Norton to Use Friday's Metro Hearing to Lay Foundation for Third $150 million Metro Installment

Norton to Use Friday's Metro Hearing on Safety to Lay Foundation for Third $150 million Metro Installment

June 23, 2011

WASHINGTON, DC - As the region recognizes the two-year anniversary of the Metro Red Line crash that claimed the lives of nine people, seven from the District of Columbia, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will question Metro officials on safety standards at a House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Health Care, District of Columbia, Census and the National Archives hearing on Friday, June 24, 2011, at 9:30 a.m. in room 2247 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Last week, Norton joined the national capital region congressional delegation at a hearing to question Metro officials on safety and operational reliability.

"Wednesday marked the two-year anniversary of the tragic Metro Red Line crash in the District that left an indelible memory here. Considerable improvements have been made since the crash, but the families of the victims and today's riders deserve frequent hearings and consistent oversight to ensure safety as well as to evaluate other risks such as a terrorist attack," Norton said.

"Friday's hearing occurs as we are preparing to press for another $150 million of the $1.5 billion authorization it took five years to get even before the accident. After the Metro crash, it took considerable effort to get the first two $150 million installments when Democrats controlled the House, even though the funds were in the President's budget. These funds have been critical to the safety upgrades since the accident. Even though the President placed this year's $150 million in his budget, we are likely to have to fight hard to keep Republicans from removing it, as they tried to do in fiscal year 2011, given the current budget climate."

Norton took leadership after the June 2009 Metro collision by securing the first hearings on the crash. Based on the first hearing, Norton wrote an amendment to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Reauthorization Act of 2010 to clarify the NTSB's authority to offer interim safety recommendations, especially when it is clear that there is insufficient funding for costly, permanent measures. Norton is also an original cosponsor of the National Metro Safety Act, which would provide enforceable national safety standards for all subway systems for the first time.