[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2200-E2201]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         PRAISING THE GOALS OF THE 2006 NATIONAL RAIL SYMPOSIUM

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. STEPHEN F. LYNCH

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, December 8, 2006

  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, on November 15, 2006, I had the opportunity 
to address the 2006 National Rail Symposium, presented by Citizens for 
Rail Safety, Inc. at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.
  Attended by rail worker union representatives, rail industry experts, 
transportation scholars, and local and Federal political leaders, the 
symposium served to further highlight the glaring gaps in America's 
rail security and specifically, bring attention to the lack of basic 
emergency and antiterrorism training for our Nation's rail workers.
  Notably, the symposium marked the release of a key rail security 
study prepared by the National Labor College (NLC) entitled: ``Training 
in Hazmat and Rail Security: Current Status and Future Needs of Rail 
Workers and Community Members.'' As noted by the NLC, our Nation's rail 
workers currently lack basic and necessary emergency prevention and 
response training, particularly with respect to Hazmat incidents, and 
must work in rail cars and on rail tracks, yards, and basic 
infrastructure that are poorly secured.
  The NLC's study comes on the heels of a 2005 rail worker safety 
report prepared by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Rail 
Security Conference, entitled ``High Alert: Workers Warn of Security 
Gaps on Nation's Railroads.'' Based on over 4,000 surveys completed by 
members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the 
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division, the report 
reveals that 84 percent of the rail workers surveyed indicated that 
they had not received any or additional terrorism prevention and 
response training within the last year and that 64 percent indicated 
that

[[Page E2201]]

they had not been trained on their role in their railroad's Emergency 
Action or Emergency Response Plan.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to associate myself with these reports, as 
well as the goals of the National Rail Symposium, given the importance 
of providing our rail workers with adequate emergency, anti-terrorism, 
and security training. For this reason, I have also urged my colleagues 
to adopt H.R. 4372, the Rail Worker Emergency Training Act, which I 
have introduced in the 109th Congress. This bill would require the 
Secretary of Homeland Security to develop comprehensive rail worker 
training guidelines that address several key areas, including critical 
infrastructure and equipment security inspection, hazardous material 
storage, transport, and monitoring, and evacuation procedures. In 
addition, the bill would require rail carriers to develop a rail worker 
training program based on the Secretary's guidelines and to train all 
of their workers within 1 year.
  In closing, I would like to commend Citizens for Rail Safety, Inc. 
and the National Labor College for their efforts to heighten security 
and preparedness on our Nation's railways.

                          ____________________