are four twenty one the nays are zero two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended a concurrent resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table and two and to exclude include extraneous material in the record pertinent there to without objection preside over the committee of the whole pennsylvania mr schuester each will control thirty minutes jasper order order in the chamber so in my commence debate on this issue all conversations please clear the floor the chair recognizes the gentleman from minnesota mr chairman the committee is still not in order gentleman's correct all conversations shall be removed from the house for are about to undertake important debate on important issues members will remove their conversations from the floor of the hall gentleman from minnesota's recognize although our committee has had jurisdiction over rail sector for the past dozen years this is the first time the committee has brought a real safety authorization bill to the house floor it is in fact only the second time in one hundred years that the house will consider amendments to adjustments t hours of service rule in the rail sector we bring to you an important bill that addresses long neglected failings and shortcomings of safety in the rail sector that will make the railroad safer in the future will make jobs for workers and that sector safer in the future will make a safer passage through towns which railroads pass often with toxic substances toxic chemicals frank to the safest way to move those substances but we're going to make it safer with this legislation i particularly want to thank the distinguished chair of the subcommittee on railroads gentlewoman from florida ms brown for her persistent leadership persistent efforts over the past years of service on the committee in support of r safety and the gentleman from florida mr mica ranking member of the full committee participating in substantive discussions that resulted in compromises that we bring to the floor and to the gentleman from pennsylvania is to show stor there's a large rail presence in his own district and of course in the state of pennsylvania and each of the fast five congresses i have induced i've introduced for consideration by the committee broad scope rail safety legislation and pledge that when and if it isn't considered in in each of those congresses that when the majority would turn and i would have the opportunity to lead the committee that we would move such legislation and today we deliver on that commitment the discussions that we had were inclusive they were extensive they were intensive there are adjustments made on both sides with the result that as the gentleman from florida mr diaz balart said during consideration of the rule this is a bipartisan bill the federal railroad administration has reported that the total number of train accidents collisions derailments and others increased from two thousand five hundred four in  over the next decade to three thousand three hundred twenty five in two thousand and five thankfully over the last year that number decreased to two thousand one hundred twenty five those improvements in rail safety statistics are a good sign but i know from more than twenty five years of chairing committees on safety issues i should say that we have a long way to go serious accidents resulting fatalities injuries and environmental damages continue to occur and will continue to occur equipment can fail people make mistakes storms happen that cause those accidents but we have to do everything that is possible in our realm to make sure that those accidents are minimized safety requires constant vigilance by workers on the job by employers by government safety oversight agencies and by the congress whether it's in mining whether in maritime whether in aviation trucking highway passenger vehicle travel or in the railways vigilance is the key to safety safety i define is the relative absence of risk and when we apply that standard to every mode of transportation and we enforce it we will achieve greater safety greater protection of the public interest the f r a says that forty percent of all train accidents result from human factors and that's a comparable number in the other modes of transportation as well in railroading one in four of those accidents results from fatigue in testimony at our committee hearings the national transportation safety board said quote the current railroad hours of service la permit and many rail carriers require the most burdensome the tea inducing work schedule of any federally regulated transportation mode in the country and a comparison of the modes is revealing a commercial part one twenty one airline pilot can work up to a hundred hours a month apart one thirty five generally known as charter operation can work up to one hundred twenty hours a month shipboard personnel on ocean going vessels can work up to three hundred sixty hours a month a truck driver can be on duty for three hundred fifty hours a month but in train crews they can be on duty up to four hundred thirty two hours a that's fourteen hours a day for each of those thirty days fatigue sets in fatigue causes people to lose concentration to lose focus to lose control vince lombardi said fatigue makes towers of a saudi doesn't mean physical cowards he met inability to make the right judgments and that's what the teacher does in the workplace if you have any question about it look at some of the things we say around this body at two three or four o'clock in the morning after fourteen or sixteen hours of debate doesn't make a whole lot of sense when you're listening to it or when you read it and it doesn't make any better sense in the locomotive congress made some slight modifications to the hours of six service law in one thousand nine hundred sixty nine but this bill is the first major reform of rail hours of service standards since nineteen zero seven our duty is to make ours service safer and better and this bill provides signal and train crews with rest prevents them from working more than twelve hours in a day limits limbo time i said at the beginning of the hearings it was good enough for the pope to eliminate limbaugh to be good enough for the congress to at least eliminate it limit it in rail service the bill also requires all class one railroads implement a positive train control system which was the n t s b most wanted transportation safety improvement since their list was developed in  legislation also addresses track safety in two thousand and six track related accidents surpassed human factors as the leading cause of all train accidents just look at the list most nation's railways call into question the adequacy of track safety regulation and f r a a federal railroad administration oversight of those conditions this bill requires a railroad inspector tracks to look for internal defects and provides increased funding for federal railroad administration for track inspection technology and strengthens enforcement at the federal railroad administration f r investigated just thirteen percent of the most serious grade crossing collisions responsibility for investigating what the f r a did only thirteen percent that's not good enough that's not conducting oversight that's not accept accepting and exercising you r governmental oversight responsibility and responsibility to the public so we increased the number of inspectors for safety at the f r a will double the number of federal rail safety inspectors over the next four years and we do many other items that are of great importance and i ask unanimous consent to include in the record at this point the committee document that lists in specific we are here today to consider one of the most important piece of legislation that we will undertake this year as the as the chairman pointed out the federal rail safety improvement act of two thousand and seven  chairman pointed out there are still accidents that occur and there are still deaths that occur on rail but to put that into perspective in two thousand and six it was in fact the safest year ever in our nation's railroad growth history over the past thirty years we have made tremendous progress in reducing the number of train accidents and deaths that occur around our rail yards and railroad lines let me give you some of those statistics six there were thirty three railroad employees that were killed in two thousand and six it's down to sixteen and at sixteen too many and we can continue to to reduce that as we're attempting to do in this bill but as you can see that there's been definite improvement passenger trains which of which are carrying in one thousand nine hundred sixty three hundred ninety seven million people in that year there were twelve passengers killed today and two are in two thousand and six there were four hundred or excuse me five hundred forty nine million passengers that were transported by train and there were only two killed in two thousand and six once again a significant decrease any deaths is too many but we're seeing positive results in the rail industry in one thousand nine hundred sixty four hundred eighty people were killed a grade crossing accidents and in two thousand and six that number again is down to three hundred sixty nine when those numbers are hi the rail industry one of the biggest issues we address in this bill is limbo time the time that train crews must wait for pickup at the end of the run limbo time is very complicated we went through some complicated negotiations but in the end limbo time will still exist and i think it's important that people know that limbo time that employees wait at the end of the run they are being paid for limbo time but it unintended consequences like forcing train crews to relocate from their homes whether or not reporting points the compromise language in this bill avoids disrupting the lives of rail workers and should mit railroad operations to continue smoothly and safely and there are safety concerns addressed by this bill's installation of positive train control or p t c the bill mandates that p t c be installed by the year two thousand and fourteen but also provides up to two years of leeway in a case in case a better more effective system comes that comes along has developed installation of p t c will likely cost about three billion dollars but the people that use the system will pay for that and it's not that's not going to be passed along to the taxpayers but the people that use the system and the rail industry will see some positive positive opera things happening in their operations to help them lower their cos that's i think it's important that we install an effective and reliable system and this bill will ensure that i must admit that i think the bill still has some weaknesses and we need to continue to to improve the in some critical areas grade crossing and trust passing who submitted an important amendment in the committee markup the amended is now part of the bill and authorized up to two hundred fifty thousand dollars in emergency funding for a crossing which experiences a collision with a school bus or an accident there's a fatality recently if th brown of south carolina who help us create a provision fostering the use of vance warning devices at railroad crossings and in closing i want to thank the chairman mr oberstar and chairwoman brown the subcommittee chair for working with me and twenty ninety five and i reserve the balance of my time to reserve the balance of his time the gentleman from minnesota's recognize mr chairman i yield five minutes distinguished chair of our real subcommittee as brown gentleman from florida gentleman from of transportation is the committed that put america to work and i want to thank you let's put america to work faith in me and i also want to thank mr mica and mr schuster for their hard work on this legislation red rose which often operates freight rail lines are moving more passengers which means that there are a lot of pressure on the rail system and this is a major impact own work and public safety since the beginning of the hundred and tim congress this subcommittee is hair held six hearings own rail safety examined perty the role of human factors in real accidents and the reauthorization of the federal rail safety we also held to people here and in texas and california in addition to the subcommittees hearings we met with label the railroad government agencies and other interested parties in crafting this legislation through some tough negotiations we was able to develop a bipartisan agreement on most difficult issues and i believe we have a really good deal let me highlight and them of the vision in the bill h r twenty nine to five the bill seeks to help prevent accidents caused by human factors which accounts for about forty percent of all real accidents but stranded in the hour to service lulls increasing worker training and qualifications and implementing a safety technology this will improve safety at our nation great cross and it requires railroads to establish maintain and post a toll free number at all great crossings to receive regarding malfunctions  simply put this legislation is going to save lives and i look forward to going to congress and putting a bill on the president this was his signature i want to again thank jim oberstar for his leadership of the and i would encourage all of my colleagues to support this legislation but the balance of my time gentle lady yield back gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized i yield as much time as he may consume to the distinguished ranking member of  transportation gentleman from florida is recognized well thank you mr chairman and thank you mr schuester for yielding me time and also for managing the time today on this bill mr schuster's doing an outstanding job and leading the republican side of the rail subcommittee i'm appreciative his fine efforts also the great efforts of my colleague from florida miss brown who chairs the subcommittee and indeed we are fortunate to have someone opportunity to bring his bill to the floor today of course ladies and gentlemen of the house my colleagues we all want to say frail we want safe infrastructure in our nation and it is important that we do everything possible to move safety forward and to make certain that freight rail passenger rail that our crossings that those that work and employed in this great industry are as safe as possible and i think that that was the original intent now let me say i have an agreement with mr oberstar miss brown and mr schuster to support this bill on passage and i intend to put my card in the reader and i will vote yes that doesn't prohibit me from talking a little bit about the bill in the genesis of this bill now the intent is one thing about this legislation and i think again it was safety and well intended but unfortunately i think we started out with a bad bill a bill that you know as other side won the election and there were some presents to be presented to labor this doesn't have a red bow on it but this is a this started out as something i think that was sort of a gift to labor from the election and that's a nice to to approach legislation from that standpoint but i think we've been able to take what i consider a very bad bill that its intention was to to actually codified some of the labor work rules relating to  rail industry we take in that bad legislation we've made it a little bit better i think we still have a ways to go there are some good things in this mr oberstar pointed out that we did take the the number one recommendation of the n t s b the national safety transportation board and that's the board you know that doesn't vest negate accidents and it's important that we take from them the best information they have possible and then translate that into legislative action so that accident doesn't occur so one we have taken their recommendation of positive train separation and that's part of this bill and i'm complementary of that i think mr graves has the gentleman from missouri  in fact the latest statistics that we have there were sixteen employed deaths in two thousand six six of the deaths involved train accidents so it's a very low number that's compared to twenty five thirty three employees deaths in one nine hundred ninety six so there is substantial improvement in that regard but if you look at some of the factors and we have the factors that cause the train accidents you find the human factor is number one these are and it accounts for some thirty five almost thirty six percent of train accidents this bill doesn't do enough really to deal with the human factors and my opinion some end of that involves training and some other things that we should be addressing the second is track defects i had a chance when i was going to college i work sixteen hours a day seven days a week on the rail and finance my college education part of it got to see some of what happens on the rail roads a firsthand and tracked effects today are very difficult to detect just by some of the measures that we have for example in this bill this bill mandates that we have almost a doubling of track inspectors now that's a nice gift also to the unions will get a few more union members but is that what we need when the way to really detect track defects is with the latest technology and equipment i did say the bill has authorization for acquisition of i think six additional testing a track testing  pieces of equipment but if we really want to do that we should be spending not just more money on bodies and inspectors and routine inspections increasing those making people kind of make work  we should be first of all making certain that we have a wrist base inspection system when i became chairman of aviation that was one of the things we did in aviation and i gave my blessings to back in  ninety one we've had we've enjoyed the safest period of aviation safety passenger aircraft safety in the history of our nation and i believe that's because it's a risk based system but i'm going out on monday we're going to inspect this piece of equipment and then we schedule that for the next month on monday and we go back and we do it and we add inspectors we look at where their wrists are and that's where we put our resources so folks it's not always how much we spend  it's how we spend it and how we apply those dollars so again i have some questions about about the approach in this bill so we do have an agreement please to support this my hope is that we can take this questions about the amendment i will support the manager's amendment which i agreed to the other three members have asked me and i say you pick and choose the store oberstar and i did not to make the decision on what the rules committee the three other amendments they brought forth and you'll have to assess them as to their own merits so it is important we take this legislation up it is important that we move together in a bipartisan fashion i have a little bit different set of priorities again on some of the the issues that we've addressed in the legislation but i have a fine hope that through a bipartisan future effort we can improve this legislation and continue to make certain that our rail employees our ralph hassinger is and those that across the railroad tracks in our communities are safe and  the balance of my time general neill's back gentleman from minnesota's recognize i yield myself fifteen seconds thank the gentleman for his comments for his support of the bill delighted to learn the gentleman spent so much time  on the railroad going to college who we share that i worked on the rails during my years in the air or mines and i worked those double shifts as well and i know how hard our was of service are and how important it is for us to put those limits on now three misting with gentleman from colorado mr salazar gentleman from colorado is recognized for three minutes i thank the gentleman from minnesota and i thank you for your leadership on this very important bill this bill addresses many important issues that have been ignored for far too long i'm grateful to the chairwoman as well for the inclusion of the language it authorizes funding for the tunnel to be built at the transportation technology center an internationally recognized training testing facility that she was able to tour last year as located in public colorado t t c is used by the federal railroad administration to conduct significant research and development on rail safety t t c offers forty eight miles of railroad track to test rolling stock track components signal and safety devices track structure and vehicle performance it also has several one of a kind laboratory test facility is used for evaluating vehicle dynamics and structural characteristics and advanced braking systems t t c already operates as a world class research and test center offering a wide range of capabilities and railroad and transit research for the past two years we've been working to get funding for the facility for an underground r l station and tunnel at p t c the tunnel will add to the center's capabilities and serve as an invaluable resource as we strive to ensure our nation's railroads are safe and secure against possible terror attacks recent events of sally demonstrated the vulnerability of underground mass transit systems safety experts have identified a number of technology and training needs to prevent attacks on tunnels and lessen the consequences of such attacks these needs include detection systems dispersal control and decontamination techniques the distinctive remote environment of t t c allows such testing and training activities to be carried out at a secure location and without destruction to the flow of passenger rail traffic in urban areas i applaud chairman a over star carolyn brown and mr important rail safety bill of course charlie brown chairman oberstar they have been exemplary and working in a bipartisan way to bring this product to the house floor today and i certainly hope all members will find a way to support this legislation i rise today to speak to only one element of the bill that i had particular interest in and that is with regard to a new reporting requirement for the rails to disclose on an annual basis to the surface transportation board the amount of money spent out of their capital for improvements to railtrack locomotives and other related maintenance which will give us i believe for the first time critical metrics to analyze what they are doing to preserve the safety of our rail system of course safety is uppermost in our mind today but our rail system is also the heart of our economy and the ability to move goods and services and people across this great nation over our rail system is absolutely essential going forward and we must judge based on their actual expenditure whether the rails themselves are engaging in appropriate conduct in spending the necessary funds to make the system safe and sound i have great concerns that in periods of record profitability wall these systems as being very undervalued in fact there are indications that some hedge fund managers are acquiring large blocks of railroad stock and the consequential reaction has been by the rails to repurchase their own stock and perhaps divert needed resources from necessary and very important infrastructure improvements so i commend the committee leadership for the inclusion of this important provision as i think going forward it would enable this congress to take actions that are necessary and proper to preserve this daily carrying over fourteen thousand containers many containing hazaras material carrying four hundred billion dollars worth of trade most of it for the eastern part of the united states and is expected to triple by the year two thousand and twenty we have experienced many derailments in my area and that has caused great distress not only to my family's to the businesses the damage the economic impact it has had the threat to public safety and the anxiety cost along that u s attorney general's authority to bring civil action against the railroads increasing penalties increasing reporting in forstmann actions and many other areas that are very very important i will be including two of my image this bill includes two of my amendment to section two six zero five creating strict training standards for railroad inspectors tough training for all real employees who expressed to us their lack of training curriculum and additional training requirements for railroad inspectors and accidents in a timely basis and i couldn't agree more with the gentleman we need to look at new technology that is going to help us get there but we also need the support of the railroads my second amendment section four zero seven authorizes one point five million for operational life safety for a total of six million and i certainly want to show that we all cooperate in it and look forward to well having this boat passed with great success thank you which almost time is expired gentleman from pennsylvania is rocking the chairman i like to yield three minutes to the distinguished former chairman of the real subcommittee and one of america's experts on the rail industry that's what i want from ohio is recognized for three minutes and i thank you rise today in support of h r twenty ninety five the federal road safety improvement act of two thousand and seven like a number of the speakers who will speak on this bill today when the bill was first introduced i had some difficulty with some of the provisions but i want to thank  german oberstar and chairwoman brown and ranking member mike and ranking member schuster for continuing the great all mark of the transportation infrastructure committee and working through those issues be it limbo time be it federal preemption be it a variety of other issues and reaching a product that was brought to the floor today that i think that most if not all of us will be supportive as well and then just a moment about chairman oberstar you know when the majority changed that there's more democrats on the committee than there are republicans and they could write their own bill but that hasn't been the way the committees ever worked and that isn't the way the chairman oberstar is running the committee either and he reached out to our side of the aisle to talk about these issues and the result is that he's brought to the floor a piece of legislation that  will overwhelmingly pass sometime later this evening this important legislation will bring industry and government long way towards the shared goal of improving rail safety although the number of train accidents decreased last year by almost five hundred it's unclear whether that one year progress will continue we are and we should always be looking for new ways to improve safety not only for railroad employees but for the surrounding communities as well despite everyone's best intentions disasters will strike the current speaker pro tem is well aware in january of two thousand and two a canadian pacific freight train derailed thirty one of its one hundred twelve cars in my not north dakota five tankers carrying and hydrous ammonia liquefied compressed gas catastrophic a ruptured in a toxic vapor  covered the darrelle mine site and surrounding area more than eleven thousand people in the area were impacted there was one fatality more than three hundred people were injured including two members of the crew damages in that event exceeded two million dollars and more than eight million dollars has been spent for environmental clean more than one thousand residents were evacuated schools were disrupted roads highways and businesses were closed fortunately in our event there were no injuries but it was a tremendous disruption in the lives of many people and the six law enforcement agencies and twenty four local fire departments that responded have put in an unknown and untold number of overtime hours officials are now only now evaluating the environmental fallout as they search for a cause to its credit c s x railroad has stepped up following the incident they're paying for hotel rooms of displaced persons assisting in a variety of manners with the recovering cleanup efforts and have shown that they're willing to take responsibility when something goes awry our local responders and c s x works together and provided a seamless response in painesville i'm also happy to announce  recognized an additional minute i thank you the company has offered to work to cover the cost incurred by our local first responders i greatly appreciate that and know that this is going to be a huge relief to cash strapped communities in my district was budget cannot handle the overtime while c s x is doing its best to minimize the damage this does do a real menace caused that goes to show that when accidents do happen the disruption is enormous we must do everything that we can to prevent these types of incidents from occurring and the bill that mr oberstar has brought forward today and before the congress takes a number of steps in the right direction i urge my colleagues to support the bill and you'll back the balance of my time general neill's back the gentleman from minnesota's recognized you know myself five seconds to express my great sympathy with the gentleman from ohio on the tragedy and for his description of represent partial cargo which is the rail hub of the nation and i understand just how important where road traffic is rose arce in this country both passenger and freight and all transportation safety is key in this bill makes crucial improvements in safety for rail employees passengers in all americans who live work travel along rail lines and i think men chairman over star  chairwoman brown ranking member schuster ranking member mica for their work on this bill among the other improvements that come in this bill h r twenty ninety five works to strengthen the integrity of our nation federal funding to expedite p t c installations p t c systems can drastically reduce collisions the rail ment's in other accidents was the same time improving efficiency clearly a much needed vance i also want to speak right now in strong support of them in the polish town amendment which broadly ensured mexican trains entering the us continue to receive proper brake mechanical and  inspections by highly skilled american personnel mr chairman this bill is essential for continued safety of our railways i urge adoption of the pass on amendment and passage of the underlying bill yield back the balance of my time gentleman yield back gentleman from pennsylvania at this time i don't i have no further speakers socrates or the balance of my time gentleman reserves gentleman from minnesota has recognized me inquire of the gentleman how many needed this is a public transportation bill and it looks to our part of our economy upon which we are disproportionately dependent and also happens to be a mode of transportation that is relatively clean i got to thinking about the importance of this bill mr chairman and i could only think about where we've spent much more time and that on air travel yet we limited the time that pilots and for that matter other air personnel can be on duty and certainly in the air but rail employees for decades have simply absorbed the burden of extraordinary numbers of hours away from home on duty how have they been able to have we escaped some catastrophic accidents that would mean going our minds i think only because of the courage and the perseverance of rail personnel who obviously have worked through fatigue and who have in it simply taken on their  shoulders most of the hardships and only want to think about what the cost of family life has been with the cost the children the cost of being away when there's been an emergency or a death in the family or someone's lingering i was and when i think about that because when i to thank the courage of rail workers and especially do i want to do so as a member of the homeland security committee which is deeply affected as well and your time has expired the gentleman from pennsylvania pennsylvania has eleven minutes remaining the gentleman from minnesota has done a half minutes remaining from which two minutes has been yielded to the gentlewoman from new york gentlewoman from new yorkers recognized for two minutes thank you i'd like to thank chairman not of a star ranking member of my character chairwoman brown ranking member schuster for their work on this bill my district is located in a densely populated area on long island new york we have the comfort and convenience of rail transportation to new subst substantial impact on the quality of life of individuals living in those communities for example in cedarhurst new york there are five train crosses and within a half mile because the crossings is so close together the result is a continuous one blast as the train move through the community the windows can be so loud and last so long that individuals must stop at any ongoing conversations for several minutes this happens most often during rush hour but continues approximately fifty times throughout the day individuals find it difficult to sleep through the floor noise even with the use of earplugs and or welcome early in the morning and late in the evening also because my district is so densely populated the one ois bounces off many of the buildings nearest eroded seems to fire is that most of the community i support the federal railroad administration its primary goal of ensuring the safety of where roads and trains across the country in the fourth congressional district of new york i do not and will not support any measure that will reduce the safety of roads and trains coming through my community with that in mind i also understand that the effect of locomotive noise does interfere with the quality of life i have received countless letters and e mails from my constituents expressing how noise affects their daily lives due to the impact that locomotive or noise has on the communities in my district i support the language in the manager's amendment that allows the secretary to consider the impact of point noise on the local community and the unique characteristics of the community that is serving it also being able to go for a waiver an application i want to thank chairman of the store for working with me on this issue and allowing me the time to express my support for his amendment and the bill time but does not seem to be one floor at this moment i am prepared to close if you are and if the gentleman member does not arrive here than not i will ask the german from texas which does use one minute at madmen that would allow an opportunity for the amendment would prohibit mexican companies as spector's from performing mechanical inspections of trucks of trains unless they are meet specific u s standards and including rigorous training of inspectors and i think that's essential we have some ten thousand range the across the u s mexican border through my district alone we've had over four derailment derailments in two thousand and four we think this is an amendment that is important and that is critical in order for us to continue to have some safety in those trains so i want to encourage a passage of the amendment by congresswoman grace the polytunnel that allow an opportunity for those inspectors to be well trained and to make sure that they specify u s standards before that occurs as i indicated earlier i represent the longest stretch of the mexican border of any other member of congress and i think that this is an area of significance and importance with we've had some significant differences but we were able to work out and have a produce a product that has bipartisan support in the committee for me it was a great experience working with chairwoman brown and especially working with chairman over star times is quite daunting to the negotiations with somebody who not only knows the current issues of the rail industry but knows the the vast history of the rail industry so i made it through the process and learned quite a bit and i appreciate the chairman  chairwoman for working with me and also of course mr mica for giving me the responsibility on this this piece of legislation and i urge my colleagues who support h r twenty nine to five the federal rail safety improvement act of two thousand effort to the referee this first day on the committee asking the committee to hold a hearing in two thousand and one in his district on a rail maintenance yard  not to just throw issues on the table we rather sat around the table after the hearings and discussed in detail repeatedly subject matters made concessions on each side adjustments understanding each other's concerns and reached not the ideal of each side but ideal in the best public interest and the result is i believe a bill that substantially advances the cause of rail safety i must say in passing that it is that it diminishes the substance of the bill to say that it is as previous speaker dead a gift labor this is a gift to all americans to all residents of communities that are home to railroads to rail  make up yards through which the goods of america move through which the coal and grain and the containers move its safety for them its safety for the workers on the railroads it's in the best interest of all america heard passage of the bill you back the balance of my time gentleman yield back all time a general debate has expired pursuant to the rule the amendment in the nature of the shall be considered as an original bill for purposes of amendment under the five minute rule and shall be considered grette no amendment to the committee amendment is in order except those printed in the house report one tan three seventy one h m m it may be offered only in the order printed in the report by a member designated in the report shall be considered gradually debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent of the amendment sh amendment shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question it is now in order to consider amendment number one printed house report one ten three seventy one for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota  solution seven to four the gentleman from minnesota mr over starr and a member opposed each control five minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from minnesota mr chairman i yield myself two minutes jones recognized for two minutes the collapse of the interstate thirty five bridge in minneapolis on august first while i was at this very microphone managing a conference report on water resources amendments  stunned the nation stunned this house startled our my colleagues in the minnesota delegation and our colleagues on the committee but shortly after that the federal railroad administration and the g a o warned that many of the nation's seventy six thousand railroad bridges may also be at risk f r a on september eleventh issued a rail safety advisory on railroad bridge is reporting the a train of solid fuel rocket motors derailed when timber trussell railroad bridge collapsed under that train several cars one and carrying out rocket motor roll on their side six people were injured deficiencies in steel bridges that could easily resulted in serious track train accidents close quote we deal with that issue among others in this manager's amendment i reserve the balance of my time this time gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized mr r a's existing the federal mysteries existing safety advisory on railroad bridges this provision will help insure that the recent tragic collapse of the highly bridge in minneapolis will never be repeated in our nation's rail system  the managers and then also modifies the swift act which requires locomotives to sound whistles in every crossing in the nation the amend it will require f r a to take into account the impact of horn use on local communities for example the town of baldwin florida is only a mile wide that has a number of railroad crossings and heavy train traffic according to mayor godbold of baldwin locomotive sound their horns over a thousand times per day in this small town the men will help baldwin in other towns balance issues of safety and noise pollution finally the manager's amendment makes in technical corrections deleting the preemption and the police provisions which have already been enacted in the nine eleven bill thank you and member and mr schuester for doing such a wonderful job on this on this bill the chairman is passionate about this issue and the american public is fortunate to have people in chair positions who are passionate and knowledgeable about the subject matter our us today in support r twenty ninety five the federal railroad railroad safety improvement act i'm pleased to be a co sponsor of this legislation which reorganize the federal railroad administration as the federal railroad safety administration and requires the sector transportation to develop a long term strategy for reducing the number and rights of accidents injuries and fatalities involving railroads is not just linguistics it's action and direction the city of memphis which lies along the tennessee border at the juncture of mississippi in arkansas was a major hub of the railroad industry city ranks third nationally in the class number of class one railroads according to the method regional chamber two hundred twenty trains pass through memphis every single day between january and july of two thousand and seven there were thirty six rail exits and shelby county two of which were fatal consequently railroad safety is critically important to my district i was placed this congress pass in an accident chart fourteen zero one the rail of public transportation security act which was designed to enhance the security of our railroad transportation systems the bill also adopted men introduced which call of the century transportation in consultation with the homeland security secretary to minimize the hazards of toxic in a life toxic and life in hazaras materials this legislation we vote on today goes further by focusing on rail safety for passengers pedestrian train workers the bill changes the hours of service rules for railroad workers and includes measures to improve the safety of areas where road tracks cross roads and this happens too frequently in memphis particularly the university district in response to an inspection personnel shortages the measure also requires department transportation increase the number of safety administration inspections and personnel setting targets that are reachable and it's good for the public our job members to support the passage and you back the balance of my time thanks and he is back objections the administration raises in its statement of administration policy so they are objecting to two items that are not in the bill nor in the manager's amendment and and therefore i have  now in order to consider a member number to put in house report one ten three seventy one for what purpose does the gentleman just a general woman from california by mr chairman i have an amendment at the desk that will designate the man and then number two printed in inspectors who are highly trained must follow stringent federal railroad administration requirements fully understand u s rail safety laws earn a good salary with strong benefits and the railroad companies they work for are fully liable in case of an accident us railroad companies have been trying to outsource inspections to mexico union pacific has been twice denied by f r a in two thousand and four and two thousand and seven we need and mustered up a process of department transportation to ensure continued protection would lead jim at inspections next week and inspectors have much lower standards than for safety then our us inspectors are not versed in u s laws and regulations are poorly compensated compared to us inspectors and my  t ensures that all trains coming to the united states from mexico continue to be safer rail travel in our country and prohibits mexican inspectors from performing safety inspections unless the u s secretary of transportation performed under u s regulation and u s standards that the mexican government is effectively enforcing such safety standards that inspectors are receiving comparable classroom and on the job training thing in the u s the u s is pictured records are maintained in both english and spanish records are available to the up for a for review and the authority is permitted to perform on site inspections in mexico my m m and also for bits inspections of any hazardous material railcars from taking place in mexico f r a must have the ability to grant waivers only if strict safety precautions are in place and adhere to my amendment protects against future attempts by railroads to supply to apply for inspections in thanks gentlemen i don't think i'll need them german has well john i have some concerns and i i think he this is appropriate for him to express and we all have a dialogue about them thanks adam is recognized for two minutes i thank the chairman i do have some concerns with this amendment which attempts to regulate rail car brake inspections in mexico as i understand it this issue has already been dealt with by the f r a the union pacific railroad had requested a limited waiver to do certain air brake testing in mexico but the federal  a minute to point out that they also don't know is right the f r a did the ny union pacific the denial quote is without prejudice to the submission of a future request addressing the same subject matter so the issue remains alive and it seems to me appropriate to address it in this matter and the german does raise a concern about the nafta agreement and that is that such language might run  contravention to but safety always trumps other issues in our aviation trade agreements with other countries the us rules on safety prevail over those of the and i think we should explore further in that context and with relationship to aviation fuel myself another fifteen seconds the effect of nafta in effect this language might have within nafta and i'll be tano for her leadership on this amendment this amendment is about protecting american jobs and i state about protecting american jobs it's about ensuring the safety of workers in our communities it's about securing our nation's borders it must not let the railroad industry outsource its work the safety and security our nation depends on it ten thousands of trains in the united states from a quote here we must ensure the highest standards of safety inspection of these trains american workers know how to do it best this amendment ensures the highest safety training in forstmann and standards are met in the wake of nine eleven in light of trail derailment we've seen and i know that in my district we had one speaker i'm glad that the chairman of the committee pointed out that this is an ongoing issue in two thousand and four two thousand and seven when it was requested it made been denied but in san antonio we've had such a rash of accidents for the past five years that insufficient and on satisfactory when they withdrew their request in two thousand and seven the company spokesman commit our comment it that the political climate was wrong for them to push for the waiver or let us make sure that the political climate remains unfavorable and that common sense will prevail and only so if we pass this amendment and there are john my colleagues to vote yes on the public on no amendments are you back germany is back the gentleman from minnesota recognized for two minutes thank you i want to come in the congresswoman for images in this amendment she's a great addition to the transportation committee but she has come with strong support to re enroll think then i want to think that this is  perfect a dish into the safety legislation this amendment prohibit messick and companies and it's back to both of ponding performing mechanical and brake inspection unless the u s safety training enforce standards it makes no sense to apply real safety images in the u s if that does not go to apply but trains coming from mexico this is just a common sense i'm him and i encourage my colleagues to support this amendment and i yield back the balance to my time california does have the right to cause just thirty seconds remaining gentleman from minnesota with further carving out about about the issues raised by the gentleman from pennsylvania about possible effect on nafta is a matter that going forward the chairman over starr and ranking member mica and all my colleagues this is a very important to continue making the f r a the safety agency it's supposed to be we need to be able to ensure that any rail car travelling the us carries the same safety inspections and standards as any other rail car so with that i ask for and i vote on this and support for the amendment and the full bill and you'll back the balance of my time gentlewoman yield back questions on three printed in house report number one ten dash three seventy one offered by mr polonius new jersey should house resolution seven twenty four the gentleman from new jersey mr polonca member of polls will it control five minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey thank you mr speaker i yield myself such time as they may consume it is recognized this is figured this amendment will exclude solid waste transfer facilities from the exclusive jurisdiction of the surface transportation board and provide that laws outlined in the s t v's jurisdiction would not preempt the authority of state and local governments to regulate such facilities in new jersey and all over the country certain ways handlers and railroad companies have tried to exploit a supposedly loophole in federal law in order to set up unregulated waste transfer facilities under the interstate commerce commission terminations act of ninety five the s t b has exclusive jurisdiction over transportation by rail carriers and the ability to grant federal preemption over other law level local state or federal that might impede such transportation but congress intended such authority to extend own to transportation by rail not to the operation of facilities that are merely sited next to real operations or have a business connection to a real company unfortunately certain companies have exploited this loophole to build or plant waste transfer stations next to rail lines and avoid any regulation from the state or local authorities it's my hope that this amendment will take the s t b out of the waste management business by ensuring that state and local governments have the right to regulate solid waste transfer stations we must ensure that solid waste the sillies allow the rules follow the rules i should say and do not pollute pristine open space and do all that we can to protect our environment from unregulated facilities and that with that mr speaker are i should say mr chairman i reserve the balance of my time german reserves a balance of this time gentleman from pennsylvania recognize mr chairman i rise in time in opposition germany recognize thank in this amendment to deals with s t b preemption laws regarding where world will pass reported waste transportation facilities rail subcommittee has held several hearings on this issue one last year and another just yesterday i have had i have great interest in this issue i said my home state of pennsylvania is the number one recipient of imported waste from other states most of the coming from new jersey and new york city so as i said i have great concern yesterday's hearing we heard many complaints from local communities about illegal railroads or not even railroads but people who claim the roads that have waste the syllabus we also heard from the s t b that most local laws are not currently preempted by federal law in fact many and he's claiming federal preemption do not have legitimate claims i think it's clear that this law has to be clarified to make it easier to stop unscrupulous operators that the mr paul own mentioned in his state of new jersey but regarding mr pones amendment the s t amendment is that it is overbroad and can result in local land use and zoning agencies exerting jurisdiction over legitimate rail transportation projects and impeding interstate commerce in addition the s t b is already in the process of addressing many of these issues which they need to do and if people are out there operating waste facility in and out in the illegal or unscrupulous manner that needs to be addressed i would like to work with mr polonia on this issue but i'm going to oppose this amendment on those grounds and we need to encourage states to deal with their trash problem all of us across this country we all produce waste we've got to make sure in our neighborhoods that we're taking care of our own ways to not shipping it to other states and i'm just concerned that inquire how much time remains a moment from new jersey has three and a half minutes remaining the gentleman from pennsylvania has three minutes remaining and i yield the time now to the gentlewoman from florida the  subcommittee chair do you care to specify a particular amount of time one minute one minute gentleman from florida is recognized for one minute i want to compliment congressman pallone place hot work on this issue of radio on a waste transfer pennsylvania is recognize have no further speakers gentlemen reserves resounds my gentleman from pennsylvania has a right to call this gentleman reserves gentleman from new jersey i yield one minute to the chairman of the committee gentleman from innocence recognized for one minute the essential issue here is is not whether the knox yes fumes whether the groundwater pollution caused by solid waste deposit on real property should be regular the question here is whether the language in the manner in which the gentleman proposes to to prevent those effects the one of the commissioners of surface transportation board said i believe an amendment such as this is necessary to redress the growing misuse of federal preemption laws respect the solid waste trans load facilities but he too expressed a concern that it could be interpreted too broadly to frustrate the zoning of legitimates always transport facilities this is an issue he says that can be worked out it can be worked out and we are committed to doing so with participation of judgment from pennsylvania gentleman's time has expired a time remaining gentleman from pennsylvania has three minutes remaining gentleman from new jersey has one minute one half minutes from any gentleman from pennsylvania has a right to close how much time do i have three minutes from and i thank you very much i agree with what the chairman said and again i don't disagree with the situation that that is occurring what appears is significant in new jersey  i am concerned as i stated that this language is going to allow communities to stop legitimate and law abiding rael entities and operations to stop them when they don't like it so i have a great concern of that i i believe that the trash issue as i said is significant pennsylvania is the biggest importer of trash in the nation but ten million tons every year come across the border into pennsylvania my concern is that this problem will get pushed out of new jersey and out of other states in the states that are more willing to handle it and as i said we all produce trash i'm sure today i've got half away scanner more in my office in my community produces trash communities have to deal with that problem it's again nobody wants a landfill in their backyard but the reality is we've got to have landfills we've got to have these waste the transfer stations we've got to make sure though that people that are operating him are operating properly so that we are not damaging the environment that we aren't doing negative things to our communities because as we heard yesterday in outside of philadelphia and bensalem  need local communities have to have some say but we've got to make sure that they're not overstepping and stopping a legitimate operations i've had to deal i think it's clear the amendment does not apply to containerized facilities they still are subject to the federal preemption the only question is whether there is infringement on preemption with open facilities open solid waste storage facilities and that is a matter on which i think further  jersey recognize i would yield one minute to the gentleman from pennsylvania i thank the gentleman from new jersey mr speaker i write day to urge my colleagues to support this critical moment that we are offering with my good friend mr plaut of new jersey right now and districts across america companies are trying to skirt the law and put our communities at risk and my district in bend sound bucks county pennsylvania a company is trying to construct a waste transfer facility despite widespread public opposition a few months ago i still with the leaders of bensalem mayor joseph di girolamo and state representative d m g geraldo and we urge congress to close the loophole that allows its end run around local and state laws this is not a partisan issue as these two republican leaders of bensalem will test to after all ensuring that our neighborhoods are kept clean and safe it isn't about politics it's about doing what is right with the cement we have an opportunity to protect our neighborhoods i urge swift passage of this important amendment and i yield back the balance of my time gentleman's time has expired woman from new jersey is recognized for the thirty seconds remaining thank you let me just thank mr murphy who i should say is a co sponsor with me of this amendment i just ask unanimous consent to enter into the record the letter from commissioner a commission of surface transportation board mr francis maulvi to chairwoman brown where he indicates his support of the amendment he does as as the chairman of the full committee say believe that there may be some issues that were have to be worked out as we move to conference or whatever on this and i would assure my colleague from pennsylvania that we would try to do that to consider this question for and for what in house report number one ten dash three seventy one authored by mr roy parker of california pursuant to house resolution seven twenty four mr rohrabacher an amendment opposed will each control five minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from california thank you very much mr chairman the amendment i am offering on behalf of myself and my colleague from california miss richardson provides authorization for the rails of the next generation as this congress looks at ways to curb pollution new technologies such as electric conveyor systems are key and reducing our impact on the environment while getting the job done more efficiently thus promoting economic prosperity and of course the wellbeing of the american people currently log jams occur as offloaded freight is bottlenecked at our ports waiting for trucks to take containers t interior rail and trucking hubs electric conveyor systems on a set rail can streamline this process reducing costs to the american consumer as well as eliminating pollution that would otherwise come from these container hauling trucks it is also an issue of safety american ports are found in coastal metropolitan areas as the minnesota bridge disaster reminds us it is fitting that we look at the safety of our current infrastructure but we should also look towards the future and the systems that will be in place in the years ahead electric conveyor systems have already proven to be extremely safe and efficient but we should but we would be remiss if we do not offered these systems the same funds for safety that we offer our current rail lines and that is what this amendment seeks to accomplish and i would urge my colleagues to support this amendment is an advocate for this initiative i the governor of his state is an advocate for it they mayor of los angeles is an advocate for it i know the city of san diego and they're is an advocate for the said i'm an advocate for it and i think that in this initiative we have found the ideal solution to years of development but finally general atomics under contract with the department chance to sion perfected the technology and then it was the port of long beach law los angeles that said we'd like to move containers with it before you start moving people the ideal solution i wish i'd thought of it myself but it was the port that came to the idea and then the gentleman from california working with the port authority and with the state has  embraced this idea this can be very exciting successful initiative we have a paying customer containers that can and with a combination of some federal grant funding and loans from the railroad infrastructure i yell myself another thirty seconds loans from the rail infrastructure loan program to whatever the sponsoring authority the port of jacksonville would be interested in such an initiative so i just want to point out that this is the gentleman and vance is the cause it's not limited only to california the language of the amendment says authorized be appropriate such funds may be nested design and develop a pilot electric cargo conveyor system for the transfer transportation of containers myself another fifteen seconds from ports to depots outside of urban areas brilliant solution reserve the balance my john reserves gentleman from california how much time do i have left three minutes remaining i would give myself one minute and i would just suggest that that's the kind of opposition that i like thank you very miss much the the vision that mr oberstar has just laid out is exactly what we are trying to do is robust our course is responsible for today but he's also by working together with us we're trying to make sure that we're building a better tomorrow based on the technology of tomorrow that will overcome some of the problems of today and this let us note for the record this is probably the first legislative step toward the direction of fulfilling the vision that mr oberstar just outlined for us of what the potential of this is and so if they go back in history and five ten years from now we have a credible working system that takes tens of thousands of trucks off the road and helps our environment we can look back to this vote and this floor discussion is the first step and i appreciate that very much look forward to working with you i think this is the perfect bipartisan effort where all of us can come together any project that i know of and i would yield a one minute to  schuester gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute well thank you minister roebuck to point out this authorize a program to install a pilot electric unfair system for cargo and there have been several concepts developed for the port of los angeles to move cargo using electric trucks l and g trucks automated shuttles and even mag love the general idea is as mr obama has pointed out we're barker's pointed out to get rid of the diesel trucks move cargo to outlying areas for translated trains and trucks this would cut  air pollution and potentially cut the congestion that exists now in the port of los angeles and would certainly benefit all of our nation as we as we develop these types of transportation ideas so i support mr  community this palette program is want since a transfer in ca go out that major urban areas and we need to see the solution mr chairman i know that you address this issue but can you tell us a little bit the language is very broad says such sums as may be necessary to design and develop a pilot electric conveyor system but i think that is not limited to one that is broad enough language to be interpreted as to embrace more than one such project will be done by the department of transportation through the federal railroad administration with appropriated funds but also the applicant one minute remaining myself a time i should use and again i'd like to thank chairman over starr for his support and partnership in this we have a this will i would hope that we start with a demonstration at the port of los angeles in long beach where it would take tens of thousands of trucks off the road just there but something would be a model for the rest of the country and let me also suggest that as we have discussed this is a project that could well pay for itself and be done with having people or were using the system pay back the what the cost of the system is so it's something that we can work on and mold together and that will really serve the environment making in our country more efficient let  miller mcdonald who was the representative from long beach as well as myself was a great supporter of this concept we worked we talked many times on this maybe we'll name it after her heart something in her memory we miss her today but  this richardson who took her place is very supportive of this is well and so we're working on this is a team and i deeply appreciate this positive spirit on both sides of the aisle and asked my colleagues to support this amendment and it was time expire very vigorous and and and and knowledgeable supporter of the project he has also worked to bring local interests in to work with the governor of california and i think with this enthusiasm and with this for support of the amendment generally goes back the balance of this time the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california those in favor please say on those apollos please say no you're putting in the chair the ayes have it the amendment adopted accordingly under the rule a committee rises house the state of the union reports of the committee has had an exciting race in h r two zero nine five and pursuant to house resolution seven twenty four reports the bill back to the house with an amendment adopted the committee the whole under the rule the previous question is ordered as a separate vote demand that any amendment to the committee opposed no the i have a third reading a bill to amend kind of forty nine united states prevent railroad fatalities injuries and hazardous materials releases to authorize the federal railroad safety administration and for other purposes what forces gentleman from idaho rise of a motion to recommit at the desk is the german opposed to the bill yes in its current form the german qualifies it the clerk or port the motion this is following idaho r twenty ninety five to the committee on transportation and infrastructure with instructions to report the same back to the house forthwith with the following amendment stright federal railroad safety administration each place it appears and enter federal railroad administration page eighty after line seven insert the following new section and him in the table of contents accordingly section six one seven funding limitation none of the finds made available pursuant to this act or the this year anticipate spending two point nine trillion dollars over the next twelve months that is more money than the total value of all goods and services produced person produced in germany at two point eight seven trillion china at two point five two trillion or the united kingdom at two point three four trillion this spending problem is further evidence by a whopping nine trillion dollar national debt a debt that can only be addressed by drastic change those changes will only come as congress prioritizes and makes tough decisions funding priorities and cutting wasteful spending at safety is an important issue no one argues that point but spending taxpayer money to rename a forty year old agency is just plain ridiculous and yet that is one of the things that this bill proposes to do the federal railroad administration was created in  today's bill proposes to change the name of the agency to insert the word safety renaming it the federal railroad safety administration while this sounds innocuous enough it raised some very practical considerations for spending the american taxpayer's money the federal railroad administration has eight hundred thirty seven employees printing new business cards for everyone to reflect this new agency name at a cost of thirty dollars per person cost taxpayers more than twenty five thousand dollars consider also that the agency has eight regional offices across the country all of which will require new signs to reflect the new agency name again this raises questions how much taxpayer money will the agency spend for these new signs how much taxpayer money will the agency spend to print new letterhead to reflect this name change an agency that spent nearly two hundred thousand dollars in printing costs last year how much taxpayer money will the agency sp regulations that reflect this new name mr speaker the bottom line is this all of these expenses are relatively modest in light of the one point one billion dollars proposed to be authorized by this bill over four years this kind of spending is unnecessary and frankly ridiculous if the point of this bill is safety then why not spend the money on safety don't spend the hard earned money of american families and individuals just to rename an agency that type of spending isn't out now waste of taxpayer money yes congress says a spending problem the only way congress will cure that problem is to prioritize make tough decisions and learn like everyone else how to live within a budget is spend money on the priorities that serve the american people best let us say this kind of name changing sign adjusting business until the day that we have extra money and no deficit are as my colleagues to vote against nato suspending and please join me in voting the only thing i could say for it is is that i wish the gentleman had been here in one thousand nine hundred ninety five when the republican majority forced upon national airport in the washington well an area and airport authority the changing of the name to ronald reagan washington national airport and they did so i said of the gentleman from idaho with their finger in the nose of the authority saying either you make the changes and you spend the money or we'll take your money away from you they said it right here on this floor what was the purpose of changing the name of that airport no useful benefit we are creating a new safety emphasis for the federal railroad administration in one nine hundred ninety six this committee and this congress created the motor carrier safety administration i didn't hear anybody jump up on the floor and say oh my god it's going to cost money to change the stationery of the agency the line doesn't cost any money at all you just use up the existing stationery you have print no one it doesn't cost any new money this is i know this is bogus i just i have no idea where such people get such ideas as as this but when it comes to some priority that some people on the other side of the aisle had in previous congresses to shove it down the throat of the washington metropolitan airport authority and say you will change the name on all the facilities you will change they said to the national park service signs leading to the airport and you will do it at your expense at the federal government expense we're talking here is going to be a change of station or you run out the existing station or if they have print new and it's a safety on a i maybe is getting at something more sinister maybe the gentleman doesn't want safety to be in the title of this  german doesn't want and anyone who votes for such an amendment doesn't want safety to be in the name of the agency that regulates safety in the public interest vote against this amendment this