HR 1608 — Congress 119
Department of Homeland Security Vehicular Terrorism Prevention and Mitigation Act of 2025
Official source: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1608
Congress.gov subjects: Aviation and airports; Congressional oversight; Crime prevention; Government buildings, facilities, and property; Health facilities and institutions; Industrial facilities; Motor vehicles; Navigation, waterways, harbors; Public transit; Public-private cooperation; State and local government operations; Terrorism; Transportation and Public Works
Issues impacted: Defense & National Security (ai, high), Healthcare (congress_subject, high), Criminal Justice & Public Safety (ai, high)
Official bill text (stored)
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119 HR 1608 IH: Department of Homeland Security Vehicular Terrorism Prevention and Mitigation Act of 2025 U.S. House of Representatives 2025-02-26 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. I 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1608 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 26, 2025 Mr. Gimenez (for himself and Mr. Green of Tennessee ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security A BILL To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to produce a report on emerging threats and countermeasures related to vehicular terrorism, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Department of Homeland Security Vehicular Terrorism Prevention and Mitigation Act of 2025 . 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 fifteen 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. 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, authorized protests, 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) Annual briefings 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) )).
Plain-English summary
Confidence: high · Complexity: moderate · Model: grok-4.5
This bill asks the Department of Homeland Security to dig into the threat of people using cars and trucks as weapons—and write Congress a full report on it.
Within 180 days of the bill becoming law, the DHS Secretary (working with TSA and the cybersecurity folks at CISA) has to deliver that report. It must cover current and future risks, including self-driving cars, ride-shares, and hacking of vehicle software. It also has to map out higher-risk spots like airports, power plants, parades, concerts, and busy city centers, plus what DHS is already doing with barriers, surveillance, and response plans.
The report looks at teamwork with rental companies, car makers, local cops, and others. It asks for ideas on new tech—like ways to remotely stop a vehicle—and checks that privacy and civil rights stay protected. There’s also a piece on teaching the public how to spot and report suspicious vehicle behavior.
Most of the report can be classified (kept secret for security), but an open summary must go on the DHS website. About a month later, the Secretary briefs the key House and Senate committees. The bill notes a deadly New Orleans attack on New Year’s Day 2025 as one reason this work matters.
Related issues
How a vote maps to positions
Impartial mapping: which issue position a Yea vs Nay advances. When a bill has multiple floor votes, each roll can have its own mapping. Bill-level entries (no roll listed) apply as a default when a roll has no specific map. Used for legislator alignment.
All rolls (bill default)
| Issue | Yea advances | Nay advances | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Defense & National Security | Homeland and border-security operations | Status quo / reject this change | The bill requires a DHS-led report and briefing on operational prevention, deterrence, response, interagency coordination, and protective measures against vehicular terrorism as a homeland-security threat, including critical-infrastructure and soft-target protection; a yea aligns with supporting such homeland-security operational assessment and capacity work, while no catalog position cleanly captures opposition to the reporting mandate. |
| Criminal Justice & Public Safety | Targeted tools and interdiction capacity | Status quo / reject this change | The bill centers assessment of tactics, higher-risk sites, law-enforcement coordination, training, and recommended detection, immobilization, predictive-analytics, and cybersecurity tools to interdict vehicle-based terrorist attacks rather than sentencing or broad penalty redesign; a yea supports that targeted tools-and-capacity framing, while no catalog position cleanly captures a nay on the report itself. |