Sheila Jackson Lee

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1538, the ``Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007.'' The news of the horrible living conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center raised our national consciousness regarding the need to do more--much more--for wounded and injured service members and to upgrade the administrative systems that support them. While the committee made improvements in the past, there is more that can and should be done. When our heroic young men and women willingly sacrifice life or limb on the battlefield, the nation has a moral obligation to ensure that they are treated with respect and dignity. According to Webster's, dignity is ``the quality or condition of being esteemed, honored or worthy.'' Madam Speaker, we can never do enough to honor our wounded veterans. Studies have shown that 30 percent of troops deployed to Iraq suffer from depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). More than 1500 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have sustained devastating brain injuries from improvised explosive devices (IEDs). However when wounded troops return home the treatment they receive is more befitting a second class citizen than a hero. This is a shame and a great stain on our nation. How these problems could be overlooked or neglected by this Administration is unfathomable. The very leaders that these brave young men and women rely upon let them down. The message that incidents like Walter Reed Medical Center sends to our troops is that we do not care enough. But that is not the message we wish to send. The Wounded Warrior Assistance Act, H.R. 1538, will go a long away toward correcting this misapprehension. On February 26, 2007, I had the opportunity to visit some of our wounded heroes at the Michael E. DeBakery VA Hospital in Houston, Texas. I promised those brave young men and women that ``those of us in Washington would do everything we could to ensure that the health and well being of our veterans was a top priority.'' Likewise, I was overwhelmed with sadness and anger after my visit to Walter Reed Hospital in May of last year. Walter Reed points to more general problems in the DOD and VA health care systems. The exposure of Walter Reed has led to the reviews of other DOD and VA health care facilities--reviews that have found that Walter Reed is not an isolated case. The Washington Post reported recently that a recent review by the Department of Veterans Affairs of 1,400 hospitals and other veterans' care facilities ``turned up more than 1,000 reports of substandard conditions--from leaky roofs and peeling paint to bug and bat infestations--as well as a smaller number of potential threats to patient safety, such as suicide risks in psychiatric wards.'' H.R. 1538 addresses the failures of an administration that was eager to go to war, yet took for granted its most valuable resource our troops. This bipartisan bill responds to the problems brought to light at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and other military health care facilities by including provisions to: (1) improve the access to quality medical care for wounded service members who are outpatients at military health care facilities; (2) begin the process of restoring the integrity and efficiency of the disability evaluation system and taking other steps to cut bureaucratic red tape; and (3) improve the transition of wounded service members from the Armed Forces to the VA system. Specifically, H.R. 1538 provides improvements to medical and dental care for members of the armed forces assigned to hospitals in an outpatient status. It establishes a toll-free hot line for reporting deficiencies in medical-related support facilities and expedited response to reports of deficiencies. The legislation requires congressional notification of hospitalization of combat wounded service members and creates an independent medical advocate for service members appearing before medical evaluation boards. The bill also provides for training and reduced caseloads for physical evaluation board liaison officers. It also requires the establishment of a standardized training program and curriculum for department of defense disability evaluation system. Our wounded warriors will also benefit from improved training for health care professionals, medical care case managers, and service member advocates on particular conditions of recovering service members provided for in the bill, as they will from establishment of a medical support fund for support of members of the armed forces returning to military service or civilian life. I am especially pleased that the bill requires the establishment of an oversight board for wounded warriors and the submission of an annual report to Congress evaluating military medical facilities and the DOD and VA disability evaluation systems. Finally, the bill imposes a moratorium on the outsourcing of mission critical health care jobs at Walter Reed Medical Center and other medical facilities. Mr. Chairman, every morning when I arrive at my office, I am reminded of how fortunate I am. Outside of my office there is a posterboard with the names and faces of those heroes from Houston, Texas who have lost their lives wearing the uniform of our country. I think to myself how lucky I am to live in a nation where so many brave young men and women volunteer to the ultimate sacrifice so that their countrymen can enjoy the blessings of liberty. Now is the time to remind our heroes they have not been forgotten. More importantly, America has not forgotten them. As I have said in the past: ``Just as our soldiers do not leave their comrades on the battle fields, America can not leave the injured to languish on their own with no comfort and support from a grateful nation. The problems in Iraq and Afghanistan are taking us away from focusing on the care for our wounded Veterans and their family and that must stop.'' Substandard living conditions, inattentive care, and bureaucratic red tape are completely unacceptable. We must correct everything that is wrong with the current system of health care for wounded veterans and make it right. Most important, a situation like Walter Reed must never be allowed to happen again. One reason we are the greatest nation in the world is because of the brave young men and women fighting for us in Iraq and Afghanistan. They deserve honor, they deserve dignity, and they deserve our absolute best. Let them know you care. Let us honor our wounded warriors. Let us pass H.R. 1538.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Let me first of all thank Mr. Meek and Mr. Ryan for yielding to me and allowing me just to join what I think has been an enormously instructive discussion. The point that I want to leave on is, and I love what your display is saying, the budget would not raise taxes, but what I do want to just acknowledge, all that you have said, is because we are choosing people over special interests, because I leave you with this large brown bar that shows you that if the taxes that the President wants to keep in his budget, and the Republican budget, were to go forward, all the work that we are trying to do, whether it is the emergency supplemental and SCHIP and Pell Grants and more jobs being created, go down the tube, with the $17,500 tax relief to those making over $1 million. This is what put us in this enormous deficit. Of course, the Iraq war with no oversight and control, $12 billion lost in Iraq somewhere, contracts not accounted for, but I am glad that we have got one in emergency supplemental that will get us out of Iraq and will help people in this country. We have got a budget that will not focus on special interests, but we will focus on veterans and children and health care. Mr. Meek, you know, you were saying about that, hours-long vote, that was Medicare. As you well know, we are still paying for that Medicare prescription drug benefit now. Let me thank both of you. I am proud to be part of the fix-it Congress after we have been walking through the muck, if you will, of a broken Congress.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. On this potent point, first of all, Mr. Meek, let me say the people that have come to my office say can you provide for funding for child care so I can be at work. I have not heard, Warren Buffett has not been in my office, but Warren Buffett himself has said he would rather see an investment in the domestic economy as opposed to the enormous tax cuts for the rich. The reason why I think this is important, let me have you see something else in 12 months besides the filing of your taxes, an economic engine that may see an increase in jobs just because the Democrats had enough courage to stand up to the President's budget and do our own budget that doesn't have tax increases, but invests in the economy. Maybe we will also see more students going to college. Maybe we will also see more children getting SCHIP money based upon the appropriators and the budget coming together. Maybe we will see, you know what, my country cares for me. They actually care about what I need, because they have brought down the deficit. That is what this President would sign this budget and work with this Congress, maybe we will see what it means to care about Americans as opposed to putting forward special interests. I thank the gentlemen. I would just like to read that as I go, thus, to be clear, the budget resolution does not call for or require a tax increase. That is the Democratic budget resolution.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, let me first of all thank the distinguished gentleman from Ohio and distinguished gentleman from Florida for allowing me to join you this evening. We do this on occasion, and I thank you for setting the record straight. I just want to say this brief comment on this question of the Iraq War and the veto. Usually there is a phrase that says if you break it, fix it. Well, this government was broken. Nobody in the last several Congresses wanted to fix it, and it is now our task to fix it. That is why you had a board that showed accountability and oversight, and that is why it is imperative that we took the vote last Friday and the Senate took the vote yesterday to go forward and make a difference with a framework in Iraq that the American people asked us to do. I frankly thought that when we won the election that this President would do what many Presidents do in a divided government, sit down with the Speaker and the majority leader and work to save lives in Iraq. Unfortunately, that was not the case, and so I applaud you for bringing to the light the idea of accountability. I just want to quickly move forward with a couple of points about the budget vote and the budget that we have to engage in, and when I look at this particular board that talks about the economy and jobs, I think of places like Texas, Ohio, Florida, the Midwest, New York. I think of the time of the past presidency under President Clinton, a Democratic President, when there were 236,000 jobs created per month. Now, we are at 68,000 jobs per month. Clearly, the Bush economy job growth is among the slowest of any administration in over 70 years, and this literally shows Presidents Hoover, Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford. Ford had, of course, inflation. It shows Carter. It shows Reagan. It shows Bush I, Clinton and now this President. The balancing of the budget that we intend to do with a vote taken tomorrow clearly speaks to energizing the economy. Now, let me just talk to those who say that we are raising taxes in this budget. That is false. That is not true. This budget does not contain a single penny of tax increases, period, and the Republicans have been misdescribing this budget because they have had the largest tax cut in the history of the United States. But who benefits the most when the tax cuts are fully enacted? As usual, it is those making over $1 million. That is why Democrats are focusing on middle class taxes. That is why we are cutting middle class income tax. That is why we are focusing on fixing the alternative minimum tax, to shield middle income taxpayers. That is why we have relief for the child tax credit, the marriage penalty relief, and we do something about the estate tax, because any tax cut by this administration, $17,500 would go to those making over $1 million. I would simply say to the gentlemen, who are we representing, the special interests, the rich, or are we trying to represent the working middle class? Now, there are many budgets that will be on the floor tomorrow, and I just want to comment on one. The Congressional Black Caucus budget improves the deficit by $107 billion even over our Democratic budget and $339 billion over the President's budget. There will be a number of budgets, but I am very proud of this budget which really improves the deficit, and when we improve the deficit, being that when we lower the deficit, we work on the high interest rates. Many of us have been hearing unfortunately about large numbers of foreclosures. Part of that is because of reverse mortgages and poor people being plagued upon, if you will, by predatory lending, which are some challenges that fell into this administration, where there was no oversight and accountability of our financial industry. I am delighted that we have a new chairman of the Financial Services Committee to begin to look at the massive foreclosures, and I would encourage those who are tragically in the jaws of foreclosure, get on the phone and call your Members of Congress to speak out against predatory lending and asking for some relief because you are deserving of it. My attentiveness on what Mr. Ryan and Mr. Meek were speaking about drew me to bring to the attention of our listeners and to my colleagues on the floor this whole question of why not only do we need this budget but why it is I think ludicrous for the President to have a veto threat on the emergency supplemental. Who is going to respond to the emergency conditions at Walter Reed? Who is going to respond to the emergency conditions of large numbers of Iraqi veterans who are returning, along with the veterans from Afghanistan, with brain injury, post-traumatic stress, the need of prosthetics, the need of outpatient clinics and the need of family resources and health resources? Well, I hate to tell you that I think over the last 8 years, last 6- years, this administration has, in fact, been poor to poor veterans. January 2003, this lays out how the Bush and the Republican budget funding for veterans has been poor and the veterans have been doing poorly. The Bush administration cuts off veterans' health care for 164,000 veterans. Why do you not walk in your veterans hospitals like many of us have done? I did a couple of Sundays ago, visited with veterans who are paraplegic, paralyzed from the neck down, paralyzed from the legs down, and you ask the question, how can you can cut off veterans' health care for 164,000 vets? Our budget fixes these problems. In March 2003, Republican budget that cut $14 billion from veterans' health care passed by Congress with 199 Democrats voting against it. We voted against the cut of $14 billion from veterans' health care. March 2004, Republican budget that shortchanged veterans' health care by $1.5 billion passed by Congress with 201 Democrats voting against it. Our record is very clear. And in March 2005, President Bush's budget shortchanged veterans' health care by more than $2 billion for 2005 and cut veterans' health care by $14 billion over 5 years but passed with 201 Democrats voting against it. But what I would also say is that it was Democrats who had to come back on this floor and pressure this Congress to put more money back in the budget and back into the resources for our veterans. Let me just say this as I wind down on this budget. Tomorrow there will be a number of substitute budgets. If I could write my own Sheila Jackson-Lee budget, I would have all of it for domestic spending, for housing and health care. Though we have done a great job on the SCHIP program, and I thank Mr. Meek for holding up the embarrassment that we have across America, with States that have as high as 12 percent of our children uninsured, when we could, in fact, have universal health care for all of our children if we were more responsible and we had a more responsible government, I am grateful for the fact, even with a budget that I would have written differently, with more money for health care, as I said more money for housing, and probably more money for the gulf region because we think of Katrina, but the whole gulf region was undermined by this terrible hurricane and it has remained so, so it needs a boost in its economy, but I am grateful that this budget includes a $50 billion reserve fund to expand the State children's health insurance to cover more of the 9 million children without health insurance in this country. So we tried to fix what was broken. We did not break it, but the fact is it is broken, and therefore, I am very proud to stand with Democrats in this budget to be able to come to a Ohio or to be able to tell you that we are going to stop the bleeding on jobs leaving this country, and stop the bleeding of jobs not being provided for Americans.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I would be delighted to yield 30 seconds to the distinguished Chair of the Transportation Committee, Mr. Oberstar.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, let me thank the distinguished chairman of the committee and thank the ranking member and the members of the committee who worked so diligently. Let me specifically thank the members of the Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Critical Infrastructure. Each and every one of them worked tirelessly to contribute to this bill, along with members of the full committee. This has been a very tough mountain to climb. We waited for 4 years to travel through a number of legislative initiatives, and finally we reached a point where we are able to bring to the floor the Rail and Public Transportation Security Act of 2007. Let me thank the chairperson, Mr. Thompson, for his vigorous leadership and his concern, so much so that he organized and made sure that the full Homeland Security Committee was organized to have a subcommittee that would focus on transit systems which would include over-the-road buses, trucking and a number of other important transit systems or transportation systems that heretofore had not been covered. Let me also thank him for the inclusion of the aspect of critical infrastructure because, interestingly enough, when you look at transportation systems, critical infrastructure plays into the holistic approach to security. So this bill I think has a holistic approach to ensuring that we have security, and it has as a backdrop the tragedies of Madrid and the tragedies, of course, of London. So what we do is, how do we fix the problems. I think we have a hands-on approach, but a balanced approach, between the Departments of Transportation and Homeland Security. We increase the number of inspectors to 600. We require a national rail and public transportation security plan. For the first time in the history of this Nation, we will clarify the roles and responsibilities of Federal, State and local agencies, so that if you have a local transit agency, they will have the opportunity to develop a transit security system. I would encourage my colleagues as this bill makes its way that we focus on local jurisdictions having security plans. It will strengthen intelligence sharing. One of the Achilles heels of 9/11 was that we did not share intelligence. We will do that as relates to transportation systems. Then we will lay out plans for public outreach and public education initiatives. It will include strategies and time lines for research and develop. We have expanded, of course, this whole idea of security to diverse groups that have not heretofore had the opportunity, minority institutions, minority contractors and women-owned businesses that can become engaged. And, yes, our committee had a hearing on the tension, but also the separation, between the hiring of individuals and the requirements of railroad companies versus the requirements of the Department of Homeland Security, so we wouldn't use security as a reason for terminating individuals. This bill has a positive end to it. We will bring rail security to America, Mr. Chairman. I am proud to have been the subcommittee Chair on this and proud of this committee. I ask my colleagues to support this bill. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this bill. As the Chairwoman for the Homeland Security's Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection, we have held numerous vital hearings on the topic of transportation security. These hearings were attended by the Subcommittee's Ranking Member, Mr. Lungren from California, and other Committee Members from both parties. Over the past couple of months, the Committee on Homeland Security has heard testimony on the important issue of rail, mass transit, and over-the-road bus security. After hearing the experts' testimony, I, like many Americans, am appalled by the failure to provide ongoing and continuous oversight in transportation security--specifically, in the areas of rail and mass transit. Throughout the world, mass transit systems have long been targets of terrorist attacks. Algerian extremists set off bombs on the subways of Paris in 1995 and 1996; the Irish Republican Army waged a long-running terrorist campaign against the London Underground; Palestinian terrorists have carried out suicide bombings on Israel's buses; Chechnyan terrorists killed 40 people by bombing the Moscow subway in 2004; and, in the first terrorist use of a chemical weapon, a Japanese cult--Aum Shinrykyo--released sarin gas on a Tokyo subway in 1995. Recent events make it clear that the threat continues. On the morning of March 11th, 2004, ten explosions occurred at the height of the Madrid rush hour aboard four commuter trains. On July 7, 2005, during the morning peak travel hours, three separate explosions ripped through the London Underground and a fourth explosion occurred on a double- decker bus. These four explosions, the result of coordinated suicide- bombings by British-born Islamic extremists, claimed the lives of 56 people and seriously injured hundreds more. Two weeks later, on July 21, 2005, another group of terrorists unsuccessfully attempted to attack London's mass transit system again. On July 11th, 2006 a series of seven bomb blasts against the Suburban Railway in Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and India's financial capital resulted in 207 lost lives and over 700 injured. The recent attacks serve as a harsh reminder of mass transit and rail security vulnerabilities. Both mass transit and rail systems are public and used by millions of people daily. Because of their size, openness, and highly networked character, there are no obvious checkpoints, like those at airports, to inspect passengers and parcels. Passengers are strangers, promising attackers anonymity and easy escape. And attacks on mass transit--the circulatory systems of urban areas-- can cause widespread fear, severely disrupt economic activity, kill or injure large numbers of people, and alter our way of life. An attack on our freight rail, either the material being transported (such as hazardous materials, or vital commodities), or merely the system itself, could severely impact our national economy. As a result, both mass transit and rail systems are attractive targets. Since September 11, 2001, according to the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, mass transit systems have been the target of more than 145 terrorist attacks. Due to their existence in high-population, high-risk urban areas, mass transit systems are also inevitably affected by any terrorist attack that may occur within that jurisdiction--regardless of whether the transit system was the target of the attack. For example, during September 11, 2001, two of New York City's busiest transit stations were lost and considerable damage occurred to the tunnel structures, endangering hundreds of lives underground. Great care was required to evacuate passengers, locate and rescue trapped transit cars, and communicate instructions. The damage in New York City was so great that in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, Congress appropriated $1.8 billion to rebuild the subway infrastructure that was damaged in the attacks. I am hopeful that through this legislation we can prevent such attacks rather than face the tragic consequences of 9/11 again. I refuse to sit idly by and allow another 9/11 or Madrid, London, or Mumbai bombing to disrupt our Nation and its critical infrastructure--it is with that conviction that I seek to address these issues. The recent world events should serve as a wake-up call that we must do more to secure our transportation systems and we must act quickly and responsibly.I firmly believe that the legislation before us today will take an important step in securing our transportation systems. Pursuant to the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001 (ATSA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is responsible for the security of all modes of transportation including rail and mass transit. TSA, however, has focused the majority of its resources and assets on aviation security in the past five years. Congress, recognizing TSA's lack of progress in developing a security strategy for all modes of transportation, mandated the development of a National Strategy for Transportation Security in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (``9/11 Act''). This strategy, although due April 1, 2005, was not finalized by TSA until September 2005. Moreover, the document provided by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not meet the requirements set out by Congress, especially with regards to rail and mass transit security. Furthermore, subsequent congressionally mandated updates were also not met by TSA, resulting in the 9/11 Discourse Project giving the TSA a C- for its efforts. TSA's failure to assume a leadership position on surface transportation security is plainly evident. It is time that we take action and leadership to help protect the more than 11.3 million passengers in 35 metropolitan areas and 22 states who use commuter, heavy, or light rail each weekday. There must be substantial penalties for those who do not follow the security plans, vulnerability assessments, and regulations set out in this legislation. This bill provides the framework by which to create an ongoing and constant oversight process for our overlooked modes of transportation. Working with other federal government agencies, the Department of Homeland Security will monitor and assess the progress made by transportation providers and their workforces in implementing the security training mandated for transportation workers in this bill. I am also pleased that I was able to ensure in this bill that DHS would leverage its work in regards to security training with the safety training which has already been developed in universities and institutions of higher learning. These institutions with existing transportation programs will also have an opportunity to participate in the National Transportation Center of Excellence Consortium. These programs have spent numerous years developing solutions for transportation vulnerabilities and this knowledge should be employed. I am especially pleased that minority serving institutions will play an active role in contributing to improving our transportation security. Furthermore, neighborhood and local participation through programs such as Citizen Corps exercises is also critically important in facilitating security exercises. The millions of men and women who live next to railroad tracks and subway stations will be directly impacted if there is an attack, and they should be active and knowledgeable participants in preparing for such a tragic incident. Furthermore, I am pleased that I was able to work with Chairman Thompson and Chairman Oberstar on the issue of rail security grants for security improvements to new start rail projects and systems. New start rail projects throughout the country will be more secure because we were able to incorporate language ensuring that rail security grants are used for security plans for new start rail projects which have not become operational yet. Mr. Chairman, I also worked to ensure that this bill will authorize some much needed human resources to the Transportation Security Administration in the form of 600 additional rail security officers and inspectors. TSA will need additional manpower to meet the mandates set out in this legislation, such as approving of security plans and implementing training programs for covered transportation workers. The 100 additional officers I was able to secure will ensure that TSA is equipped to live up to its new mission. This bill also authorizes more than $5.1 billion for the next four years, for rail, mass transit, and bus security. The funds called for in this bill should be based on risk and the priorities established by DHS. With this bill--for the first time--we will have comprehensive vulnerability assessments and security plans for rail, mass transit and buses. I find it completely appalling that this Administration seems to be unwilling to act on rail and mass transit security until we are faced with another disaster. I shudder to think that if the Washington, DC or New York subway systems were attacked, and mass casualties resulted, that we would be thinking that more could have been done to prevent such a tragedy. We will be desperately trying to figure out how to prepare for a disaster that has already happened and holding hearing after hearing to find out where we dropped the ball. The time to prepare is now, and I am committed to securing our nation's rail and mass transit system expeditiously. We have been blessed thus far that our rail and public transportation systems have not been attacked. We should make our best efforts to ensure that we do not overlook this blessing. From the terrorist attacks that have occurred around the world, we know that terrorists will target our rail and public transportation systems. Despite this admonition, the agency created and funded by Congress to address the issue of transportation security has consistently dropped the ball when it comes to rail and public transportation. We cannot let the lessons of Madrid, London, and Mumbai go unheeded. For the sake of the millions of Americans who use our rail and mass transit systems every day to go to work, school, and visit friends and family, we have to take charge on this security risk. What we are witnessing with the Transportation Security Administration is a lack of complete accountability. The Transportation Security Administration is not being held fully accountable for protecting our transportation systems and this must change. I acknowledge and appreciate the time that TSA Administrator Kip Hawley has taken to participate in this important hearing. However, we cannot tolerate the TSA's past inaction on this issue to continue for a moment longer. While it is understandable that we would put focus on the safety of air travel, given the events of 9/11, what cannot be justified is the completely lopsided attention by the Department to aviation security at the expense of rail and mass transit security. I am pleased that this Congress and Chairman Thompson have decided to do what this Administration has thus far proved unwilling to do. That is, to provide a comprehensive framework to secure this nation's rail and public transportation systems. We owe it to the public to safeguard the modes of transportation that allow them to carry on with their lives and drive this economy. Millions of men and women ride our nation's rail and public transportation systems every day; we owe it to them to ensure that they can do so safely and securely. I hope that through today's hearing and our continued efforts on the issue of rail and mass transit security, we can resolve the asymmetric way in which we treat aviation versus rail security and resolve the substantial threat posed by inadequate security on our rail and mass transit system. I want to thank my colleagues for all of their hard work and dedication to these important issues, but I also want to emphasize that our job is not complete until we pass this bill and send it to the President. I eagerly look forward to the expeditious enactment of this critical legislation.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I rise to indicate that the committee majority supports Mr. Arcuri's very thoughtful method to protect those individuals along those very difficult byways dealing with these particular power lines.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. First of all, the gentleman knows that we look forward in our committee to work on this issue dealing with trucks. I would say that the distinguished gentleman from Tennessee's amendment does not push it off to trucks. It only wants to reduce chemicals. I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition. I am not opposed, but I would claim the time.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. I thank the distinguished gentleman. I believe this is a thoughtful amendment. The committee believes this adds to the legislation on the floor. We should look into security practices used by other countries that have experience with attacks on rail and mass transit systems. This timeframe, the month of March, sadly commemorates the tragedy in Madrid. Certainly we are well aware of the London train bombings. Their insight, their recovery, their instructions would be very important. This study should include an evaluation of practices such as covert testing, security measures built into infrastructure and random searches of passengers and baggage. When GAO testified before our committee, we learned that, while we share many rail security practices with other countries such as customer awareness, canine teams, limited passenger and baggage screening and technology upgrades, there were many practices that we haven't fully vetted. It makes sense to learn what we can from our neighbors who have already done a lot of work in this area. I know that this is a tough challenge. This bill, I believe, answers a lot of the concerns about the massiveness of rail travel and passenger travel and all that goes into securing that particular travel. Looking at what our neighbors are doing and what other countries are doing, Mr. Castle, I think it provides us an added road map for a complicated process which really impacts certain areas of our country more so than others. The Northeast corridor, of course, deserves our fullest measure of support when it comes to passenger travel for the numbers of systems that are here. I ask my colleagues to support it. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I simply ask my colleagues to support this amendment. I thank the gentleman for his thoughtful contribution to this bill. I support Mr. Castle's amendment. We should look into security practices used by other countries that have experience with terrorist attacks on rail and mass transits systems. This study should include an evaluation of practices such as covert testing, security measures built into infrastructure, and random searches of passengers and baggage. When GAO testified before our committee, we learned that while we share many rail security practices with other countries, such as customer awareness, canine teams, limited passenger and baggage screening, and technology upgrades, there were many practices that we haven't fully vetted. It makes sense to learn what we can from our neighbors who have already done a lot of work in this area. I ask that my colleagues support this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, this is a baffling, puzzling amendment. I ask the question of my colleagues, what is one life worth? What is one life worth that travels along the Nation's transit corridors, the intense Northeast corridor that deals with Amtrak long distance routes, 2 million people? The Sessions amendment would prohibit any grant funds appropriated pursuant to this Act to be used by Amtrak for making necessary safety or security improvements along 10 Amtrak routes, with the exceptions of some of those in some of the more intense areas of New York, Baltimore and Union Station. Many of these routes provide central transportation services to rural areas. Some of them enabled Amtrak to bring water and food to the people of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and to hurricane victims. The question is, what is one life worth that is using this system? What is our responsibility as Members of the United States Congress and the Homeland Security Committee? I believe this is both a bad amendment but a puzzling amendment, and I would ask my colleagues to oppose this amendment so that we can truly have a rail security bill that secures all of the transit system that needs that coverage. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, how much time remains?

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Let me just simply say to the gentleman, so that I will clarify any suggestion of my confusion, we have 3.5 million passengers who are riding Amtrak. One of the routes the gentleman wants to eliminate is from Texas to California. I believe the gentleman is from Texas. The idea is, Mr. Chairman, to make sure we have a system that is integrated, safe; and there are security provisions to make the network safe, the network that travels to the east coast, the network that travels to California, the network that travels to the Northwest. That is the idea of the rail bill, to ensure that we now have coverage and the opportunity for security where we previously did not, to avoid London and to avoid Madrid. It is now my pleasure to be able to yield to the distinguished chairman of the Transportation Committee, Mr. Oberstar, for such time as he might consume.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. I thank the distinguished chairman for his eloquent statement. Let me yield 1 minute to the distinguished chairman of the Subcommittee on Rails on the Transportation Committee.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I will close by simply saying that we have asked the question and it has been answered: What is one life worth? Amtrak is part of a system. You break the security of one part of the system, Mr. Chairman, you break the security of the entire system. This amendment is important for breaking that. It is not important for making this bill work. I ask my colleagues to oppose the Sessions amendment so that the network of Amtrak will have a secure and safe system for those that travel on it. Mr. Chairman, I yield back my time.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, again, let me simply say that we are speaking about an existing program. We know that throughout our security system the FBI, Customs and Border Protection, we use bomb- sniffing dogs. And this is a program that already exists. It strikes the increase in TSA's, Transportation Security Administration's, already-existing program, domestic canine breeding program that is called for in this bill. Interestingly enough, this was added by Mr. Rogers, Mike Rogers of our committee, of Alabama. This was added in the markup because he is the ranking member on our Management and Personnel Subcommittee. He understands the need for these canines. It was accepted in a spirit of bipartisanship. The TSA canine teams are a key part of the equation in keeping our traveling public secure, and we all support expanding this program. I ask one person in here, when they see dogs coming to be part of the security team, how many people want to reject that canine team that is very effective in determining whether something heinous and horrific is going to act, even on this very campus in the United States Congress. I ask my colleagues to oppose the amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve my time.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, let me yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished subcommittee Chair on the Transportation Committee and a member of the Homeland Security Committee, Mr. DeFazio of Oregon.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from New York (Mr. King).

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the ranking member of the subcommittee, Mr. Rogers.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, to close, let me just thank Mr. Rogers for the underlying language and make the point again that this is a question of security and to contract out, privatize the breeding of these dogs and/or to use foreign-bred dogs may raise a question in terms of source, resource, and utilization. This is good language in this bill that allows TSA to continue its program, particularly since we are expanding rail security and therefore needing the increase in the canine breed. I would ask my colleague to defeat the Flake amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to address you this afternoon. I thank my good friend Mr. Hastings from Florida, and let me thank the Rules Committee for the thoughtful and constructive rule that has been put forward and acknowledge my colleague on the subcommittee, Mr. Bilirakis, for his comments about the underlying bill. Just to inform my colleagues, this is a bill long overdue, and procedurally I believe that we moved this bill in regular order. We held two hearings. First of all, a hearing that allowed us to hear from the vastness of government agencies, who, I guess out of their testimony, one could argue that they made a very clear case that we needed a regulatory framework within which to secure the Nation's railroads and transit systems. Obviously, through the tragedies of London and Madrid, we knew that the clock was ticking; and this committee, under the chairmanship of Chairman Thompson, knows that we must advance the ball, building on the work that this committee has done as a bipartisan committee over the years with a number of chairpersons, that we must move the ball forward to ensure the security of the Nation's homeland. That means this particular subcommittee will address questions dealing with not only the questions of rail, but of aviation, of bus, of trucking, and as well critical infrastructure that heretofore may not have been assessed as closely as we should have. So we held one hearing. At a second hearing we were able to hear from a number of industry persons to tell us, again, of some of the mountains that they had to climb in order to ensure security of the homeland. That being so, this is a comprehensive bill. I am delighted it includes language regarding research and training, whistleblower language that comports with the Waxman legislation, so we are consistent in the legislative structure. I support, as well, the manager's amendment by Mr. Thompson, which focuses on some aspects that I think help the bill. There will be some issues that I hope that we can move further along, and that is a relationship of consultation between the Homeland Security Department and the Department of Transportation. As relates to security, I think it is key that the Department of Homeland Security and the Homeland Security Committee lead in consultation with a number of our jurisdictional allies. I want to thank the chairman of the transportation committee and the chairperson of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Congresswoman Corrine Brown. We worked very collegially together, and I think this is a strong product. Might I also just indicate that I hope my colleagues will pay close attention to language that would eliminate Amtrak from security grants. One of the largest modes of passenger transportation, which has had its ups and downs, sometimes the passenger rate is up, sometimes it is down, but it does not mean that it is not a vulnerable target. It is interesting that if you run your transit system 24 hours a day, for example, there has to be a period where there is low passenger census. Does that mean that it is any less a target to threats than it would be during peak times? So I hope my colleagues will consider the vulnerability that the Sessions amendment gives to this whole bill and the idea of securing extensively the rail system. Might I suggest that amendments that would undermine the Transportation Security Administration breeding program increase also pose concern, because, as we know, we have not yet had a system in rail travel that addresses the question of security of baggage. So this breeding program, dealing with domestic animals, is an important aspect of dealing with the question of security. I would also suggest that you don't want to leave out the provision that we have in the over-the-road bus program, and that should not be eliminated. This is a good rule. I ask my colleagues to support it, and I hope they will support the underlying bill. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak about the history of this bill. This bill was badly needed because, as you know, the issue of transportation security has been over looked. This bill authorizes more than 5 billion dollars over the next four years for rail, public transportation, and over-the-road bus security. Having seen the horrific events in Madrid and London, something must be done to improve transportation security. We know that this bill moves in that direction because we've had a long and distinguished legislative record resulting in this bipartisan bill. As the Chairwoman for the Homeland Security's Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection we have held two hearings on the topic of transportation security. On February 6, the Subcommittee received testimony from the government on transportation security. On February 13, the Subcommittee heard testimony from industry and labor about the issue as well. Both of these hearings were attended by the Subcommittee's Ranking Member, Mr. Lungren from California, and other Committee Members from both parties. In these hearings, the Subcommittee heard from over nine different witnesses. The witnesses included, Assistant Secretary Hawley, with the Transportation Security Administration, two witnesses from the Department of Transportation, one from the Federal Railroad Administration, and the other from the Federal Transit Administration, and the Government Accountability Office's rail security expert. We also heard from the Amtrak's Inspector General, the Association of American Railroads, and the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Finally, we also heard from the Transport Workers Union and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. As such, I think we have heard from all the stakeholders impacted by this bill. Besides hearings, the Subcommittee held a mark-up on March 1, 2007, in which there were ten amendments offered and discussed. These amendments dealt with issues, including whistleblower rights, reducing protections for protecting sensitive information, and others. I believe the mark-up yielded a strong bill, which was made even stronger by the Full Committee's mark-up and its consideration of more than twenty amendments. Mr. Speaker, because the Homeland Security bill was passed unanimously out of Committee and it represents a compromise between the Transportation & Infrastructure and Oversight and Government Reform Committees, and is a great step forward to protecting our transportation systems, I urge my colleagues to support the Rule.