[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 27, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1149]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   MOTION TO INSTRUCT CONFEREES ON H.R. 4348, SURFACE TRANSPORTATION 
                     EXTENSION ACT OF 2012, PART II

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                               speech of

                            HON. RICK LARSEN

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 21, 2012

  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the 
Black Motion to Instruct.
  This motion is a step back for highway safety, and a step back for 
our country. This country has done a lot to improve highway safety in 
the last thirty years. We've mandated safety belt use. We've addressed 
our many of our most dangerous intersections and developed better 
signage and more visible traffic signals. And we created a federal 
mandate that raised the drinking age to 21.
  But there are new challenges--and distracted driving is one of the 
most important. This motion is exactly the opposite of what we should 
be voting on.
  We should be doing everything in our power to encourage responsible 
driving and protect lives. Couching this argument in the 10th amendment 
is simply cover for irresponsible legislation.
  There are numerous grant programs throughout the federal government 
that provide funding for states based on national policies that 
Congress wants to advance. To single out a safety program is totally 
out of left field--or rather, right field in this case.
  I urge my colleagues to oppose this motion.

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