[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16557]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        CONGRESS' LAST SHORT-TERM EXTENSION OF THE HIGHWAY BILL

  (Ms. HAHN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. HAHN. Mr. Speaker, today we will vote on what, hopefully, will be 
this Congress' last short-term extension of the highway bill. We have 
made progress on a long-term bill, and the House should consider that 
legislation next week. This is good news.
  But the short-term bill also includes an inevitable but disappointing 
extension of the deadline for railroads to install positive train 
control technology. This technology can prevent train accidents and is 
designed to save lives.
  Originally, Congress gave railroads 7 years to install positive train 
control, but as that deadline approaches, the railroads are woefully 
behind schedule. With the railroad industry's threat to shut down over 
our heads, we have no choice but to go through with this extension.
  I worry what the consequences will be for this. This has to be the 
last delay that we give to the railroads.
  Congress did not mandate positive train control to be a thorn in the 
railroads' side. It was done to save lives.

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