Date: 1989-07-31
Speaker: THOMAS A. LUKEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. the bill which the House is considering today. the Railroad Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 1989. is the. most balanced and comprehensive drug and alcohol testing legislation for railroad employees ever to be introduced in Congress. It was well over 1 year ago that Mr. WHITTAKER. the ranking member of our subcommittee. and I Introduced this needed legislation. Last year. our subcommittee and tile full Committee on Energy and Commerce reported out the bill and the House overwhelmingly adopted it. Unfortuantely. we were unable to resolve our differences with the other body and the bill died in the waning hours of the 100th Congress. Today. I stand here again to ask my colleagues for their support as we redouble our efforts to enact this important measure. Drugs and alcohol have no place in the transportation workplace. We are all painfully aware of the tragic consequences which result when transportation employees mix alcohol or drugs with their work. A few weeks ago. we watched and listened with horror as the tale of the Exxon Valdez was reported. As we all know now. Captain Hazelwoods drinking contributed directly to the 11 million gallon oil spill that wreaked havoc on the pristine environment of the Prince William Sound and spoiled miles and miles of coastline. That recent episode teaches us two very basic lessons: First. that drugs and alcohol have not been eliminated from the transportation workplace. and second. that adequate and effective drug and alcohol testing procedures have not been established. In the railroad industry. we cannot forget the devastation of the Chase. MD accident on January 4. 1987. On that tragic day. a potsmoking Conrail engineer ran through three red stop signals into the path of a crowded Amtrak passenger train. Sixteen people were killed. 174 were injured. and millions of dollars in damages resulted. The engineer and brakeman on the Conrail train both tested positive for marijuana. the brakeman also tested positive for PCP. The fathers and mothers. brothers and sisters. friends and neighbors of the 10 people killed n that crash will never forget the senseless devastation wrought by the selfgratifying actions of those Irresponsible workers. And Just a few days ago. a CSX train carrying hazardous materials derailed. When three of the tank cars caught fire. hundreds of persons were evacuated from the area. one house was destroyed. and toxic fumes were released. While the cause of the accident is still under Ivnestigation. the brakeman on the train admitted himself to a detoxification unit following the accident and confessed he had used cocaine the night before the accident. Unfortunately. there have been many other similar tragedies. The need for action is clear. And the time for action is long overdue. H.R. 1208 is a good bill. Mr. WHITTAKEa and I have worked with many members of our subcommittee and full committee. on this bill. During the last 2 years. our subcommittee has held numerous hearings on issues relating to drug and alcohol testing of railroad workers. We have consulted with Industry and labor officials. Federal agencies. technical experts. and other interested parties. The end product of our efforts has resulted in a tough. balanced. and comprehensive bill. First. our bill requires a full array of drug and alcohol testing for railroad workers employed in safetysensitive positions. Under our bill. railroad employees will be tested after accidents. when there Is reasonable cause to believe that testing is justified. as a condition of being employed by a railroad. as part of regular physical examinations. and as part of a random testing program. All of these types of testing are necessary to deteras well as detectsubstance abuse in the railroad workplace. At the same time. our bill recognizes that rehabilitation for workers with a drug or alcohol problem can and should play an important role. The railroad industry has been on the cutting edge in encouraging programs for early detection. education. prevention. and rehabilitation of problem workers. Under our bill. a worker who tests positive is suspended from duty without pay and referred to an approved rehabilitation program for treatment. If an employee does not complete such a program or tests positive again. he is discharged from employment. If he successfully completes the rehabilitation program. he is subject to additional drug and alcohol testing for 3 more years. We believe these provisions are necessary and desirable to help troubled employees from being caught up in the perpetual vicious cycle of substance abuse. without compromising the basic thrust of our legislation. Our bill also sets strict requirements for the collection. handling. and storage of test samples and ensures that testing laboratories adhere to stateoftheart guidelines. The poignant need for these safeguards was made abundantly clear to us at a hearing our subcommittee held 2 years ago on the scandal at the Department of Transportations Civil Aeromedical Institute Laboratory. Our inquiry revealed that test results were being falsified by the head of the CAMI lab and that the lab had neither the equipment nor the expertise to properly confirm test results. Because of the potential for abuse and the unlimited damage to an employees reputation and career which would result from a false positive. we believe it is absolutely essential that stringent and uniform standards be applied to testing facilities. The Department of Transportation currently has regulations in place which provide for testing of employees in certain situations. Late last year. the administration also proposed a random testing rule for railroad workers. But these regulations and proposals fall far short of our bill. The most glaring example is the fact that alcohol is not included as a part of the administrations proposed random testing rule. The apparent rationale for this gaping hole in their regulations is based on the view that the level of alcohol usage in the rail industry is not as high as drug usage and thus that testing for alcohol would not be "cost effective." But the fact of the matter is that the administration has told us that last year over 14 percent of all rail employees tested positive for alcohol based on reasonable cause. In other words. one in every seven of those employees tested positive for alcohol. One major railroad recently found that 37 percent of its employee assistance cases were based on alcohol problems. accounting for the lions share of such cases. How the administration can conclude that alcohol usage is not prevalent enough and that random testing for alcohol is not "cost effective" In light of these statistics is beyond me. Our bill recognizes the fact that random testing for both drugs and alcohol is an effective deterrent and a necessary component of a comprehensive approach to these prQblems. Our bill makes other modifications to the current DOT regulations. Our bill covers all safetysensitive employJuly 31. 1.989 ees. not Just the "handson" employees covered by the administration. Our bill applies to almost all railroad accidents. instead of Just the major accidents covered by the administration. Our bill requires rehabilitation for first offenders. where the administration is silent. In short. our bill offers a tough and complete approach to the drug and alcohol problems which persist in the rail industry. Finally. I want to emphasize our willingness to work with the other body in resolving our differences. Last year. after the House passed our bill. we were optimistic that we could enact legislation within the scope of our Jurisdiction which would comport with the spirit of our bill. Unfortunately. our attempts to compromise were unsuccessful. The Senate had passed a bill which mandated drug testing for all modes of transportation. When we attempted to find middle ground in the area of testing railroad workers. we found the Senate was adamant in insisting on. an "all or nothing" approach. Because the House had not passed legislation covering other modes of transportation. our bill was left out in the cold. In short. what we got from the "all or nothing" approach was nothing. This year. Mr. WIIITTAKER and I have tried to do what we can to lay the groundwork so that this will not happen again. We have again contacted other House committees of jurisdiction to urge them to consider appropriate drug and alcohol testing legislation for other modes of transporation. In June. I personally testified before the Senate Commerce Committee to indicate my willingness to work with the other body in fashioning a compromise bill covering the railroad industry. At that hearing. I emphasized that we have the same objectives and that it would be tragic if the Congress fails to reach an agreement with respect to the railroad Industry. While there are differences In our approaches. I am optimistic that legislation covering railroad workers can and should be enacted by this Congress. These issues transcend partisan differences. I greatly appreciate the tireless efforts of my colleague. Mr. WHITTAKER. and Members from both sides of the aisle who have worked to support this legislation for railroad safety. Today. the House takes the first step in promoting railroad safety for employees and the traveling public. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and vow to work diligently with the other body to see that a tough and comprehensive measure is enacted into law as soon as possible. Mr. Speaker. I include at this point In the REcoRD copies of correspondence from the distinguished chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Mr. BROOKS. to the Speaker and to the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Mr. DINGELL. concerning Jurisdictional issues associated with the consideration of H.R. 1208.