Political Quotes

“my friend from Arizona makes at least two valid points--and many more--but two valid points. One is that if Amtrak is out of business, I will be here. I will have to be in Washington; and it means I will not be running out of here after the last vote to get the train home, which means I will get to speak more. That may be inducement enough for my colleagues to vote to continue to subsidize Amtrak, so I am not here late at night debating. But another truism that the Senator stated is that this has been a subsidy. It is an ongoing subsidy. But when he puts it in the context of being on the dole, you have to put it in the context of all other transportation systems. We subsidize airline tickets more. The average income of people flying in airlines, I suspect, is as high or higher than anyone getting on an Amtrak train. We subsidize those airline tickets a number of ways. They are tax deductible for business expenses. We build the airports. We build the towers and pay the air traffic controllers, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. We also subsidize the highways beyond what we collect in the highway trust fund moneys. So, Mr. President, all modes of transportation in the United States are subsidized. It seems to me rational public policy would dictate us to look at what makes sense. Different regions have different requirements. I see my friend from North Dakota is here. Amtrak is useful to him, but he does not need Amtrak as much as he needs highways.”