Peter Roskam: “I thank the gentleman. You know, if you were going to sit around and come up with a movie script of absurdity, you…”

“I thank the gentleman. You know, if you were going to sit around and come up with a movie script of absurdity, you couldn't come up with a script that was this real. In other words, taxpayers out subsidizing first class passenger travel on railcars throughout the United States? If you trotted that out to Hollywood and said, ``Oh, we've got one for you,'' the Hollywood types would throw it away and laugh at you and say there's no way, that's completely unrealistic, except in this Congress. Congressman Thornberry from Texas has figured out by carefully reading an Inspector General report of the Department of Transportation that there is a way to save $1 billion over 10 years. Now, think about that. You know something very interesting. You don't hear anybody coming to the floor, Madam Speaker, to defend this practice of subsidizing first class rail treatment. The reason is nobody can do it with a straight face. Nobody can say, Oh, no, no, no. We need to subsidize movies on Amtrak. We need to subsidize prepaid meals. We need to subsidize honest-to-goodness the bed turndown service in the sleeper car. How absurd is that? So oftentimes in political life we're asked what would you cut. What would you cut? How would you balance this budget? Well, I tell you what. You've got a whole host of Republicans that say let's vote ``no'' on this previous question and let's take up this effort, this time, this afternoon to cut $1 billion.”