Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I, too, rise in support of this legislation which would prohibit all U.S. transit agencies from using Federal dollars on rail rolling stock from State-owned enterprises, or SOEs. As of today, the U.S. doesn't have any domestic transit railcar manufacturers. Federal transit policies have been designed over the years to reflect that reality while still encouraging domestic manufacturing wherever possible. While the U.S. remains, at least for now, dependent on global transit car manufacturers, we need to ensure fair competition among all manufacturers, including SOEs. When one entity receives government support for artificially low bids, if that is left unchecked over time, other manufacturers will be driven out of business. This would make transit cars more expensive in the long run and leave systems across the country reliant upon just one manufacturer. Congress recognized this concern after four U.S. transit agencies awarded rolling stock contracts to an SOE that submitted artificially low bids. The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act first prohibited most U.S. transit agencies from using Federal transit funds to purchase rolling stock from SOEs. Transit car manufacturers that do not receive government subsidies, including manufacturers in South Korea, Japan, Spain, and other places, were not affected by this ban.…”