John Mica

Congress must renew its commitment to providing a robust physical platform upon which the American people in business can compete and prosper.

We can be successful, we must be successful. It needs to be a bipartisan effort.

Well, that is well within the range of what we are talking.

I am fascinated by Obamacare.

I think there is probably a lot more room, wouldn't you agree?

I think that labor has done an incredible job over the years.

I have always advocated maintaining the benefits, the salary, the wages, the retirement for Amtrak employees in whatever structure we adopt, making certain that is protected.

I would hope that in the future we can really seriously, seriously think about high-speed rail.

I would concur with all of those, particularly our job is protecting the public interest.

I would like to make that a priority, moving it forward.

It is just an incredible story of vision and just the type of determination to get the job done.

At that juncture I won't be around to see that, given my DNA and longevity as far as male members of my family are concerned.

But we want to do that, rather than in 30 years, 30 years to my calculation brings us in their chart, which we will put in the record without objection, shows us not getting to really high-speed operations until 2030 to 2040.

I have always supported the right of Americans to join a labor union.

It should be built, it can be built, it can be self-sustaining, it can be a great project.

If we have got a multibillion-dollar project in California, it is not going to be a dog, we are going to, we want success.

I remember I phrased it slow speed trains to nowhere, and I got a number of delegation letters...

I was interested to find the European Union is now opening, in a couple of years, all of the public transportation operations for high-speed and other rail service to the private sector.

Let's--what I am trying to lean towards is it appears that there is a commitment, well there is a commitment...

We have to change the law and some of the policy that we are in charge of in order to make things truly shovel-ready.

The next generation of transportation is high-speed rail, and we are on track to accomplish it.

We need to do it and get it done not in 30 years, but in a fraction of that time.

I tried to negotiate with the Governor and others and there were others other interests in the State that wanted to go all the way to Tampa.

If the United States is going to maintain our position of economic leadership, we have to invest in the best infrastructure in the world.

I don't mind investing the money if we know how it is being spent, but to come and ask for more and we haven't been able to spend it.