Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record. There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: S. 2922 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Rail Passenger Fairness Act''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. (1) Congress created Amtrak under the Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-158). (2) Amtrak began serving customers on May 1, 1971, taking over the operation of most intercity passenger trains that private, freight railroads were previously required to operate. In exchange for assuming these passenger rail operations, Amtrak was given access to the national rail network. (3) In return for relief from the obligation to provide intercity passenger service, railroads over which Amtrak operated (referred to in this section as ``host railroads'') were expected to give Amtrak passenger trains preference over freight trains when using the national rail network. (4) In 1973, Congress passed the Amtrak Improvement Act of 1973 (Public Law 93-146), which gives intercity and commuter rail passenger transportation preference over freight transportation in using a rail line, junction, or crossing.…”