On the recordJune 4, 2015
Mr. Chairman, the Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing program, or RRIF program, provides direct loans and loan guarantees to finance the development of railroad infrastructure. Under the program, the Federal Railroad Administration is authorized to provide direct loans and loan guarantees of up to $35 billion to finance development of railroad infrastructure. Since 2002, the Federal Railroad Administration has made 35 loans which demonstrate the importance of this program to our Nation's railroads. No doubt about that. However, only five of these loans have ever met or exceeded $100 million. Two of those were to Amtrak. In fact, prior to this year, the largest RRIF loan ever made was to Amtrak in 2011 for $562 million. My amendment ensures funds are spent responsibly on viable railroad projects and taxpayer risk is minimized by limiting loan amounts to $600 million. I urge my colleagues to support my fiscally responsible amendment. I reserve the balance of my time.
