Bennie Thompson

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, as I noted earlier, H.R. 1401 is an important milestone in protecting our Nation's rail and public transportation systems. Since its introduction, however, Chairman Oberstar and Chairman Waxman have worked with me to improve the bill and satisfy a number of concerns they had. I am proud that my colleagues and I were able to put aside jurisdictional squabbles that plagued our committees in the past two Congresses. By working together, we came up with compromise language that is good for the Nation and good for Congress. I want to thank Chairman Waxman for the assistance he and his staff gave me on improving whistleblower protections for transportation workers. The manager's amendment strengthens the protections for Federal employees and contractors. As revised, the protections more closely resemble those found in H.R. 985, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act. Members may recall that H.R. 985 overwhelmingly passed the House 2 weeks ago. I also have worked closely with Chairman Oberstar to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the Departments of Homeland Security and Transportation under this bill. The two agencies will have the same responsibilities established in the various laws, executive orders, and MOUs already governing their relationship. Additionally, in order to improve efficiency, we will create a new relationship between the Departments to manage the rail, public transportation, and bus security grants created by this bill. For all three grants, the Homeland Security Department will be responsible for determining the requirements for recipients of grants, including application requirements; determining who receives the grants; determining the uses for the grant funds; and establishing priorities for uses of funds. Transportation will be responsible for distributing grant funds to those recipients as directed by Homeland Security. Both agencies will jointly monitor and audit the use of grant funds. I believe that this cooperative relationship will create efficiencies. Allowing Transportation to be the ``Western Union'' for grants is consistent with the recommendation of the American Public Transportation Association. I am proud to have worked side by side with Chairman Oberstar to ensure that our Nation's security needs are met in an efficient and effective manner. Since its creation in the 108th Congress, the Committee on Homeland Security has had to compete with other committees just to get things done. Good bills were stalled or held up too long because of jurisdictional squabbles. Not this Congress. I thank Chairman Oberstar for his help. By working together, I think we can demonstrate that the 110th Congress is a do-something Congress, not a Congress of competing jurisdictions. I urge all of my colleagues to support this amendment and make this a Congress that acts to better protect our rail and public transportation system. Mr. Chairman, I enter the following for purposes of explaining my request for unanimous consent to correct a technical drafting error that resulted in the omission from the Manager's Amendment of two sections clearly referenced throughout the Manager's Amendment, specifically referred to below as sections 112A and 112B. The two sections listed below are not essential to making this section of the underlying bill operative, but, while the bill and section are still operational, the bill would be further clarified if the following sections were included. I am disappointed that my unanimous consent request was objected to, apparently for mere partisan advantage. As such, at conference, I plan to work with Chairman Waxman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee to offer this language as it represents a compromise between myself and Chairman Waxman. I worked with Chairman Waxman to make the provisions of H.R. 1401 similar to those in H.R. 985, which is the bipartisan whistleblower protection bill that overwhelmingly passed the House on March 14. Below is the technical amendment that should have been made today:

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. I yield to the gentleman from Florida.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, I understand that Mr. Davis, as well as Mr. Waxman, are in agreement with the correction, because it is really the language from their whistleblower bill that we are trying to make sure that is consistent with what we have.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the instructions of the House in the motion to recommit, I report the bill, H.R. 1401, back to the House with an amendment.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Reclaiming my time, Madam Speaker, I think the issue is if individuals who were singled out, not charged with anything in violation of the law, then why shouldn't they be able to seek remedy in a court of law? For the sake of discussion, Madam Speaker, all of us in this body don't look alike, and it is clear that people could be profiled because of their religion or their race. I think the record is clear in this country that some people are profiled, and I am wondering if people are profiled illegally, not charged with a criminal act. They absolutely should have the ability to seek redress in a court of law. What I want to do is to say that there is nothing wrong with reporting in good faith, but when it is clear that we have not defined in a good-faith language in this motion to recommit what that is, then a number of people in this country could be singled out for various and sundry reasons. And what I am saying in this motion to recommit is it sets us up to start profiling against individuals regardless of religion, custom, or what have you. If I am praying on a plane simply because I am afraid to fly, then I could be singled out in the eyes of someone else. So I am clear that this is speculative on people who look different; it is speculative on people who perhaps act differently. I am convinced that, knowing you, you have not proven on the committee to be a punitive person; and the reason I say that, Mr. Ranking Member, is we should not be singling people out for personal reasons. We need to catch bad people, but we need to make sure that we are not profiling those individuals because of how they look. I mean, this is America. This is the melting pot with a rainbow. The point that I am making, while this motion to recommit might be well-intended, it has unintended consequences on a lot of people, people who, for religious or other reasons, might look different; and I think that the offerers of this motion to recommit should think about this. Because we are not a body or a country of just one people. And if you look at it, we should be tolerant, and tolerant doesn't mean singling people out or having them arrested for no apparent reason other than the fact that they look different. Madam Speaker, I accept the motion to recommit.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. But to your knowledge no criminal charges have been filed against the people on the plane.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Three years ago this month, 10 explosions shook Madrid's commuter rail systems, killing 191 people and leaving thousands wounded. As Americans, we mourned the loss felt by Spain. We wondered whether terrorists would try the same here at home. Then we waited. The next year, suicide bombers attacked the Tube in London. Last year, it was Mumbai. Last month, it was New Delhi. Each time we watched and waited. Mr. Chairman, the time for wondering and waiting has come and gone. Today, we act. The Rail and Public Transportation Security Act of 2007 makes clear that America simply will not wait for terrorists to attack our trains, buses and subways. We will act now to secure them. A bipartisan bill, H.R. 1401, was passed unanimously out of the Committee on Homeland Security. This legislation goes a long way to protect our rail and mass transit systems so that we can move freely, yet securely, through our communities. For example, it requires rail and public transportation systems to complete vulnerability assessments and security plans. It requires the Department of Homeland Security to finally develop a strategy for rail and transportation security. It strengthens intelligence and information-sharing efforts. It ensures that hardworking rail and public transportation employees are trained and on the lookout for security violations. It requires railroads to use the most secure routes to transport hazardous materials. It provides for much-needed R&D testing and technology in the rail and public transportation arena. I am certain that bill is not without its naysayers. There are some that have and will continue to say that we can never secure these systems. I have heard many excuses from people in the past years. They say that the systems are too expensive, that the systems are too open, that we should only worry about aviation. I say in response, if Congress does nothing and America is attacked, it will be our responsibility. We will deserve to be judged harshly for our inaction. Instead of waiting, let's do something right and protect the people we are here to serve. I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill. Mr. Chairman, I submit these two letters, correspondence between myself and Mr. Waxman, chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, regarding H.R. 1401, the Rail and Public Transportation Security Act of 2007. House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Washington, DC, March 26, 2007. Hon. Bennie G. Thompson, Chairman, House Committee on Homeland Security, Washington,

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Perlmutter).

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from New York (Mrs. Lowey).

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin), the chairman of the Emerging Threats Subcommittee. (Mr. LANGEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge).

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Texas (Mr. Cuellar).

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, let me, at the close, thank my ranking member of the committee. Our committee, as you know, has a reputation of being one of the more bipartisan committees here on the Hill; and I look forward to continuing that. Mr. King has done a wonderful job. Clearly, this legislation helps close the gap in terms of vulnerability. Those people who fly have been reasonably safe since 9/ 11. However, we clearly have vulnerabilities that we need to fix on the rail and public transit systems. So what this bill does is move us in that direction. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to vote ``aye'' on H.R. 1401. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, before I begin, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be modified with the text I have placed at the desk.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Have they been charged with anything, to your knowledge?

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlelady from Texas, Ms. Sheila Jackson-Lee.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, I rise to claim time.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Actually, Mr. Chairman, it was a drafting error on the whistleblower proceedings. And if you would look at it, it clearly was Legislative Counsel's error, and we are really just trying to correct the language.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Clerk be authorized to make technical corrections in the engrossment of H.R. 1401, including corrections in spelling, punctuation, section numbering, and cross-referencing and the insertion of appropriate headings.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule for H.R. 1401, the Rail and Public Transportation Security Act of 2007. I am also grateful to the Rules Committee and my colleague from Florida for offering this rule. The bill passed out of the Committee on Homeland Security was a comprehensive bill. I know a number of my colleagues offered amendments, and I appreciate their interest. I am also pleased the rule makes in order the manager's amendment I will be offering. This amendment was the result of extensive negotiations with my colleagues on the Oversight and Government Reform as well as Transportation Committees. Chairman Waxman assisted in perfecting the whistleblower protections in the bill. Chairman Oberstar worked with me on clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the Departments of Transportation and Homeland Security in this bill. In closing, Mr. Speaker, I feel this is a good rule. It provides for sufficient debate on this important legislation. It also rules in order several amendments that deserve discussion and consideration by the House. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the rule.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material into the Record on H.R. 1401.