Peter T. King

Madam Speaker, I thank the ranking member for recognizing me, and let me also thank the gentleman for the support that the gentleman has given to this bill.

When the gentleman from Georgia went on the bill, it was a major turning point, so I thank the gentleman for that. It also shows that this is not a partisan or regional issue. It affects people in all parties, all districts in the United States, and all States throughout the country.

This was a major effort which the country came together on after 9/ 11, and as a result of that, there have been casualties and deaths from all over the country. Now, in my own district, I had 150 people killed, but I believe there are going to be even more than that by the time these illnesses run their course.

There are so many people in the prime of life who have been cut down from these 9/11 cancers, blood disorders, and the various intestinal tract illnesses. It has just been a horrible experience to go through for all of these people and their families.

But today is a major milestone on the road to full justice for all those who risked their lives both on the day of 9/11 and in the days, weeks, and months after 9/11: those who worked down at the pile of Ground Zero, those who risked their lives then and are now suffering the consequences of that and those who will suffer the consequences in the years ahead. These are late-developing cancers, and that is why it is so important that this bill be passed.

Let me stress again how bipartisan this is. I commend Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney for the outstanding work they have done. This goes back more than 15 years that this fight has

gone on in one dimension or another. Hopefully, this will be the final struggle we have. Many details have to be worked out, but this should be it, today, as far as finally doing what has to be done for those men and women from 9/11.

Let me also thank the Speaker, Nancy Pelosi. She was instrumental in getting this passed back in 2010, and I want to thank the gentlewoman for keeping her commitment to making sure we got it done this year on a bipartisan basis.

Also, we have people here today like Jake Lemonda from the UFOA, the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, and Gerald Fitzgerald from the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York. We have people, again, on both sides.

I want to thank my colleagues, Congressman Lee Zeldin and Congressman Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania, for their efforts.

We have to, again, make sure that the message goes out to the American people that this is not a regional bill. This is something that involves the entire Nation. This involves the commitment of the United States to always stand with and be with those who put their lives on the line for the rest of us.

So, again, I can't emphasize enough the importance of this. The men and women out there, those people in our districts that we see, those people who we see day in and day out, week in and week out, those who are suffering, those who have had their benefits cut because of the shortage in the fund, that can never be allowed to happen. We have to go forward.

And, again, I want to emphasize that this is bipartisan. This involves the entire Nation, and it is important that we target those who are the enemies here. The terrorists who attacked on 9/11 brought this about. They are the ones who caused this.

It is the men and women who responded, who went back down to that pile day after day after day, week after week, month after month, doing what they could in the rescue and recovery effort, who showed unusual courage. The least we should do is show what is expected of us, and that is to do what has to be done to make sure that they and their families receive the compensation that they need and are entitled to. This is part of the lasting debt America has to the men and women of 9/ 11 and those who worked in the days, weeks, and months afterwards.

Madam Chair, I urge full support of this legislation. Hopefully, when it goes to the Senate, it will be acted on quickly. The victims of 9/11 have been waiting too long as it is. We can't allow a day to go by. I urge adoption of the bill.

Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Madam Speaker, I am honored to recognize my longtime friend,

Isidore Shapiro, on the occasion of his 100th birthday this past February 2, 2019.

After graduating with a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1952, Mr. Shapiro committed his career to helping those who were struggling. During his storied career of public service, starting with serving as the Executive Director of the Queens County Mental Health Society and concluding as the first social worker to be appointed Commissioner of the Nassau Country Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Developmental Disabilities, Mr. Shapiro continually displayed both compassion and respect for the people he served and a devotion to seeing them attain success. During my years as Special Assistant to the Chief Deputy County Executive and then as County Comptroller I worked closely with Isidore. He is a true friend and dedicated public servant.

After his time as Commissioner, Mr. Shapiro, along with his loving wife Goldie, happily retired to sunny Tuscan, Arizona. For his and Goldie's service to Nassau County, it is a privilege to wish him a happy 100th birthday.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Joyce for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my legislation, H.R. 1313, the Transit Security Grant Program Flexibility Act.

The Transit Security Grant Program provides needed funds to transit agencies to protect critical surface transportation infrastructure and the traveling public from acts of terrorism. With billions of riders using surface transportation annually, and limited security screening, it should come as no surprise that surface transportation has been, and continues to be, a terror target.

We have witnessed multiple attacks overseas: the bombings of commuter trains in Madrid, the metro station bombing in Brussels, the bombing of the tube in London.

In New York, we saw, in 2019, there was an attempted liquid explosive attack, which, if successful, would have killed many, many hundreds.

And then, soon after that, there was a planned attack against the Long Island Railroad, in my own district, carried out by Bryant Neal Vinas, who was then in Afghanistan plotting the attack.

And more recently and much closer to home, we witnessed the 2017 New York Port Authority bombing, which the Speaker is well aware of, involving our city.

With the continual calls from ISIS and other extremist groups for lone-wolf attacks to target crowded areas, we must ensure the first responders and transit agencies have the tools needed to secure our transit systems.

Based on previous work done by the subcommittee under the leadership of my good friend Congressman Dan Donovan, we learned of the challenges associated with the fluctuating period of performance for Transit Security Grant Program projects, especially for completing vital large- scale capital security projects.

The Transit Security Grant Program Flexibility Act addresses this challenge by codifying the period of performance for this grant program at 36 months for the majority of eligible projects. It also extends the period of performance for large-scale projects to 55 months. This ensures that these major projects can be successfully completed in the allotted time.

Transit security grant program awards can be used to provide personnel with essential security training. However, recipients of these awards are not currently permitted to use the grant program funds to pay for backfilling personnel attending such training, which may, in turn, inhibit some transit agencies from sending their staff to vital security training.

H.R. 1313 will permit Transit Security Grant Program funds to be used for this purpose, consistent with other homeland security grant programs.

Given the evolving threat landscape, it is imperative that the Transit Security Grant Program provide flexible solutions for grant recipients. It is of the utmost importance that transit agencies have the ability to enhance the protection of these soft targets and crowded places to keep everyday commuters safe.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my staff, particularly, Diana Bergwin, for their hard work.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to join in supporting H.R. 1313.