John Kerry: “I am proud to join our esteemed majority and minority leaders in sponsoring the High Speed Rail Investment Act of 2001.…”

“I am proud to join our esteemed majority and minority leaders in sponsoring the High Speed Rail Investment Act of 2001. I am proud that our two leaders have been willing and able to work in a bipartisan manner to fulfill a promise that they made last month to re-introduce this critical legislation. I thank them, and I thank Senator Biden and Senator Hutchison for their strong leadership as well. Their commitment to this bill cannot be overstated. This legislation would allow Amtrak to sell $12 billion in bonds over the next ten years and permit the federal government to provide tax credits to bondholders in lieu of interest payments. Amtrak would use this money to upgrade existing rail lines to high-speed rail capability. This bill has supporters from both parties and all regions of the country. Mr. President, high speed rail is not a partisan issue. It is not a regional issue. It is not an urban issue. The High-Speed Rail Investment Act has the support of the National Governors Association, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National Conference of State Legislatures. Thirty newspapers, from the New York Times and Providence Journal, to the Houston Chronicle and Seattle Post Intelligencer, have called for the enactment of this legislation. It is in our national interest to construct a national infrastructure that is truly intermodal. Rail transportation helps alleviate the stress placed on our environment by air and highway transportation.”