The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation approved legislation that will provide $400 million in security grants to private bus companies. Under the provisions, grants would be administered by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation and applied for by operators for the purposes of protecting their drivers, implementing passenger screening programs, constructing or modifying existing terminals and training employees in threat assessment. Other security implementations include hiring security officers and installing video surveillance and communications equipment. The legislation, authored by U.S. Senator Max Cleland, also provides up to $5 million annually for the Secretary of Transportation to evaluate and coordinate current public and private efforts to improve bus security and safety by establishing best practices.