On the recordSeptember 6, 2017
This amendment would shut down, as we have heard, all 15 of Amtrak's long-distance routes and all 28 State- supported routes. Now, let me tell you, the gentleman from Alabama is absolutely very consistent, he is sincere about trying to reduce the Federal deficit, and I commend him for that. Now, here is the problem. This amendment results not in savings but in increased costs of $423 million. I want to repeat that. This amendment would have the effect of increasing costs by $423 million. It would stop all revenues associated with the national network immediately, but costs would continue to accrue for years, and in addition, some costs that were paid for from the national network account would now simply be shifted to the Northeast corridor account. So, for instance, assets that are shared by both long distance and Northeast corridor, like stations or tracks, are funded under each account proportionally. These costs that were formerly paid by the national network would still need to be paid. So, again, this amendment actually costs more money. I know that, obviously, is not the intent, because I know the gentleman from Alabama, and I can say that, is absolutely sincere. This is something that we have to realize. This bill is not just arbitrary decisions. We held hearings, and we carefully scrubbed each account to make sure that the reductions that we made were responsible and that they were actually going to result in reductions.…
