Date: 2007-05-09
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Chairman. I rise in support of the amendment. As chair of the Rail Subcommittee. we have done initial studies. and we have found that we are celebrating the anniversary of the bombing in Madrid. the bombing in London. the bombing in India. and yet the administration has not come forward with recommendations as to how to secure our rail system. how to implement a program to safeguard that we do not have this kind of attack on homeland security here in the United States. So I strongly support the amendment. March 11th marked the third anniversary of the train bombings in Madrid. and we have seen terrorist attacks in London and India in each year since. Yet the Bush Administration and past Republican leadership has done little to protect our Nations freight rail or the millions of passengers that use public transportation every day. The anniversary of this terrible tragedy again raises the serious question of whether we are prepared in this country for a similar attack. Sadly. that answer is a resounding NO. But with the passage of this legislation. we will start investing the money that is needed to safeguard our rail and transit infrastructure from those who wish us harm. The Federal Government has focused most of its attention on enhancing security in the airline industry and has largely ignored the needs of public transit agencies and railroads. Yet. worldwide. more terrorist attacks have occurred on transit and rail systems since 9/11 than on airlines. In 2006. we dedicated $4.7 billion to the airline industry for security. while 6.000 public transit agencies and one national passenger railroad. Amtrak. had to share a meager $136 million total for security upgrades. Nothing was provided to the 532 freight railroads for security upgrades. Fortunately for the traveling public. the legislation on the floor today will address the security challenges facing our Nations transit and railsystems. This bill requires comprehensive security plans. strengthens whistleblower protections for workers. mandates security training. improves communication and intelligence sharing. authorizes a higherlevel of grant funding for Amtrak. the freight railroads. and public transportation providers. and provides funding for lifesafety improvements to the tunnels in New York. Boston. and Washington. DC. Most importantly. it helps make sure our communities. our First Responders. and our transit and rail workers are safe and secure. And it does all of this through a. coordinated effort between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation. the agency that has the expertise to deal with transportation safety issues. We are way behind many other countries in protecting our transit and rail systems. but with the new leadership in Congress and this comprehensive legislation. we have a plan that will protect millions of transit and rail passengers and the communities through which freight railroads operate from harm. while keeping the trains running on time. I encourage all my colleagues to do the right thing for your constituents and support this long overdue rail and transit security legislation.