Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to note provisions in H.R. 7617 which provide $5 million for the Maglev Deployment Program, also known as MDP, and an additional $100 million in Title V of the bill. The MDP was created in 1998 as a competitive program to encourage the development and construction of an operating maglev transportation system capable of safe use by the public at speeds in excess of 240 miles per hour. The program was not intended for the United States to deploy a new transportation system somewhere in America and not for research. America has fallen behind as countries like China and Japan have deployed magnetic levitation transportation systems. Congress directed the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to establish project selection criteria, to solicit applications for funding, to select one or more projects to receive financial assistance for preconstruction planning activities, and after completion of such activities, to select one of the projects to receive financial assistance for final design, engineering and construction. Funds were only available to States or an Authority designated by one or more States and included required State matching funds. The FRA received eleven applications for MDP funding and selected seven projects for Initial Feasibility Studies. The FRA then completed a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision for the MDP.…”