimate of Federal mandates prepared by the Director of
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act was not made available to the
Committee in time for the filing of this report. The Chairman
of the Committee shall cause such estimate to be printed in the
Congressional Record upon its receipt by the Committee.
DUPLICATIVE FEDERAL PROGRAMS
Pursuant to clause 3(c) of rule XIII, the Committee finds
that H.R. 4089 does not contain any provision that establishes
or reauthorizes a program known to be duplicative of another
Federal program.
STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the objectives of
H.R. 4089 are to increase reporting of suspicious behavior at
rental vehicle facilities and enhance the working relationship
between rental vehicle providers and law enforcement to prevent
vehicular terrorist attacks.
CONGRESSIONAL EARMARKS, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS, AND LIMITED TARIFF
BENEFITS ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
In compliance with rule XXI, this bill, as reported,
contains no congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or
limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), or
9(f) of rule XXI.
APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that H.R. 4089 does not relate to the
terms and conditions of employment or access to public services
or accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of
the Congressional Accountability Act.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION
Section 1. Short Title.
This section provides that the bill may be cited as the
``Darren Drake Act''. The bill's namesake, Darren Drake, was a
victim of a vehicle-ramming terrorist attack in 2017 that
utilized a rental truck.
Sec. 2. Best Practices Related to Certain Information Collected by
Rental Companies and Dealers.
This section requires DHS to develop and disseminate best
practices for vehicle rental companies and dealers to report
suspicious behavior related to covered rental vehicles to law
enforcement. The best practices shall be disseminated within 1
year of the date of enactment.
These best practices shall be developed, and thereafter
updated, in consultation with Federal, State, local, and Tribal
law enforcement agencies and relevant transportation security
stakeholders, such as rental companies and dealers. This
provision will help reduce the likelihood of successful acts of
terrorism utilizing rental vehicles by providing rental
companies and dealers with information on how to identify and
report suspicious behavior and ensuring DHS, other law
enforcement agencies, and rental vehicle facilities engage with
one another on such matters.
In addition, to prevent discriminatory profiling, the best
practices produced pursuant to this section must include
guidance on defining and identifying suspicious behavior in a
manner that protects civil rights and civil liberties.
The bill also requires DHS to submit a report to Congress
within 1 year regarding the impact of the best practices on
efforts to prevent vehicular terrorist attacks in the United
States. The report will also include an assessment of ways to
further enhance cooperation and engagement between DHS, other
Federal, State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies, and
rental vehicle companies and dealers.
Finally, this section defines key terms used in the bill.
The terms ``rental company'' and ``dealer'' are afforded the
same meanings as in 42 U.S.C. 30102. Meanwhile, a ``covered
rental vehicle'' is defined as any motor vehicle that is rented
without a driver for a term of less than 4 months and is part
of a rental fleet of 35 or more vehicles.
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