Congressman Sires Applauds the House of Representatives Passing his Rail Safety Oversight Legislation

Statement

Today, a bill introduced by Congressman Albio Sires (D-NJ) was passed by the House of Representatives and reported to the Senate for consideration. The bill, H.R. 543, requires the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to provide Congress with notice of when a comprehensive safety assessment is being conducted on an intercity or commuter rail transit agency that serves their district, was debated and passed without objection.

"This bill is an important step towards rail transparency because it brings cohesion to the federal government's oversight role," said Congressman Sires. "As a Member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, I take my responsibility to keep my district's rail commuters safe seriously. We must live up to our role of preventing and mitigating rail accidents around the country."

In the wake of the tragic 2016 New Jersey Transit accident in Hoboken, New Jersey which killed a young mother and injured over 100 people, FRA revealed that it had been conducting a comprehensive safety assessment on NJ Transit for months. "My constituents and I should not have learned about this issue only after a fatal accident occurred. This legislation makes it so that no one is caught by surprise by an unsafe rail transit agency and ensures coordination between safety agencies and Congress."

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