[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 105 (Tuesday, July 14, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H8039-H8041]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       EXPRESSING SYMPATHY FOR VICTIMS OF JUNE 22 METRORAIL CRASH

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 612) expressing the profound sympathies of the 
House of Representatives for the victims of the tragic Metrorail 
accident on Monday, June 22, 2009, and for their families, friends, and 
associates.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 612

       Whereas late in the afternoon on Monday, June 22, 2009, two 
     6-car trains on the Metrorail Red Line, Train 112 and Train 
     214, were on the same track headed toward the Shady Grove 
     Station;
       Whereas at 4:59 p.m., Train 112 crashed into Train 214, 
     which was waiting for another train boarding at the Fort 
     Totten Station;
       Whereas 9 people died in this accident, including train 
     operator Jeanice McMillan, 42, of Springfield, Virginia, who 
     loved her job and was filled with pride when her son Jordan 
     enrolled in college; Ana Fernandez, 40, originally from El 
     Salvador, who lived in Hyattsville, Maryland, with her 
     husband and 6 children and was on her way to one of her two 
     jobs when she died in the collision; and 7 residents of the 
     District of Columbia: Mary Doolittle, 59, of Northwest, who 
     was the face of the American Nurses Association 
     internationally and who was helping with global accreditation 
     for nurses; Veronica Dubose, 29, of Northwest, who was headed 
     to her first day of school for classes to become a certified 
     nurse; Dennis Hawkins, 64, of Southeast, who worked as a non-
     instructional aide and a data entry clerk for Whittier 
     Education Center and taught vacation Bible school at Bethesda 
     Baptist Church; LaVonda (``Nikki'') King, 23, of Northeast, a 
     mother of 2 sons who was engaged to be married and who had 
     just bought the hair salon LaVonda's House of Beauty; General 
     David Wherley, 62, of Southeast, the recently retired 
     commander of the D.C. Army and Air National Guard, a command 
     pilot who converted the D.C. National Guard from weekend 
     warriors to Army troops performing the duties of enlisted 
     soldiers in fields of battle in both Iraq and Afghanistan 
     while working tirelessly to improve conditions at home for 
     the people of the District of Columbia, especially the 
     children, and who decided to make the city his home; his 
     wife, Ann Wherley, 62, who retired as a mortgage banker but 
     did not retire as a mother, grandmother, and loving wife of 
     General Wherley ever since they were high school sweethearts 
     at York Catholic High School; and Cameron Williams, 37, of 
     Northwest, who grew up in Takoma Park and who worked a night 
     job in maintenance as a contract laborer;
       Whereas according to emergency first responders, 76 people 
     reported injuries and 51 people were taken to hospitals for 
     treatment as a result of this accident; and
       Whereas the Board of Directors of the Washington 
     Metropolitan Area Transit Authority voted on June 23 to 
     establish an emergency hardship relief fund of $250,000 from 
     a reserve fund to provide financial help for the victims of 
     the accident, including assistance with funeral, medical, and 
     other expenses: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives expresses its 
     profound sympathies for the victims of the tragic Metrorail 
     accident on Monday, June 22, 2009, and for their families, 
     friends, and associates.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) and the gentleman from Georgia 
(Mr. Westmoreland) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia.


                             General Leave

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. NORTON. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I introduced House Resolution 612 on July 7 with members 
of the National Capitol Region delegation as well as with others in the 
House. It is with a heavy heart that I call up for consideration House 
Resolution 612, which expresses the profound sympathies of the House of 
Representatives for the victims of the tragic Red Line Metrorail 
accident on June 22, 2009, and for their families and friends and 
associates, and also recognizes the dozens of people who were injured.
  I appreciate the work and courtesy of Chairman Ed Towns, of Ranking 
Member Darrell Issa, of Chairman Stephen Lynch, and of Ranking Member 
Jason Chaffetz for their efforts in bringing forward this resolution 
and for seeing to it that the resolution was marked up at the earliest 
markup meeting of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
  Let us begin, Mr. Speaker, by allowing each of us to take a moment on 
the floor of the House today to remember the nine people who were lost 
as a result of this tragic accident. I ask for a moment of silence.
  Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
  Seven of the nine were from the District of Columbia. One was from 
Maryland. Another was from Virginia.
  Mary ``Mandy'' Doolittle, of the District, served the American Nurses 
Association by spreading its work globally.
  Veronica DuBose, of the District, was a devoted mother of two who was 
on her way to a nursing class.

[[Page H8040]]

  Ana Fernandez, of Hyattsville, Maryland, was a mother of six who 
worked tirelessly, often holding more than one job to help provide for 
her family.
  Dennis Hawkins, of the District, was on his way to teach vacation 
Bible school at Bethesda Baptist Church.
  LaVonda ``Nikki'' King, of the District, was a young mother who 
looked forward to opening her own beauty salon that was already planned 
to occur.
  Cameron Williams, of the District, was headed to his nighttime 
maintenance job.
  Of the nine, I personally know only Major General David F. Wherley, 
recently retired as commander of the D.C. National Guard, and his wife, 
Ann. General Wherley was a fighter pilot and commander of the 113th 
Fighter Wing at Andrews Air Force Base who rose to head the D.C. 
National Guard itself.
  The general was especially devoted to his troops and to the children 
of the city, initiating programs for both. Ann Wherley, herself a 
professional, was a major force in the general's life and in his work. 
I thank the Appropriations Committee for honoring my request to have a 
D.C. tuition assistance bill named for the general, who was the first 
to bring this concern to me for introduction, and I will soon seek a 
proper authorization in a pending bill.

                              {time}  1315

  Jeanice McMillan, finally, was the operator of train 112. All the 
available evidence showed that Ms. McMillan did everything within her 
power to avert the accident. Ms. McMillan worked herself up the Metro 
workplace ladder to realize her goal of sending her only son to 
college. Mr. Speaker, the loss of precious lives that resulted from the 
June 22 accident touched their families uniquely and tragically. 
However, I also ask the House to remember these families who share the 
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority system with several 
hundred thousand Federal employees and with our own House and Senate 
congressional staff. Today let us also share with those who lost their 
lives as well as with those who were injured our thoughts, prayers and 
our deep determination to do all that we can to assure improved safety 
for all. I urge adoption of House Resolution 612.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  I rise in support of House Resolution 612, expressing the profound 
sympathies of the House of Representatives for the victims of the 
tragic Metrorail accident on Monday, June 22, 2009, and for their 
families, friends and associates. Today we, as a body, express our 
profound sympathy and support for the victims of this most serious and 
worst accident in Metro's history.
  On June 22 a train heading towards Fort Totten on the Red Line 
slammed into an idling train in front of it and killed nine people and 
injured nearly 80 others. The crash occurred at approximately 4:59 p.m. 
We are greatly saddened by this unnecessary tragedy and senseless loss 
of life, but our grief cannot compare to the families and friends who 
lost loved ones that day. Today we extend our sympathies to those who 
were lost and injured. The nine Metro riders killed on that fateful day 
were from all walks of life, a reflection of our Nation's Capital and 
its residents.
  As we express our sympathy for the victims, I would also like to 
commend the D.C. and regional emergency personnel who responded to the 
accident and did their jobs with competence and compassion. I would 
also like to recognize the heroism of the other train passengers who 
helped to free those who were trapped, fashioned tourniquets and 
comforted the injured. In addition to the death and injury to the 
victims, there's been tremendous damage done to the morale of Metro 
riders and to Metro's reputation. A recent Washington Post editorial 
commented on the crash as having ``shattered many riders' assumptions 
about the safety of the system.'' Clearly there is much work to be done 
to ensure nothing like this terrible accident ever happens again.
  But today in this House it is time we take a moment to honor and 
express our profound sympathy for the victims of this tragic Metrorail 
accident of June 22 and their families, friends and associates. I urge 
my colleagues to join me in expressing our sympathies on this day by 
passing House Resolution 612.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the 
majority leader, Mr. Hoyer of Maryland, who has led the delegation on 
matters pertaining to WMATA, or the Metro, and especially this 
accident.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the chairlady, my colleague and friend, Eleanor 
Holmes Norton. I thank Mr. Westmoreland for helping this legislation 
come to the floor.
  Today the House pauses in solemn remembrance of the nine men and 
women who lost their lives when two Metro trains collided on June 22. 
It was, as has been said, the deadliest crash in Metro's history. Those 
whose lives we lost were a cross section of our Washington region. They 
never asked or expected to be memorialized together, but they were 
brought together in tragedy. Together we can say their names:
  Mary Doolittle, 59 years old, of Washington, D.C.;
  Ana Fernandez, 40 years old, of Hyattsville, Maryland, my district;
  Dennis Hawkins, 64 years old, of Washington, D.C.;
  LaVonda ``Nikki'' King, 23 years old, of Washington, D.C.;
  Veronica Dubose, 29 years old, also of Washington, D.C.;
  Cameron Williams, 36 years old, also of Washington;
  Major General David F. Wherley Jr., 62 years old, and his wife Ann 
Wherley, 62 years old, both of Washington, D.C.;
  And lastly, Jeanice McMillan, 42 years old, of Springfield, Virginia. 
Ms. Norton mentioned her activity and the professionalism with which 
she carried out her duties. It is clear that what happened was a 
computer failure or a line failure, some failure which was supposed to 
automatically notify the train that was moving that there was a train 
stopped in front of it. That mechanism failed. Today nine families are 
incomplete. There are nine fresh wounds that will be very slow in 
healing. Nothing, of course, can reverse those deaths; but we must 
learn from them, and we must act to prevent such tragedies in the 
future. On a practical level, we must ensure that funding is sufficient 
to accomplish that objective. On a personal level, we can choose to 
take from this the reminder of the fragility and uncertainty of our own 
lives and to act on that knowledge every day.
  On June 22 we lost nine irreplaceable men and women. May we honor 
their memories by acting to prevent a future tragedy and by instilling 
confidence in the safety of America's subway.
  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, thank you, Ms. Norton, for 
bringing this resolution to the House floor for its consideration.
  Monday, June 22 tragedy struck Washington.
  Around 5:00 p.m. at the start of the evening rush hour, Metro Train 
112 struck Train 214 as it was waiting for a third train to finish 
boarding passengers at the Fort Totten Station.
  Nine people lost their lives and 76 others were injured, 41 of whom 
were transported to nearby hospitals for treatment.
  We are all saddened by the loss of life and I wish once again to 
express my condolences to the family and friends of those who suffered 
an injury or lost a loved one on that tragic Monday.
  I also wish to express my appreciation to Metro and the emergency 
responders who were on the scene immediately with assistance.
  As we gain insight on the cause of the accident, I will be working 
with my colleagues, many of whom are cosponsors of this resolution, to 
ensure this type of tragedy is never allowed to happen again.
  We are in fact working to secure the funding to replace the older 
type ``1000'' rail cars that failed to hold up during the crash and any 
other resources Metro needs to restore full service.
  The tragedy has brought us together as a region, and together we will 
work to make sure Metrorail remains a transportation system that is 
safe, efficient, affordable and secure.
  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my House colleagues in 
support of this resolution expressing sympathy to the victims of the 
Metrorail accident on June 22.
  I want to share my heartfelt condolences to the families and friends 
of those that lost their lives in this tragic accident.
  The Washington metropolitan area congressional delegation has pledged 
to work together to ensure that Metro has the funding it needs

[[Page H8041]]

to address safety issues and to adequately maintain the system.
  Again, I express my deepest sympathies to those affected by this 
horrible accident.
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, on June 22, our legion experienced a 
terrible tragedy as two metro trains collided on the red line, 
resulting in 9 deaths and nearly 80 injured. I rise to express deep 
sympathy to the families of all those who lost their lives--Mandy 
Doolittle, Veronica DuBose, Dennis Hawkins, LaVonda ``Nikki'' King, 
Major General David Wherley and Ann Wherley, Cameron Williams, and 
train operator Jeanice McMillan.
  I also want to especially recognize the life of my constituent, Ana 
Fernandez of Hyattsville. Ana will be remembered for her dedication to 
her family, especially her six children ages 2 to 21. She emigrated to 
the United States 20 years ago to secure a better life and worked 
tirelessly to support her parents and son back in El Salvador and her 
five children here in the U.S. She was able to realize her dream of 
sponsoring her eldest son for a visa, and he arrived only 18 days 
before the accident. Her family and community speak of her kindness, 
generosity, and indomitable spirit. I send sincere condolences to her 
children, her husband, her parents, and her entire family.
  In the hours and days after the accident, we received reports of 
courage and kindness on those metro trains--from the passengers who 
comforted and assisted each other to the first responders who rushed to 
the scene and treated the injured. Almost immediately, local and 
federal agencies, including WMATA, the National Transportation Safety 
Board, the Federal Transit Administration, and the Tri-State Oversight 
Committee, as well as the Amalgamated Transit Union, got to work to 
find out what caused the crash and what must be done to ensure the 
safety of the system. I want to particularly commend John Catoe and the 
staff at WMATA for their efforts in these past few weeks.
  Out of this tragedy, we must renew our commitment to America's subway 
and make the safety improvements necessary to ensure that such a 
devastating accident never happens again. I am pleased that the 
Transportation-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee included $150 million 
for WMATA in its bill, which is the full federal share of the dedicated 
funding authorized by last year's Passenger Rail Investment and 
Improvement Act. I urge my colleagues to support that vital funding. 
This accident must be a wake-up call--we cannot afford to wait.
  Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, so I will 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, having no further speakers, again, let me 
urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H. Res. 612.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 612.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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