[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 14070-14071]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             RAIL SECURITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine Brown) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. First of all, Mr. Speaker, I want to 
thank Congressman Bennie Thompson for his hard work on the Homeland 
Security Committee and for working with the Transportation Committee in 
developing very important and long overdue rail and transit security 
legislation.
  Yesterday, in India, bomb blasts ripped through their commuter rail 
network, killing 142 people and injuring over 350. This is a terrible 
tragedy and again raises the serious question as to whether we are 
prepared in this country for a similar attack. Sadly, the answer is no. 
No.
  When it comes to rail and transit security in this country, this 
administration, the Bush administration, and this Congress deserve an F 
for failing to develop a plan to protect our daily transit and rail 
commuters from harm.
  It has been over 2 years since the train bombing in Madrid, 3/11/04, 
and just last week the 1-year anniversary of the transit bombing in 
London. Yet the Bush administration has done nothing to protect this 
Nation's freight and transit rail system and its millions of 
passengers.
  We spend over $1 billion a week in Iraq. Let me repeat that. We are 
spending over $1 billion a week in Iraq. We are spending over $1 
billion a week in Iraq, and yet the Bush administration can only come 
up with a measly $136 million to protect this Nation's rail and transit 
system for an entire year. That is pathetic. But that is the kind of 
fuzzy math that this administration is famous for, and it needs to stop 
before American citizens pay the price for this stupidity.
  We can't keep treating our rail infrastructure as second class 
citizens. We have dedicated billions of dollars to the airline industry 
and created a grants program for the ports. But we have done little to 
invest in the security upgrade of our rail infrastructure needs.
  Fortunately for the traveling public, the legislation introduced by 
Congressman Thompson and myself and other Democratic Members require 
comprehensive security plans. And let me just say, security should not 
be a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. It should be an American 
issue. Clear up the red tape. Improve training and exercise programs, 
improve communications and intelligence, share authority and $400 
million in security improvement grants per year and add $26 million for 
additional rail inspectors.

[[Page 14071]]

  Most important, it will help make sure our community, our first 
responders and our rail workers are safe. These are the concerns I hear 
over and over again as ranking member of the Railroad Subcommittee. And 
I believe that this legislation takes the necessary steps to create a 
rail security program that protects passengers and keeps the trains 
running on time. The millions of Americans who use trains and transit 
for travel each year deserve no less.

                          ____________________