[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 39 (Wednesday, March 1, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H976]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HOLDING RAILROAD CARRIERS ACCOUNTABLE

  (Ms. GARCIA of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Mr. Speaker, we feel the pain of the people of 
East Palestine. We stand with them in demands for change in safety in 
the railroad industry.
  It is not just what trains carry. It is their weight, it is their 
length, it is their mechanics, it is the number of people on the train, 
and it is about damage to the neighborhoods and the environment.
  Mr. Speaker, my district has the most reported roads blocked by 
trains of any district in the Nation. This means that the trains 
disrupt a lot of activity in our neighborhoods, and we get many 
complaints about blocked crossings blocking kids getting to school, 
fire trucks and ambulances not being able to get to buildings and to 
homes, and just a lot of damage done to our neighborhoods.
  So the trains are not just about the derailment of East Palestine, 
but it is also about the damage they do every day particularly, again, 
in my district that has so many railroads.
  I know, Mr. Speaker, that you know about this.
  What we will be doing today and the following weeks is to focus more 
on rail safety. I had the FRA administrator in the district last week, 
and I am pleased to say that today we will be filing a bill called 
Don't Block Our Communities Act to address some of these issues.

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