John Mica: “I submit it is because special interests weighed in. Here are the folks that supported the legislation last time that…”

“I submit it is because special interests weighed in. Here are the folks that supported the legislation last time that have now reversed their position. Special interests have weighed in. I have a unique approach today. Let us not represent special interests. Let us represent the American taxpayer. We heard it is not costing us anything. Let me put this in perspective. For every time someone got on an Amtrak passenger train last year, the taxpayer paid $25, $25. There were 20 million boardings. That is hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars. So it does cost the taxpayer money. In fact, it has cost the taxpayer, since 1971, $19 billion to subsidize Amtrak. Testimony to our committee said that we could transport people by chauffeured limousine along some of these routes at a lower cost. Why can we not make these changes? Because special interests say that if we eliminate a route, we must pay 6 years full wages and benefits. We have tried Band-Aids. We have tried bailing wire. We have tried masking tape. I submit that the taxpayer demands that we make real reforms that fix Amtrak.”