John Barrow: “I have every intention of supporting today's homeland security authorization bill, but I think this bill could be…”

“I have every intention of supporting today's homeland security authorization bill, but I think this bill could be dramatically improved, especially regarding the rail safety standards that apply to the shipment of extremely hazardous materials in local communities all across our Nation. Three days after I took office this year, an early morning train carrying three rail cars filled with chlorine gas slammed into a parked rail car in the town of Graniteville, South Carolina. This produced a toxic cloud of chlorine and sodium hydroxide that forced 5,400 local residents to flee for their lives. In all, over 240 people were sickened by the gas and 10 people died because of the accident. The long-term effects of the leak are still unknown and the cleanup process continues to this day. Mr. Speaker, what happened in Graniteville was not an isolated incident. Train accidents occur frequently in the United States. Rail cars carrying hazardous, flammable or explosive materials not only pose a major health risk to the communities they travel through, they are vulnerable security threats to our Nation's homeland security efforts. These are would-be terrorist targets begging for attention.…”