Frank Lautenberg: “Hardly compares with a few hundred million dollars spent to get Amtrak's Northeast corridor up to shape where we could…”

“Hardly compares with a few hundred million dollars spent to get Amtrak's Northeast corridor up to shape where we could produce a surplus revenue cash flow that would not have us here with the beggar cup waiting every year to try to get a few dollars. I want to say to the Senator that the case you make is so clear. I hope that some of our colleagues who come from distant places are able to see the connection. It is just like the Army Corps of Engineers. If they are not financed to take care of the problems out West, then they are not available nor would they be available in the East. This is a national thing, even though its presence is principally in the heaviest populated area of our country. When it comes to services that are headquartered here, like the FAA-- one does not say, ``Well, wait a second. Don't put more money in the FAA safety research office in Washington, because we are out in Colorado or New Mexico or someplace''? They say, ``No. Keep on investing because we all benefit from such investments.'' Would the Senator agree?”