Thompson, Etheridge Raise Questions on School Bus Security
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Today, Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Congressman Bob Etheridge (D-NC) sent a letter to Edmund "Kip" Hawley, Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, regarding concerns over the School Bus Risk Assessment mandated by the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007. The letter is attached.
Chairman Thompson released the following statement with the letter:
“The Department of Homeland Security must work diligently within its agencies to fulfill mandates required by the 9/11 Act. The School Bus Risk Assessment should be treated no differently than other risk assessments and should be given thorough and proper consideration in order to provide Congress with substantive metrics with which to asses vulnerabilities impacting our children.”
Congressman Etheridge added the following:
“As the only former state schools chief serving in Congress, I know first hand how important it is to ensure that our children’s travel to and from school is safe and secure,” said Etheridge. “I am very concerned that after six months, it appears that the Department of Homeland Security has not begun to take action on my measure to improve the safety of millions of children. DHS must detail how it expects to conduct a thorough assessment of our nation's school bus safety in the six months remaining until its report is due to Congress.”
# # #
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Please contact Dena Graziano or Adam Comis at (202) 225-9978.
