Introduction of the School Bus Safety Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill I introduced today along with Senator Duckworth from Illinois, the School Bus Safety Act.

No more precious cargo is there than school-aged children entrusted by their parents to go and earn an education and pave the way to a better life. The common-sense measures called for in this legislation will save young lives and it's the right thing to do.

In November 2016, there were two high-profile school bus accidents in Chattanooga, Tennessee and another in Baltimore, Maryland that left 6 school-aged children robbed of their futures.

According to a subsequent National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) crash investigation report, seat belts and other safety measures could have prevented the death of those children and no doubt countless others involved in school bus accidents across the United States.

That is why I am glad that others have joined in the chorus to improve school bus safety including my colleagues, Representatives Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Charlie Crist of Florida who have introduced similar legislation, along with Representatives Elijah Cummings from Maryland and John Duncan from my state of Tennessee who joined me earlier this year to call for a hearing on this very matter.

Despite the recommendations of the NTSB, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration refuses to initiate the process to enshrine these life-saving measures into federal regulation.

As a result of this inaction, Senator Duckworth and I have put forth the School Bus Safety Act, a comprehensive bill to not only make children safer in the event of a crash, but to promote technologies to prevent crashes in the first place.

Buses, like so many passenger vehicles on the road today, should be equipped with automatic electronic breaking systems and electronic stability control. It is just common-sense that our children are the safest they can be on their way to and from school.

The School Bus Safety Act has been endorsed by the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety as well as the National Safety Council.

I urge this body to swiftly pass this legislation so that no other young souls fall victim to our failure to act and make school buses safer.

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