Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, the Federal Railroad Administration's examination of the Metro-North railroad safety apparatus has been completed. I begin by offering my sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr. James Romansoff, a Metro-North employee and a constituent of mine, a Yonkers resident, who died Monday after being hit by a train while performing track maintenance. My thoughts go out to his relatives and all who knew him, and I am deeply sorry for the family's loss. This morning, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration released a report to Congress entitled, ``Operation Deep Dive: Metro-North Commuter Railroad Safety Assessment.'' This report was prompted by the horrific train derailment that occurred in my district on December 1, 2013, which killed four and wounded dozens. I am sure I speak for all of my colleagues when I say that the safety and welfare of my constituents, of all of our constituents, is our number one priority. That is why I was dismayed to learn of the profoundly ineffective standards under which Metro-North--a rail system that thousands of my constituents depend on daily--has been operating. According to the FRA's report, which concentrated on Metro-North's ``safety culture,'' this system is hampered by a strict adherence to train schedules; a safety apparatus that does not seek out potentially dangerous situations, but instead responds to complications after they arise; and inadequate training procedures.…”