On the recordMarch 17, 2015
They call for a big investment there. One of the things we think ought to be in this bill--in fact, it is in the bill-- is a very strong Buy America provision. This is a locomotive, electric locomotive for the Amtrak line here on the Northeast corridor from Washington, D.C., to Boston, and this locomotive is 100 percent American made. It is made in Sacramento, California, of all places, by a German company, Siemens, who looked at the American Recovery Act, and there was $700 million in there to build these locomotives, and they said 100 percent American made. And Siemens looked at that and goes: $700 million, make it in America, we can do that, and they are doing it. These are now being deployed on the east coast line. But the next phase is a high-speed line between Washington and Boston, and that high-speed line calls for a new kind of train, high- speed train, and out of our committee we said that it is going to be built in America. Now, Mr. Tonko, here is where I turn this over to you. It turns out that one of the foreign companies, Alstom, which is a French company, has a manufacturing plant in upstate New York, maybe near your district. If so, you are going to have those middle class manufacturing jobs when this bill passes with a 100 percent Buy America provision.
