[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 8, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H3824-H3825]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF THE RAILWAY SAFETY AND FUNDING EQUITY ACT OF 1999

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the Railroad 
Safety and Funding Equity Act of 1999, legislation that I have 
introduced today along with my friend and colleague, the gentleman from 
Alabama (Mr. Cramer). Also known as RSAFE, this bill will increase 
funding for a far-too-long-overlooked aspect of highway and railroad 
safety grade crossings.
  With record levels of motorists on our Nation's roads and highways 
and with a record amount of freight being moved by rail, the lack of 
our nation's commitment to funding safety programs is nearing dangerous 
levels. RSAFE will bolster our Nation's commitment by almost doubling 
the current Federal grade crossing improvement program.
  As two recent train crashes in Illinois showed, one a fatal crash in 
Bourbonnais and the other in my district in LaGrange, much more can and 
should be done to upgrade safety at railroad to highway grade 
crossings. For too long policymakers have accepted it as fact

[[Page H3825]]

that grade crossings are dangerous, and they have left it at that. 
RSAFE will take the 4.3 cents per gallon diesel fuel tax that railroads 
currently pay towards deficit reduction and transfer it into the 
Department of Transportation Section 130 Grade Crossing Safety program. 
This money will then be distributed to the States on a formula basis.
  Based on estimates of railroads' tax receipts, RSAFE will add 
approximately $125 million or more to the current $150 million in the 
Section 130 program. Therefore, among other things, RSAFE will give 
States much more ability to construct gates at grade crossings, develop 
and acquire new technology that could serve as alternatives to whistle-
blowing and generally remove hazards at grade crossings.
  RSAFE also mandates that 5 percent of the new funding will be spent 
for education and awareness campaigns, such as Operation Lifesaver. 
Operation Lifesaver works with local law enforcement officials and 
others to make pedestrians and motorists aware of the dangers at grade 
crossings. RSAFE also puts 10 percent of the new funding towards 
upgrading rail-to-rail crossings. The danger posed when two freight 
trains collide or when a commuter train collides with a freight train 
are immeasurable in lives and environmental costs.

  Since railroad crossing safety is often a local and State issue, 
RSAFE mandates that the States pay at least a 20 percent share of any 
project financed with funds under this bill. I think that this is a 
small price for the States to pay for the safety of their citizens.
  The railroads often argue that the 4.3 cent per gallon tax is unfair, 
that they maintain their own infrastructure unlike the trucking 
industry. But I think it even more unfair that the taxes go to deficit 
reduction instead of a program that benefits the railroads and public 
safety. That is what RSAFE does. It puts railroad money back into the 
railroads for the benefit of the public.
  In addition, after 5 years of increased investment in grade crossing 
safety, RSAFE repeals the 4.3-cent diesel tax on October 1, 2004. 
Hopefully, Congress will continue the higher funding for the Section 
130 program in the next highway and transportation reauthorization 
bill. However, until then, every day that the tax goes towards deficit 
reduction is a day that statistics tell us someone will die at a 
railroad crossing. In 1998, 428 people died from an incident at a grade 
crossing, 30 of whom died in my home State of Illinois. Clearly, 428 
deaths in 1 year is unacceptable.
  So I say to my colleagues and to those in the railroad community:
  Please work with Congressman Cramer and me to pass this legislation 
so that each day we will not see another life perish due to our own 
inactivity and inaction.

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