Bob Menendez: “we're not talking about tracks, or trains, or rails, or stations--we're talking about people--their jobs, their…”

“we're not talking about tracks, or trains, or rails, or stations--we're talking about people--their jobs, their families, their lives. And I am sick of people playing politics with it. In a modern nation, in the greatest nation on Earth, passenger rail service is not a luxury, it's a necessity for the millions of people who use it to get to work, to get to clients, to create new business, to meet friends, to see family, to take a vacation, to enjoy the Holidays. America needs reliable, affordable, efficient rail service--for all these reasons. All over the world, passenger rail service is a comfortable, popular, reliable mode of transportation, especially between cities that are two to four hours apart--like Paris and London, Tokyo and Osaka, and New York and Washington. The same should be true of travel between cities like Orlando and Miami, Atlanta and Charlotte, Chicago and St. Louis, and Los Angeles and San Diego. At a time when roads are increasingly clogged, when air travel is strained, wisely investing in rail service is the right thing to do, and the smart thing to do.”