Rep. Corrine Brown: “Monday's plane crash was another devastating blow to the residents of New York and the citizens of this great Nation.…”

“Monday's plane crash was another devastating blow to the residents of New York and the citizens of this great Nation. Although we do not know the cause yet, I have been hearing it called a routine plane crash. God help us all if we ever accept a plane crash as routine. I was in New York Monday and had to take the train back to D.C. I was talking to the train conductor who said that the U.S. lawmakers have failed the American people. This is what our citizens think of this Congress. How many planes must go down before we truly deal with the safety issue? Not just who screened the baggage, but the safety of the entire transportation infrastructure, including ports, rails, bridges, tunnels, and maybe after yesterday, more safety inspectors for airplanes. Does this Congress have to wait until another disaster strikes again to act to protect our transportation infrastructure? Mr. Speaker, we do not want the American people to feel that we have failed them. I do not hold much hope, but I ask the conferees to support the Senate version of the airline security bill so we can move on to other areas of homeland security. There is something that the American public needs to know. At this very moment, American flight schools are training pilots from countries sponsoring terrorism. All those terrorists need to do is pay in cash, and those schools will teach them anything they need to know.”