[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 69 (Thursday, May 16, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H2665-H2666]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SAFE CLIMATE AND RAIL

  (Mr. HUFFMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, we are in dangerous and uncharted 
territory. At 400 parts per million, there is now more carbon dioxide 
in the atmosphere than at any time in the past 3 million years.
  Now here in the United States, more than a quarter of our greenhouse 
gas

[[Page H2666]]

emissions come from the transportation sector, so it's urgent that we 
make our cars and trucks cleaner, but also that we invest in clean 
modes of transportation, such as rail.
  Saturday was National Train Day, which celebrates the rail networks 
that efficiently move freight and passengers across our country and 
reduce the number of cars on our roads.
  In California, we're building high-speed rail with renewable energy. 
When complete, it will move millions of people far more quickly, 
cleanly, and efficiently than we do today. And in the North Bay, we're 
connecting Sonoma and Marin Counties with 70 miles of rail, meaning 1.4 
million fewer car trips along Highway 101.
  Investments in rail at the national scale can increase efficiency, 
reduce traffic, and fight climate change. It's time for Congress to get 
``all aboard'' with this climate solution.

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