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“INTRODUCTION OF THE RAILWAY SAFETY AND FUNDING EQUITY ACT OF 1999” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H3824-H3825 on June 8, 1999.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
INTRODUCTION OF THE RAILWAY SAFETY AND FUNDING EQUITY ACT OF 1999
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the Railroad Safety and Funding Equity Act of 1999, legislation that I have introduced today along with my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Cramer). Also known as RSAFE, this bill will increase funding for a far-too-long-overlooked aspect of highway and railroad safety grade crossings.
With record levels of motorists on our Nation's roads and highways and with a record amount of freight being moved by rail, the lack of our nation's commitment to funding safety programs is nearing dangerous levels. RSAFE will bolster our Nation's commitment by almost doubling the current Federal grade crossing improvement program.
As two recent train crashes in Illinois showed, one a fatal crash in Bourbonnais and the other in my district in LaGrange, much more can and should be done to upgrade safety at railroad to highway grade crossings. For too long policymakers have accepted it as fact that grade crossings are dangerous, and they have left it at that. RSAFE will take the 4.3 cents per gallon diesel fuel tax that railroads currently pay towards deficit reduction and transfer it into the Department of Transportation Section 130 Grade Crossing Safety program. This money will then be distributed to the States on a formula basis.
Based on estimates of railroads' tax receipts, RSAFE will add approximately $125 million or more to the current $150 million in the Section 130 program. Therefore, among other things, RSAFE will give States much more ability to construct gates at grade crossings, develop and acquire new technology that could serve as alternatives to whistle-
blowing and generally remove hazards at grade crossings.
RSAFE also mandates that 5 percent of the new funding will be spent for education and awareness campaigns, such as Operation Lifesaver. Operation Lifesaver works with local law enforcement officials and others to make pedestrians and motorists aware of the dangers at grade crossings. RSAFE also puts 10 percent of the new funding towards upgrading rail-to-rail crossings. The danger posed when two freight trains collide or when a commuter train collides with a freight train are immeasurable in lives and environmental costs.
Since railroad crossing safety is often a local and State issue, RSAFE mandates that the States pay at least a 20 percent share of any project financed with funds under this bill. I think that this is a small price for the States to pay for the safety of their citizens.
The railroads often argue that the 4.3 cent per gallon tax is unfair, that they maintain their own infrastructure unlike the trucking industry. But I think it even more unfair that the taxes go to deficit reduction instead of a program that benefits the railroads and public safety. That is what RSAFE does. It puts railroad money back into the railroads for the benefit of the public.
In addition, after 5 years of increased investment in grade crossing safety, RSAFE repeals the 4.3-cent diesel tax on October 1, 2004. Hopefully, Congress will continue the higher funding for the Section 130 program in the next highway and transportation reauthorization bill. However, until then, every day that the tax goes towards deficit reduction is a day that statistics tell us someone will die at a railroad crossing. In 1998, 428 people died from an incident at a grade crossing, 30 of whom died in my home State of Illinois. Clearly, 428 deaths in 1 year is unacceptable.
So I say to my colleagues and to those in the railroad community:
Please work with Congressman Cramer and me to pass this legislation so that each day we will not see another life perish due to our own inactivity and inaction.
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