[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 20129]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        AMTRAK CASCADES ACCIDENT

  (Mr. HECK asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HECK. Mr. Speaker, no Member of this body ever wants to come to 
this dais and say what I am about to say.
  This morning, a train derailed as it crossed Interstate 5 near 
DuPont, Washington, in the heart of my district, sending railcars to 
the roadway below.
  Lives were lost and families were shattered. Loved ones are severely 
injured, including a family member of one of my staffers. All this, of 
course, right in the middle of the holiday season.
  Right now, many questions beg for answers. We need to determine what 
went wrong, and the NTSB will be investigating. But, for now, I am 
grateful for our first responders and the community for stepping up. So 
many set aside their grief and reported for duty, including many first 
responders who came in on their day off.
  Our hearts go out to the families impacted by this horrific tragedy, 
and we ask for everyone's prayers for the victims to continue to 
recover.

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