Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, the Amtrak Executive Bonus Disclosure Act, which increases accountability and transparency at Amtrak by requiring public disclosure of taxpayer- funded bonuses given to its top executives. Amtrak was created 55 years ago by Congress as a for-profit entity to relieve our Nation's vital freight railroads of their obligation under law to provide what had proved to be an unprofitable intercity passenger rail service. Since then, Amtrak has done no better. They have failed to ever make a profit and struggle to provide adequate service. Even with the post-pandemic improvements in ridership, staggering financial losses remain. In 2023, Amtrak lost more than $1.7 billion despite collecting $11 billion in taxpayer subsidies and almost $22 billion in advanced funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Amtrak's delays and customer service failures were front and center the day after Christmas just a month ago when the Northeast Corridor train didn't board any passengers at Washington's Union Station. Mr. Speaker, 100 customers were stranded during the busiest travel time of the year when operations should be the most efficient. Amtrak is also hampered with project delays. Delayed projects lead to cost overruns and significant revenue losses. For example, its new Acela II train service for the Northeast Corridor is more than 3 years behind schedule with no firm date on when it will enter service.…”