[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 18712-18713]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                        TRANSPORTATION SECURITY

  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, I come to the Chamber to discuss further 
the need for transportation security that encompasses not only our 
airlines but also our rail lines and our ports. Others with their own 
experiences and perspectives have already spoken to these issues and I 
am sure will continue to do so because as we address these critical 
needs of transportation security, it is imperative we look at all the 
means of transportation our people require and that we found to be 
particularly important in responding to the events of September 11.
  I want to focus my remarks on Amtrak and our rail transportation 
system. I think anyone who followed the events of September 11 is well 
aware that Amtrak played a critical and essential role in responding to 
this national disaster. We know that without Amtrak being able to 
respond, New York would have been cut off. The natural flow of commerce 
and passengers between Boston and Washington, the busiest rail corridor 
in our country, would have been severely undermined. We know, too, that 
Amtrak did its part to make sure people not only could reach their 
destinations but, for example, those who had planned to fly by air when 
our air system was shut down, their tickets were honored and they were 
part of the continuing and increasing flow of people and goods that 
demonstrated that America was still moving.
  Ridership on Amtrak has been up 17 percent across the Nation and 
certainly in the Northeast corridor, which was so devastated by the 
attack on the Pentagon, the closure of our airports, the attack in New 
York City, the continued, until thankfully today, closure of our 
Washington National Airport. We know that Amtrak's increase here was up 
by 30 percent.
  How do we make sure this critical mode of transportation is safe and 
secure in the future? We cannot be in a position of looking backwards. 
We have to look forward and say, what do we need to do to make sure our 
transportation system is redundant and safe? I believe we have to 
focus, as we look at transportation security, on ensuring that our 
thousands and thousands of rail passengers are safe.
  I am grateful Amtrak has come forward with a specific plan to address 
the needs of those passengers. We need, for example, more police 
officers on our trains, more canine units to inspect the trains, more 
power and switch upgrades to ensure they absolutely run without any 
delay or disruption.
  In New York, we have immediate safety concerns which demand we act 
now, not later--hopefully in time to make sure we are always moving--
and, if there is any natural or other disaster, that we keep our people 
moving.
  I want to bring to the attention of my colleagues some specific 
safety concerns. Anyone who has ever been on a train in or out of New 
York knows, I assume, that there are four tunnels under the East River 
and two tunnels under the Hudson River that serve as vital links 
between New York City and the surrounding area and the rest of America.
  These tunnels were built in 1910, and now almost a century later they 
have not undergone any serious security upgrade. Under today's 
regulations, the tunnels would never be allowed to be constructed in 
the same shape in which they currently exist.
  Penn Station in New York City is the busiest railroad station in the 
United States. More than 500,000 passengers, from all parts of our 
Nation, on more than 750 trains pass through Penn Station each day. As 
many as 300,000 commuters pass through the East River tunnels on the 
Long Island Railroad trains each day. So these tunnels are essential to 
our national railroad network and to the moving of people who commute 
every day in and out of New York City. The tunnels are so essential 
that we must turn our attention to ensuring they are safe for the 
hundreds of thousands of people who use them every single day.
  If for some reason a train were to become incapacitated in one of our 
tunnels, the only means of escape would be through one of two 
antiquated spiral staircases on either side of the river or by walking 
in the dark almost 2 miles out of the tunnels. These are also the only 
routes by which firefighters and other emergency workers can get into 
the tunnels.
  I have a picture, and it shows a narrow 10-flight spiral staircase 
which serves as the evacuation route for passengers as well as the 
means for rescue workers to enter the tunnels. I can barely even 
imagine what the situation would be like under the ground, under the 
rivers, if some kind of disaster were to occur, with passengers and 
crew trying to move up this narrow spiral staircase and rescue workers 
trying to move down; or, in the alternative, people being, in some 
instances, carried or trying to get out on their own going 2 miles in 
whatever conditions existed at the time.
  I bring this to the attention of my colleagues because I think it is 
imperative, as we look at transportation security, that we do not turn 
our backs on the hundreds of thousands of people every single day who 
use our railroads. I fully support adding air marshals on our flights. 
I support federalizing the inspection that passengers and cargo and 
luggage must go through, and I support doing everything we humanly can 
think of that will guarantee to the American public we are doing all 
that can be imagined to make our airlines safe.
  I also want to be able to stand in front of the people in my State 
who rely on these trains to get to and from work, who rely on these 
trains to commute, who travel out of New York City, and people all over 
our country who similarly rely on our trains, that they also will be 
secure. We don't want to leave any American out of our security 
efforts. This is an opportunity to do right what is required, what we 
now know will prepare America for any future problems.
  The airline security bill, which I hope we will be considering soon, 
calls for the creation of a Deputy Secretary of Transportation Security 
who will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of all modes of 
transportation. I applaud this provision. I think it is

[[Page 18713]]

long overdue. It certainly will be a strong endorsement of the kind of 
broad-based security required for our millions of airline passengers, 
for those who use our ports, for those who come in and out of our 
transportation network, and for the 20 million passengers who rode 
Amtrak last year.
  Over a week ago--it is hard to keep track of time in the last weeks--
40 of our colleagues took the train to New York City. I am so grateful. 
For some, it was the first time they had been on the train. It was fun 
to see their surprise and enjoyment provided by the ride to and from 
New York City. They were, in a sense, following in the footsteps of the 
hundreds of thousands of people who either have used trains out of 
necessity or out of choice for years or who were forced to use trains 
in the wake of September 11. And, thank goodness, the trains were 
there.
  I cannot even begin to calculate the economic and psychological costs 
we would have suffered had we been totally shut off. We could not have 
moved people as easily as we did if Amtrak had not responded as well as 
it did in putting on additional equipment and personnel.
  I hope my colleagues will remember this picture of this spiral 
staircase. I hope they will think about everyone they have ever known 
who perhaps has been a passenger, as I have been many times on these 
trains, through these tunnels. I hope they will join in the commitment 
we must make to every single American that we will guarantee the 
highest possible level of security for all transportation. It is the 
least we can do. I look forward to working with my colleagues to make 
sure it happens.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. Before the Senator leaves the Chamber, I appreciate the 
invitation from her and Senator Schumer to travel to New York. Having 
traveled on the train on a number of occasions, I have always enjoyed 
it. That day it was not a time of enjoyment but a time for learning. It 
is a trip I will never forget. We have seen and understand a little bit 
better the devastation, the hardship, and the sorrow of the people of 
New York.
  I express publicly my appreciation and the appreciation of the people 
of Nevada for the great work the Senator has done representing the 
State of New York in these events following September 11. What a 
pleasure it is to serve with her in the Senate.

                          ____________________