H.R. 1608

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1608 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1608

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

November 18, 2025

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

AN ACT

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 14 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, public demonstrations, 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) Briefing.--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))).

Passed the House of Representatives November 17, 2025.

Attest:

KEVIN F. MCCUMBER,

Clerk.