Eleanor Holmes Norton: “I appreciate that my friend, Mr. Raskin from the State of Maryland, has yielded this time to me. First, I want to thank…”

“I appreciate that my friend, Mr. Raskin from the State of Maryland, has yielded this time to me. First, I want to thank the senior member of our delegation. I thank the acknowledged leader of this entire bipartisan delegation, Mr. Hoyer, for being the chief sponsor of this resolution that is bipartisan because it concerns the seamless Metro system, seamless because you can't get from one part of this region to the other part of this region without Metro and because this subway is the only subway which encompasses more than one State. It encompasses three jurisdictions. Therefore, we are bipartisan because there is no other way for us to exist. The transportation network requires it, and this resolution does, in fact, shows our bipartisanship. {time} 1730 This resolution is quintessentially important, because it creates a safety commission for Metro. Now, along with other Members, we see Metro in at least two different ways. We see it, of course, in light of our own constituents. Metro makes it possible for entire neighborhoods to be created, entire parts of the region to be connected. Metro has promoted economic growth, but far more important than any of our individual jurisdictions is the importance of Metro to the Federal Government. You may have heard the figure 40 percent today; almost half of the Federal employees get to work through Metro. When Metro has a snow day, the whole region shuts down. We are in this Congress by ourselves.…”