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Top Democrats Introduce Legislation to Speed Up PTC Implementation, Prevent Further PTC Extensions

Legislation would provide funding for PTC implementation and prevent new passenger rail service on routes without PTC

January 11, 2018

Washington, D.C. -- Today, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Michael Capuano (D-MA) introduced legislation that would speed up the implementation of life-saving positive train control (PTC) technology that could prevent catastrophic human-caused rail accidents. The legislation, the Positive Train Control Implementation and Financing Act (H.R. 4766), comes in response to the December 18, 2017 crash of Amtrak Train 501 in Washington, which killed three passengers. Last week, the National Transportation Safety Board reported that the accident was PTC preventable.

“Since Congress first passed legislation to mandate PTC implementation in 2008, some railroads have been diligent in implementing PTC while others have clearly been dragging their feet. Two years ago, Congress granted them more time, pushing the PTC implementation deadline to December 31, 2018. As we approach that deadline, many of the railroads do not appear to be on track to meet the PTC mandate. Enough. No more delays, no more extensions, no more excuses from railroads who have had ten years to implement PTC technology. This legislation requires that PTC be installed by the end of the year, prevents future extensions of this life-saving technology, and provides critical grants for cash-strapped commuter and intercity passenger railroads to implement PTC,” said DeFazio.

“Positive Train Control will significantly improve passenger safety and full implementation must be made a priority. This legislation will ensure that PTC is done as quickly as possible and makes resources available to help certain railroads meet this obligation,” said Capuano.

Members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Representatives Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), and the entire Washington State Democratic delegation including Representatives Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Denny Heck (D-WA), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Derek Kilmer (D-WA), and Adam Smith (D-WA), have cosponsored the legislation.

The legislation would mandate that December 31, 2018, is the final deadline for implementing PTC and prohibit the U.S. Department of Transportation from granting railroads further extensions of the PTC deadline. To help passenger railroads meet the deadline, the bill includes just over $2.5 billion in grants for intercity and commuter passenger railroads to implement PTC.  In response to the recent Amtrak crash in Washington, the legislation would prohibit commuter and intercity passenger railroads from beginning new service on a route unless PTC is fully implemented and operational. It also requires that Amtrak report its progress toward installing PTC on routes that are not owned by Amtrak, but are operated by the railroad, such as the Amtrak Cascades line

Smith Statement Condemning Attorney General Sessions’s Rescission of Marijuana Policy

January 4, 2018

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Smith released the following statement in response to Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s decision to rescind Obama Administration memos, establishing that as long as strict enforcement and regulatory systems and policies remained in place, it would defer action in states like Washington which have legalized adult recreational marijuana use.

“The actions taken by Attorney General Sessions to rescind existing protections for citizens complying with lawfully enacted state laws regarding marijuana use across the country represents a flagrant disregard for the will of the majority of Americans. This about-face leaves a vacuum of any substantive federal marijuana policy, and threatens to create a ‘wild west’ of haphazard prosecutions. This shift in policy is completely unacceptable, and is an affront to the 10th Amendment.

“We must demand that Washington state residents who abide by state laws are protected from blanket federal enforcement. It is essential that Congress now provide certainty on this issue. We must move swiftly to codify the ban on dollars being spent by federal law enforcement to prosecute individuals legally participating in marijuana use or business in accordance with respective state laws. We have a responsibility to strengthen guidance to U.S. Attorneys on prosecution of marijuana cases and enact clear guidelines to financial institutions on providing banking services to legal marijuana businesses.”

 

Statement from Congressman Smith on Passage of H.R. 1

December 22, 2017

“The Republicans’ final tax bill affirmed my opposition to this dangerous proposal. Today’s vote increased the deficit by a staggering $1.5 trillion, which overwhelmingly benefits the rich and corporations at a time when we are running historic deficits and wealth is concentrated at the top. This bill was so partisan and poorly constructed, and the process so lacking, that Senate parliamentary rules required provisions to be dropped at the last minute, which required the House to vote on the bill twice.

This measure endangers Medicare and other mandatory programs, leaving them susceptible to drastic cuts that will hurt ordinary Americans. It will throw our health care system into chaos and even harms our environment by opening up the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge up for oil drilling. This bill set our government on an extremely irresponsible path and its negative effects will be felt by generations to come.”

 

Smith Statement on House Passage of the Continuing Resolution

December 22, 2017

“The Republicans just reneged on their responsibility to properly fund the federal government because they were too busy giving away a $1.5 trillion dollar tax cut to corporations and the wealthy. By falling back on another short-term continuing resolution, almost a quarter of year past the due date for proper appropriations bills, they have clearly demonstrated that they are not willing to do their job. Their lack of action will directly and negatively affect the people who reside in the Ninth Congressional District and across the country. 

House Republicans cannot continue to punt their responsibilities. We must do the job that we have been elected to do; particularly enacting a comprehensive budget that fairly funds important priorities, such as education, job growth, protection of the environment, and our national security. We also need to bring up the legislation necessary to ensure DREAMers can remain at home in this country, and not live in fear of their families being pulled apart.  Inaction on these vital issues is unacceptable.”

Congressman Smith Decries Republicans Reckless Actions Endangering Mandatory Programs

December 15, 2017

“As Republicans in Congress continue to push their reckless tax cuts, they put at risk crucial agencies and programs, such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), military pensions, and Medicare. In addition to massively benefiting the wealthy and corporations, as well as reducing revenue by more than a trillion dollars, the tax bill endangers important mandatory spending priorities on which middle class and working Americans rely.                                          

“In 2010, to help reign in deficit spending, Congress passed what is known as a PAYGO law, requiring that the legislation enacted during a session of Congress not increase the deficit under threat of automatic cuts. Because of its imbalance, the Republican tax bill risks triggering these automatic and across-the-board PAYGO cuts to critical mandatory spending programs. In a strikingly disingenuous statement, the Senate Majority Leader and Speaker of the House have asserted that the PAYGO cuts to mandatory programs that will be triggered by their tax bill ‘will not happen’ for some unspecified and seemingly miraculous reason. Either Republicans have a way to skirt the law that they haven’t shared, or their tax bill is going to trigger the automatic cuts. Both scenarios are terrible for the middle class.

“Empty rhetoric is not enough, and Republicans’ irresponsible disregard for the consequences of their actions is dangerous. I continue to oppose the Republican tax bill and the damage it will inflict on the future of our economy and our country.”  

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