[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 11 (Thursday, January 19, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H371]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           THE MARION MALLEY WALSH DRUNK DRIVING ACT OF 1995

  (Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a 
piece of legislation that is of particular importance to me: the Marion 
Malley Walsh Drunk Driving Act of 1995.
  Marion Malley Walsh was a professional artist--a commercial fashion 
illustrator and successful pastel portrait painter--a mother and 
grandmother, who lived in Longmeadow, MA. On June 23, 1993, while 
driving with her sister Loretta to a family reunion on Lake George, 
Marion was killed by a drunk driver who was fleeing the scene of a hit-
and-run accident.
  Mr. Speaker, drunk driving is a problem that plagues our Nation. In 
1992, 17,699 innocent people were killed in this country by drunk 
drivers. That's an average of one alcohol-related fatality every 30 
minutes. Drunk driving crashes cost the U.S. health care system 
approximately $6 billion in 1993, and American businesses and workers 
approximately $25 billion in lost wages.
  The Marion Malley Walsh Drunk Driving Act follows the lead that was 
set in Massachusetts and in a few other States--setting a zero-
tolerance level for drivers under the age of 21, and lowering the legal 
alcohol limit to .08 percent.
  States that do not comply with the Marion Malley Walsh Drunk Driving 
Act will still receive Federal highway moneys--only some of these funds 
will be earmarked for specific programs related to drunk driving.
  Most importantly, however, the Marion Malley Walsh Drunk Driving Act 
doesn't cost the tax payers an additional dime--it can be done within 
our current system.
  Mr. Speaker, in the memory of Marion Malley Walsh, and for her family 
and all the other families that grieve the loss of a loved one caused 
by a drunk driver, I urge my colleagues to support this important 
legislation.

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