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ALBANY, NY—Congressman Paul Tonko, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, architects and lead sponsors of a comprehensive national limousine safety package in Congress (fact sheet & detailed summary) cheered today’s signing of New York State limousine safety reforms:

Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY-20): “Our hearts remain broken for the families of the deadly Schoharie and Long Island crashes who have somehow managed to turn personal tragedy from dangerous limousines into a fierce and inspiring resolve. Their wisdom and guidance helped shape the bipartisan national limousine safety package I have been pushing Congress to enact, and their advocacy continues to lift our efforts at the state and national levels to ensure we are doing everything possible to prevent future tragedies of this kind. My thanks to these impressive families and many leaders across New York who have come together to advance this worthwhile legislative state package. I will not stop pushing until our comprehensive package of improvements to close loopholes and raise safety standards becomes law nationwide.”

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY): “As we continue to mourn alongside the families in Schoharie and Long Island after unfathomable heartbreak, we are determined to honor their memories by making substantive safety improvements that prevent future accidents and save lives. I am inspired by their courage and determination to make changes to our laws, our regulations and our very culture. Their guidance and advocacy, along with the efforts of many in the New York State Senate and Assembly, helped shape, create, and ultimately pass this life-saving legislation. I will not stop pushing the reforms they inspired until our comprehensive package becomes a federal law.”

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY): “The horrific limousine accidents in Schoharie and Long Island revealed gaping holes in the nation’s road safety rules, and it is an absolute tragedy that New Yorkers lost their lives because of them. My heart is with the families and friends of the victims,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Since then, I have been working closely with my colleagues in Congress to close these gaps, and I am proud that New York State has implemented some of these critical, live-saving reforms. However, roads across the country should be made safer and drivers and passengers need to be protected nationwide. I will not stop fighting until Congress passes the comprehensive set of bills that would directly address the lack of safety regulations in the limousine industry.”

Last October, in honor of the one-year anniversary of the tragic Schoharie, NY limousine crash earlier that month, Congressman Tonko marched to the House Floor to call on Congress to move forward with this bipartisan limousine safety package:

This month we marked a painful anniversary of one fateful afternoon in Schoharie, New York when 20 precious souls were lost in the preventable crash of a limousine that should never have been allowed on the road.

The families of those lost, many from my hometown of Amsterdam, NY, the families of eight young people devastated by the Cutchogue crash on Long Island in 2015, and countless others touched by these preventable tragedies have raised their voices to demand action.

Last week we introduced bipartisan legislation that answers their call: The Safe Limos Act, the Take Unsafe Limos Off the Road Act and the End the Limo Loophole Act. 

Thank you to my friend Antonio Delgado for joining me in sponsoring this life-saving legislation and to our colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have signed on in support. 

These common sense measures will save lives and ensure this never happens to another family. 

I urge this Congress to raise our nation’s limousine safety standards without delay.

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