Tom Latham: “The gentleman's amendment would shut down Amtrak. I concede that Amtrak could be more efficient. However, it has made…”

“The gentleman's amendment would shut down Amtrak. I concede that Amtrak could be more efficient. However, it has made significant improvements in this area recently, and it is moving in the right direction. The bill provides $340 million in operation grants to Amtrak, which fully cover Amtrak's anticipated operating losses for fiscal year 2015. This is a realistic number that we base on Amtrak's most recent operating loss projections. The bill does not include arbitrary funding decisions. We held hearings, and we scrubbed every account. It isn't prudent to eliminate an entire transportation option. I urge a ``no'' vote on the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.”