[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 27 (Wednesday, February 15, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S1220]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KAINE (for himself, Mr. Warner, Mr. Cardin, and Mr. Van 
        Hollen):
  S.J. Res. 22. A joint resolution granting the consent and approval of 
Congress to the Commonwealth of Virginia, the State of Maryland, and 
the District of Columbia to enter into a compact relating to the 
establishment of the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, the National Capital Region relies on DC 
Metrorail. Hundreds of thousands of commuters take it every day, 
including the Federal workforce. Visitors use it when they come to our 
Nation's Capital on vacations, school trips, or events of national 
significance. Yet for too long, critical safety maintenance has been 
neglected, at the cost of countless lost hours and frustration for 
riders, and tragically, several fatalities.
  That is why I and my colleagues from Virginia and Maryland--Senators 
Mark Warner, Ben Cardin, and Chris Van Hollen--and our bipartisan House 
colleagues are today introducing this compact creating the new Metro 
Safety Commission. This measure is introduced in concert with the 
Virginia and Maryland General Assemblies and the Council of the 
District of Columbia, to build momentum to encourage all three 
jurisdictions to enact this compact as quickly as possible, to get 
Metro back to safe reliable operation.
  After fatal incidents on Metrorail in 2009 and 2015, the Federal 
Transit Administration took the unprecedented step of assuming direct 
safety oversight over the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit 
Authority WMATA, stating that it would not return control until it 
certified that a robust safety oversight body was in place. The safety 
commission envisioned by this compact is that body.
  There are many WMATA matters on which different stakeholders have 
different opinions, but everyone agrees that safety must be our top 
priority. Upon enactment of this compact by the three jurisdictions, I 
urge my colleagues to take swift action to approve this measure so that 
daily commuters and visitors to Washington, DC, can regain confidence 
that Metro will take them safely to their destinations.

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