Political Quotes

“In support of this bill, I would like to relay to my colleagues my personal experience with the National Transportation Safety Board. Last week, there was a train wreck in Potterville, Michigan, in my congressional district. Thirty-five of the 58 cars of the Canadian National Train going through Potterville were derailed; and, of course, the question that is asked of legislators is why did it happen and what are the health and safety issues. So I called the National Transportation Safety Board. It was interesting, all of the information they had. They knew that the track was manufactured in 1976, that it was laid in 1977, that certain portions of the track were welded at the factory, and how much welding was on site. They were extremely helpful investigating and analyzing and sharing some of the information that was available in that Potterville train wreck. I think we are all somewhat concerned with the additional visibility of train wrecks that we have seen in Florida, in California, in Detroit, and last week in Potterville, Michigan. It was an extremely nervous situation in Potterville because of the 35 derailed cars. There were nine tankers of propane and two tankers of sulphuric acid. So it was an immediate concern to the community; 2,200 individuals were evicted from their homes, all wondering about safety, why it happened and if it might happen again.”