We appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to hearing any updates from the Federal Maritime Commission.

It is absolutely critical to our economy.

I regret that I am not going to be--I have, unfortunately, an appointment which I must keep shortly.

the system itself, as it was set up, Mr. DeFazio does not think should be law.

We urge Congress to act swiftly to provide communities the tools and resources they need to modernize their infrastructure.

this is a very cumbersome, very difficult-to-implement system, and a lot of people are unaware...

The losses we have incurred over the past 14 months are extraordinarily painful.

The pivot to working from home--largely considered a success--may profoundly alter the work-life dynamic in favor of American workers.

I am excited about the prospects for this hearing.

I look forward to working with my colleagues on this Subcommittee to examine ways in which we can facilitate increased passenger rail opportunities for Americans across the country.

Unfortunately, the United States is far behind the curve.

It is time to implement a high-performance rail network in America.

We need to keep up with the competition.

If you could get to Portland in less than an hour, I think you would see a massive hemorrhaging of people away from the overcrowded Interstate 5.

We urge significant investments in both the Amtrak and commuter rail improvement programs.

We are here today to discuss the once-in-a-generation opportunity we have before us.

The ability to create a multi-state passenger rail commission would undoubtedly help to make this proposal a reality.

Investing in high-speed rail will contribute to lower emissions and a smaller carbon footprint.

Investing in high-speed rail is a great way to walk the walk. Investing in rail creates middle-class jobs, which cannot be exported.

In conclusion, we urge you to pursue upgrades to the nation's existing rail infrastructure, including high-speed rail, in lieu of the SCMAGLEV.

We do think cabotage requirements should apply to passenger rail industry operations, just as they do to commercial aviation.

Let's talk about 21st-century technology, 21st-century solutions, not 1950s, not 1870s--the 21st century.

Any erosion of this mechanism is an erosion of the wages and benefits of blue-collar workers in the construction industry.

This claim describes a world where every single contractor plays by the rules.

Is there a real solid business case for these sorts of projects that penciled out in favor of the ratepayers?