[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 37 (Tuesday, March 9, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H1023-H1024]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 PROTECT AMERICA'S WORKERS AND SYSTEMS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 19, 1999, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to reflect for a 
moment this morning about the importance of our being able to provide 
livable communities for Americans. A lot of what

[[Page H1024]]

we deal with on the floor of the House of Representatives at times 
seems a little obscure to citizens back home, but really what they care 
about is to make sure that their families are safe when they go out the 
door in the morning to go to school. They want those families to be 
healthy, they want them to be economically secure.
  I am particularly concerned about that element of safety, Mr. 
Speaker. I have been witnessing events around the country of late that 
give me pause. In the Pacific Northwest this last November, we had a 
tragedy where a bus driver was shot and the bus careened through the 
guardrail, plunging down below into an apartment house. Thirty 
passengers were injured. We had a situation just a couple of weeks ago 
in San Diego where a bus driver was attacked, was raped and we are 
still trying to solve that situation. Last year in Wisconsin we had a 
situation where a bus passenger boarded and splashed gasoline around 
and seriously burned several passengers.
  The point of this litany here is not that transit is inherently 
dangerous. In fact it is not. The statistics are clear that people are 
far safer taking mass transit than they are driving a car when you look 
at the accidents, drunk driving, drive-by shootings and carjackings. 
But we can and should make that transportation experience as safe as 
possible for the general public and the men and women who provide that 
service.
  The Federal Government has in fact already taken steps, for example, 
in the area of air traffic. The men and women who provide services to 
us on airline flights are covered under Federal law. It is important 
not just for the people who deliver that service but, of course, 
sending that important signal about what the expectation is from the 
Federal Government to preserve safety is also very important to protect 
the passengers themselves.
  That is why I am introducing legislation this week to fill this gap, 
because sadly there is no Federal protection, clear Federal signal 
about public safety as it relates to the employees who provide transit 
service by bus and by rail, nor do the 6 million Americans who take 
transit every day have the peace of mind that such a clear signal would 
afford. The legislation would make it a Federal crime to intentionally 
damage mass transit vehicles, impair the ability to safely operate the 
vehicle, commit an act that would cause the death or serious bodily 
injury to an employee or a passenger. It is a comprehensive approach to 
make sure that we do fill this gap, that we do make sure that we are 
doing everything we can to protect the workers and passengers of 
America's transit systems.
  I hope that my colleagues will join me in cosponsoring this 
legislation. I think the 6 million riders who rely on mass transit 
every day to make their communities more livable expect no less of us.

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