On the recordJune 4, 2015
Mr. Chairman, I thank the subcommittee chairman for yielding. I simply want to underscore his opposition to this amendment. It would block Amtrak's loan request for $2.5 billion for new Acela high- speed train sets. This loan would make it possible to upgrade Amtrak's best and most profitable service, but one that is severely stressed. We need to remind ourselves that the cars in which people died in Philadelphia were 40 years old. We desperately need the kind of investment that this loan would make possible. As the chairman has stressed, this may turn out to be the way that we can fund positive train control. It may be the only way, given other limitations in the bill, other limitations in Amtrak funding. It would prevent loans that exceed $600 million for other purposes, including safety purposes. This is a very, very ill-advised amendment. I urge colleagues to reject it.
