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Pelosi: Congress Must Act to Improve Transit Security

July 13, 2005

Pelosi: Congress Must Act to Improve Transit Security

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Contact: Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider, 202-226-7616

Washington, D.C. - House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi joined Democratic Caucus Chairman Bob Menendez and Representatives Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) at a press stakeout today after the Democratic Caucus meeting to discuss Democratic measures to protect America from terrorism. Below are Pelosi's remarks:

"Yesterday, I went to the British Embassy to sign the condolence book to express the sympathy of our Democratic Caucus and the American people to the British government and to the British people, especially the families and friends who lost their loved ones in the terrorist attack of last week.

"As soon as the attack occurred, of course our response was to be concerned about those who lost their lives, their families, as well as those who were injured.

"But it was also a wake-up call for us to take stock of our own vulnerability in the area of ground transportation. That is Congress' responsibility to the American people.

"For a long time, Congresswoman Holmes Norton, Congressman Thompson, Congressman Menendez, and others have been working hard on this issue. Unfortunately, their overtures have been rejected by the Republicans. But I would hope now that we can reach out in a bipartisan way to do what is necessary to protect the American people.

"Every day, 32 million people board mass transit, either going or coming from work, compared to fewer than 2 million people boarding planes everyday. It is crucial for us to have air safety in our country, and we do not want to diminish it one bit. In fact, we made a stronger commitment to air safety and inspecting cargo, etc.

"But the fact is that since 9/11, $18 billion has been spent on air security, as compared with $250 million on ground transportation security. In addition to that, as Mr. Thompson mentioned, we do not have the national transportation security plan from the Administration. The 9/11 intelligence reform legislation called for it, and it was due in April. It is long overdue now, and we do not know when it will be forthcoming, but we do know that it is more necessary than ever.

"So what we must do is try to work in a bipartisan way, and maybe the Administration and the Republicans in Congress will lose their tin ear on the subject and understand that we have to commit the resources. We must spend up to $6 billion to make our transit systems secure, including capital investments, operating costs, and the grants to the different localities and jurisdictions for security, for overtime, and for all that it takes to protect the American people.

"We must act now. We know what needs to be done; we know our vulnerability; we know our exposure; and Democrats have positive solutions to them. We just need the cooperation of the Republican majority in the Congress and the Bush Administration."