Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. President, 14 years ago on November 17, 2001, families across New Jersey were still struggling with the grief of empty seats at dinner tables and closets full of clothes never to be worn again. It was 14 years ago that the news headlines were reflecting on one of the greatest tragedies our country had ever witnessed, which were the attacks on 9/11 of the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania.

Today, the trauma for that is no longer as raw as it once was, yet we are still affected forever, and much still tries the soul of our Nation. While the Sun still rises, the seasons still change, the wounds of that day may never heal. There are so many families across New Jersey who are still struggling with the aftermath of this terror, with the illnesses of loved ones who survived and who served as first responders in the 9/11 attacks.

While the debris has long been cleared and new towers now stand at the World Trade Center site, many of the thousands of brave first responders who sacrificed their safety for the good of our country are still battling very serious health issues. The exposure to debris, to dust, to other hazardous materials and chemicals on September 11 and the weeks and months that followed have caused countless chronic medical problems for tens of thousands of Americans, including many New Jerseyans. They and their families are still burdened every single day with the physical, emotional, and financial costs of the attacks on 9/11.

For too long in the wake of the attacks, there were significant gaps in the access and quality of care for survivors. One such survivor, James Zadroga, an NYPD officer and former Ocean County, NJ, resident, struggled with accessing care to treat his severe and chronic respiratory problems after serving as first responder in the wake of September 11, where we believe he acquired those serious health problems. James passed away just over 4 years after the attacks at the age of 34.

Thanks to the advocacy of the Zadroga family and the State and Federal lawmakers--people like Senator Lautenberg and Senator Menendez--a bill was passed into law to provide health care, treatment, and compensation for survivors like James Zadroga who are dealing with the aftermath and effects of the 9/11 attacks. Because of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, over 70,000 first responders and survivors are now enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program and receiving quality care.

Over 5,000 survivors and first responders still require medical treatment because of their exposure and/or their service as first responders and because of the Zadroga act, they have had access. Because Congress failed to act, the World Trade Center Health Program expired in September 2015, and without congressional action, funding for the program will run out by next year. Additionally, funding for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund will likely expire around the same time next year as well.

Earlier this month, the editorial board of one New Jersey newspaper, the Star-Ledger, had this to say about this body's failure to act:

The bill has overwhelming support from both parties. They understand this is an American problem, with victims from all 50 states, and they know this legislative solution is not radical. We take care of workers with dangerous jobs ..... especially heroes who risked their lives to help humanity while most of us watched from home, paralyzed by grief.

We have not just a patriotic responsibility but a moral obligation to ensure that the Americans who sacrificed so much for the good of our country in the wake of September 11, 2001, are treated with the respect and care they deserve. They are our heroes. They are our champions. They stood up and worked when many ran.

It is incumbent upon this Congress to follow the lead of Senator Gillibrand and heed the calls coming from our constituents to pass the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act. I am proud to stand with Senator Gillibrand and our colleagues in the Senate and in the House, advocates, and first responders who are urgently calling for the passage of this necessary legislation that reflects our values and our ideals.

I wish to close with the words of a courageous Newark Fire Department captain who responded to the 9/11 attacks at great personal risk and had the following to share with my office about the renewal of the Zadroga act:

As a member of New Jersey Task Force I, I responded on 9/11. This volunteer State Police team, participated in numerous search and rescue operations on that day. The thousands of firefighters that worked that day, developed medical issues thereafter, including myself. I have had three surgeries for thyroid cancer. I also developed the 9/11 cough, and have developed side effects from radiation treatment. ..... We are not looking to get rich. We just want to be able to continue serving as firefighters, without worrying about our health because of 9/11.

Those in this Chamber who somehow, remarkably, oppose this bill need to hear this man's words and my own as well. We cannot fail to act. By what we do here now, we not only take care of those heroes from 9/11 but we send a message to all Americans about how we stand up for those who stood for us, who fought for us. When the most perilous times came to be, they were there for us. This country is a nation that takes care of its heroes.

What we do here with this legislation will forever highlight this ideal and celebrate its truth or it will cast a dark shadow over it. I hope today and in the coming days that we move this legislation forward and be the light upon the great men and women who are so patriotically dedicated to our Nation.

Mr. President, before I yield the floor, I would like to also talk briefly about the Transportation appropriations bill this Chamber is considering.

I truly appreciate the hard work that Senator Reed and Senator Collins have done to get this bill to a place that makes critical investments in transportation and housing and, in particular, for some of our most vulnerable citizens. Their work has been tireless, and I am happy to see much of the progress they are making.

However, this appropriations bill as it currently stands includes some provisions that would weaken highway safety. At a time when 4,000 people are losing their lives annually on American highways and 100,000 are injured due to large truck crashes, it is paramount that Congress do more to improve safety, not remove evidence-based safety policies.

New Jersey alone has some 38,000 miles of public roads that connect people of our State and get them where they need to be. It drives much of the commerce and economy of our State every day. New Jersey is strategically placed, which makes it a very important path through the State and for goods up and down the east coast as well. These roads also see a tremendous amount of truck traffic at all times of the day and night. If you have ever driven on the New Jersey Turnpike, you know what I mean.

I am concerned that we saw an increase in truck accidents from 2009 to 2012, an increase in crash injuries by 40 percent, and truck crash fatalities during this time have increased 16 percent. This is data. These are numbers. But they are also human lives; they are fellow Americans who have had their lives shattered by horrific accidents.

Truckdriver fatigue is a leading cause of these major truck accidents. These drivers who work extremely long days delivering the goods we depend upon deserve basic protections allowing them to get sufficient rest to do their job.

I filed an amendment on the hours of service rules, which were put in place to prevent truckdriver fatigue and ensure that the rules put in place after years of study and robust stakeholder feedback would still be enforceable. Some people believe we should suspend these rules, these commonsense policies, by calling for even more study. My amendment ensures the rules will remain enforceable while further study is conducted so that we don't see more lives put at risk as a result of these delay tactics. What we should be doing is ensuring that safety is first. If it proves not necessary, then pull back.

There are other provisions in this bill that I believe could jeopardize highway safety as well. I am pleased, though, that earlier today we were able to work together and pass an amendment to further study a proposal to allow heavier trucks, longer trucks on the road. Heavier trucks could cause greater damage and destruction to human life and property when these accidents occur. I am grateful to my colleagues for working together on this.

A final example of a commonsense provision we in Congress should address as we work to improve highway safety is the minimum level of insurance required by truckdrivers. When truck crashes do occur and the insurance doesn't cover the cost of these accidents, taxpayers are left to front the bill. We should look to the decades-old minimum levels of insurance and assess whether those minimum insurance standards need to be raised so that families torn apart by truck crashes aren't then thrust into debt because of medical bills.

I have met with some of these families. I have sat with them and heard their stories about how low levels of minimum insurance have left them in dire straits. As taxpayers, we should not be left without the funding to rebuild damaged roads and bridges in the aftermath of such significant crashes. It is time to modernize a minimum level of insurance for truckdrivers so that we are all better equipped in the aftermath of an accident.

Again, I have sat with far too many survivors and their family members. I have seen, talked, and engaged with them, hearing the truth of their stories. We cannot sit silently while truck accidents are increasing in our country and allow commonsense safety to be rolled back in these spending bills. Where there are meaningful and practical solutions to pressing highway safety challenges, these are discussions we need to have. This is a fight worth having, and I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to improve the safety on our Nation's highways. We have the capability, we have the know-how, and we have the science to help us to begin to reduce these tragic accidents and fatalities on our highways.

I believe we should show greater urgency in protecting human life and protecting Americans as they ride along our roads.

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