On the recordSeptember 6, 2017
I appreciate the chairman for yielding and join him in opposing this amendment. Amtrak serves more than 500 destinations in 46 States. It is a more and more critical component of our transportation system in North Carolina and many States like it across the country. It connects small communities that otherwise wouldn't have access to air service or other first-rate transportation. In the past 11 years, Amtrak has had ten consecutive years of record ridership, serving over 32 million passengers last year. So this is an irresponsible amendment. It would eliminate thousands of jobs for Amtrak workers, and it would hurt the local economies that benefit from Amtrak routes. Eliminating this national network service would also harm State- supported routes, and we in North Carolina and other States take notice when that is charged, and it is an accurate charge. They feed into these long-distance routes. It costs the government billions of dollars due to the violation of labor agreements. So it would be a very costly amendment. There is no doubt about it. Support for a robust national rail system has been reaffirmed by members of both parties, and we can reaffirm it here tonight by voting against this amendment. {time} 2030
