The Secretary shall carry out a research and development program through the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency in the Science and Technology Directorate and in consultation with the Transportation Security Administration and with the Federal Transit Administration, for the purpose of improving the security of public transportation systems.
The Secretary shall award grants or contracts to public or private entities to conduct research and demonstrate technologies and methods to reduce and deter terrorist threats or mitigate damages resulting from terrorist attacks against public transportation systems.
In carrying out research and development projects under this section, the Secretary shall consult with the Chief Privacy Officer of the Department and the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department, as appropriate, and in accordance with section 142 of this title.
Each entity that is awarded a grant or contract under this section shall report annually to the Department on the use of grant or contract funds received under this section to ensure that the awards made are expended in accordance with the purposes of this subchapter and the priorities developed by the Secretary.
The Secretary shall ensure that the research is consistent with the priorities established in the National Strategy for Public Transportation Security and is coordinated, to the extent practicable, with other Federal, State, local, tribal, and private sector public transportation, railroad, commuter railroad, and over-the-road bus research initiatives to leverage resources and avoid unnecessary duplicative efforts.
If the Secretary determines that a grantee or contractor used any portion of the grant or contract funds received under this section for a purpose other than the allowable uses specified under subsection (c), the grantee or contractor shall return any amount so used to the Treasury of the United States.