Political Quotes

“I rise in support of the transportation conference report. This legislation will establish for the first time Federal safety standards for metro systems. My promises made are promises kept. After the deadly DC Metro crash on June 22, 2009, I promised two things to the workers at Metro and my constituents who ride Metro. One, I would deliver the $150 million in dedicated funding for Metro's capital improvements in the annual Transportation appropriations bill. I have done this every year. Two: pass legislation giving the U.S. Department of Transportation authority to establish safety standards for metro systems across the country. Today, this legislation delivers on that promise. We always say a grateful nation will never forget. Then we pound our chests, hold hearings, and nothing is ever done. Well, not this time and not this Senator. Immediately following the Metro crash, I was the first to introduce a bill, the National Metro Safety Act of 2009, to establish Federal standards. My bill required the U.S. Department of Transportation to work with the National Transportation Safety Board to implement their most wanted safety recommendations: crashworthiness standards, emergency entry and evacuation design standards, and data event recorders for rail cars; and hours-of-service regulations for train operators. Now, 3 years later, Congress has finally acted. This highway bill includes similar language to my transit safety bill.…”