“In the wake of the tragic accident in Philadelphia, I felt it was important to make this needed safety investment,” said Dent. “The type of information received from these cameras will be an important tool for accident investigators. They can help determine whether or not human error was the cause of a derailment and inform what preventative measures will need to be taken in the future. I am grateful to my colleagues for their support of my amendment and I will continue to work to make certain that Amtrak has the means to ensure passenger safety,” Dent concluded.
Dent’s amendment was adopted on the House floor by voice vote. Representative Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25), the Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, mentioned Rep. Dent’s amendment during his floor remarks as one of the important safety funding measures contained in the Transportation Bill.
The wikipedia hyperlink in your post notes what was also reported on the evening news at the time, which is that "officials said that the incident might have been prevented by a computerized speed-limiting system that was operational elsewhere on the Northeast Corridor, but whose activation at the crash site had been delayed due to regulatory requirements"... though the evening news back then said it was "budgetary" not "regulatory". I agree often agree with Rep. Dent, and believe he is "representative" of his district. I rarely criticize him on LVR, and have often praised him as I have indeed done here. However, I have to ask how this expenditure--which would only have told us what we already know of this incident if it had been in place--isn't more about a cheap way of looking like the GOP is doing something, when in fact it has resisted funding what would have prevented what happened.
ReplyDeleteFair question.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see the late Bob Freeman is still around.
ReplyDeleteDid Charlie Dent endorse the county republican plan to limit terms? If it is a great idea why doesn't he introduce that Bill for Congress. I doubt that will happen and you will be just fine with that.
ReplyDeleteFrom your headline, no other congressman or woman supported train safety? Only Mr. Dent?
ReplyDeleteMitigative expenditures that the Republicans should have endorsed before this tragedy, only makes Dent's proffer, a day late and a dollar short. People were killed on their watch and this half-hearted approach exposes their lack of insight.
ReplyDelete"From your headline, no other congressman or woman supported train safety? Only Mr. Dent?"
ReplyDeleteStop being ridiculous and learn to read. My headline tells you that the House voted to support train safety and that dent persuaded them. Stop being a sophist.
3:34, It was not a Republican but a bipartisan plan that included Werner and Parsons, half the Dems on Council. It was opposed by Peg Ferraro, a R state committee person.
ReplyDelete"Mitigative expenditures that the Republicans should have endorsed before this tragedy, only makes Dent's proffer, a day late and a dollar short. People were killed on their watch and this half-hearted approach exposes their lack of insight."
ReplyDeleteOutright lie. AMTRAK (which loses $7 on every $15 hamburger they sell) bleeds hundreds of millions every year. They had plenty of money to install safety measures on the stretch where the crash happened. They installed on the southbound tracks and not the northbound. They used the money to fund projects in the west, where AMTRAK hasn't a single profitable route. Democrats controlled everything for several years and used that time to ignore AMTRAK and force the increasingly hated Obamacare on Gruberite dipshits who are every bit as stupid as he said they were. The blood is on AMTRAK's hands and the Democrats who blindly support their continued mismanagement - like you, dummy.
So in other words, Dent does not support term limits fro congressmen.
ReplyDelete"Gruberite dipshits"
ReplyDeleteWhen you are done frothing at the mouth could you explain what that even means?
You are applauding Dent for spending NINE MILLION dollars on cameras. Sure, they are a good idea but as usual, way excessive in the pricing. And it's something that should have been in the trains already AND was probably asked for countless times.
ReplyDelete1:00 - Oh please. The fact is that Amtrak is woefully underfunded because of tea party numskulls like you. Pull the plug on the western lines - who gives a shit? Amtrak is just trying to please the citizens of the country - you know, like making things convenient and efficient like every other industrialized country. Because of tri-cornered hat fools like yourself who spout off every ridiculous statistic they hear on Fox News (the hamburger bit, for example), we are a nation with a 3rd world infrastructure and you just want to make it even worse.
ReplyDelete"So in other words, Dent does not support term limits fro congressmen. "
ReplyDeleteIn other words, you are off topic and will be deleted if you continue making factually flaweed off-topic rants.
Amtrak is underfunded?
ReplyDeleteWhy not raise the prices on users for whatever safety improvements are needed?
That could have been done years ago.
$9 million in improvements divided by 31.2 million annual passengers.
ReplyDeleteThat's less than 30 cents per passenger.
Maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way. It's probably easier to wait for Congress to drop off an oversized check.
Lifetime trough feeder Dent is trying to score local points and pad his already obscene public pension.
ReplyDelete