WASHINGTON—In his Washington office, Congressman James Comer (R-Ky.) congratulated Michelle Grubbs of Ballard County on being named the Truck Safety Coalition’s Volunteer of the Year. In November 2023, Mrs. Grubbs contacted Congressman Comer’s office to advocate for road safety reforms following the tragic loss of her son and family members in a preventable accident. Her story and determination to advance legislative reforms in Congress on behalf of her son and other family members was inspiring. Congressman Comer was proud to champion bipartisan legislation that will increase road safety in Kentucky and communities across the country.
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Congressman Comer also received the “Truck Safety Champion” award and delivered recorded remarks for the Truck Safety Coalition’s event honoring Michelle Grubbs.
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Below are Congressman Comer’s video remarks as prepared:
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Hello, I am Congressman James Comer, and it is an honor to address you today.
The Truck Safety Coalition has helped reduce the number of deaths and injuries on the road and provides support to accident survivors and families of crash victims.
Addressing road safety became a priority of mine after Michelle Grubbs, a constituent of Kentucky’s First Congressional District from Ballard County, shared her story with me.
In her message, she wrote:
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I lost my 26-year-old son, his fiancé, her mother and Mother’s boyfriend along with a 14-year-old cousin of the fiancé in a preventable truck crash.
Since 2009, large truck fatality crashes have increased by 71% in Kentucky.
We can do better. Your life, my family, friends and my own life mean more than these shocking events in truck fatalities, most of which can be prevented with some changes to laws.
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When I read this message, I couldn’t agree more with Ms. Grubbs. Her advocacy and determination to make a difference on behalf of her son and other family members who passed away was inspiring. Ms. Grubbs visited my district office and met with me so I could hear more about her experience and discuss measures Congress could take to prevent future tragedies. My office immediately began to discuss bipartisan legislative solutions that could increase road safety in Kentucky and communities across the country.
As Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, I have a responsibility to oversee the operations of the U.S. Postal Service.
Last year, reports surfaced that the Postal Service contracted with low-cost companies that were not following highway safety regulations.
These contractors were involved in car crashes that killed seventy-nine people in the last three years and Congress was never informed.
I found this deeply frustrating and began to consider solutions that would ensure the Postal Service is prioritizing safety and notifying Congress of safety incidents.
I was proud to cosponsor the bipartisan Mail Traffic Deaths Reporting Act.
Introduced by my Democratic colleague, Representative Connolly, the bill requires the Postal Service to report to Congress any traffic crashes that result in injury or death.
The Postal Service will also be required to compile a publicly available report summarizing annual stats related to injuries and deaths from traffic accidents.
This legislation was a commonsense bill that increases transparency into the Postal Service’s safety record and prioritizes the safety of Americans across the nation.
Even though the House passed this legislation, our job is still not finished.
I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate to get this bill across the finish line.
This progress shows that we can work together to ensure our roads are safer.
Thank you.