Frank Lautenberg: “I rise to support the compromise Amtrak reauthorization bill being offered by Senator Hutchison. Passage of this bill…”

“I rise to support the compromise Amtrak reauthorization bill being offered by Senator Hutchison. Passage of this bill brings us one step closer to putting Amtrak on firm footing by extending authorization for 5 years, and most importantly, by giving Amtrak $2.3 billion in tax credits for much-needed capital investments. But let's not pretend we are completely solving the problem today. The General Accounting Office has warned us over and over again that making Amtrak self sufficient will be difficult and that realistically we have to look at continued investment in the system beyond the year 2002. Mr. President, our national transportation system is crucial to our economy. And a national rail system is a crucial part of any national transportation plan. But over the years we have consistently shortchanged Amtrak. For instance, over the course of this decade, Germany has decided to invest nearly $70 billion on what is already an excellent railway system in a country a fraction of the size of the United States. What have we done? Well, since 1971, we've invested just $19 billion in Amtrak. And now we are preparing to phase out operating subsidies entirely. I think this is unrealistic. Mr. President, let me put this in perspective. We continue to subsidize every other form of transportation. Over the past 15 years, in relative terms, we've increased spending on highways by 73 percent and aviation by 170 percent, while we have cut Amtrak's funding 62 percent.”