Uncle Sam might soon be in charge of making sure you're safe on Metro.
The Obama administration is expected to propose that the federal government take charge of safety regulation of the country's subway and light-rail systems -- and one of the big reasons why is due to Metro's deadly June 22 crash on the Red Line, according to the Washington Post.
"After the [Metro] train crash, we were all sitting around here scratching our heads, saying, 'Hey, we've got to do something about this,' " Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in an interview with the Post. "And we discovered that there's not much we could do, because the law wouldn't allow us to do it."
Metro, of course, responded that it welcomes "additional safety oversight with open arms." (You mean, the same way it did with the safety monitors?)
A former member of the National Transportation Safety Board, which is still investigating the June 22 crash and will hold public hearings in DC next year on the crash, believes this initiative is long overdue.
"I applaud the secretary and his team for recognizing the gap in oversight in the current law. I hope that Congress will act on it swiftly," Kitty Higgins told the Post.
According to the Post, the administration will present its plan to Congress -- which would have to approve any change in law -- in the coming weeks.
