Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

We simply cannot meet the demands of the future if we let assets languish and fall behind due to chronic underfunding.

Doing away with the cross-country system would be catastrophic for the communities that rely on Amtrak service, and would eliminate thousands of good jobs.

Efforts to cut jobs or outsource existing Amtrak functions to low-wage, antiunion contractors will not be tolerated by our unions.

We spend hundreds of billions of dollars to subsidize every form of public transportation--highways, aviation, transit--yet Amtrak gets the short end of the stick.

Without necessary restoration of these aging facilities, the Smithsonian will not be able to carry out its important research or provide world-class exhibits to the public.

Unfortunately, we have never provided the significant capital investments necessary to allow us to enjoy the flourishing passenger rail system.

The need for an efficient, reliable, and modern mode of transportation between American cities has never been more urgent.

The Smithsonian's extensive real estate portfolio is a significant part of what allows for the Institution's continued 'diffusion of knowledge' around the world.

Rail is so much more efficient than aviation or individual automobiles for passengers.

As a Texan, I know how expansive our nation is and how crucial long-distance transportation is to the economic health of our communities.

People are tired of spending an hour and a half to drive 20 miles to get home from work or spending an hour (plus) to get past airport security.

If either of those tunnels fail, it is $17 billion a year to the American economy.

This amendment recognizes that Amtrak is not a for-profit corporation.

I particularly want to welcome State Representative Nancy Nathanson from the Eugene area, one of my constituents.

We are still unclear about why Boeing designed the 737 MAX to rely on a single point of failure that the company knew could potentially be catastrophic.

Who bears the principal responsibility at Boeing for the cascading events that resulted in the crash of Lion Air flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines flight 302?

I think it is pretty clear to me, to the families of the victims, and the American public that you should resign and do it immediately.

It is 1 year and 1 day after the Lion Air crash, a very somber day.

I think that assumption should have rung some alarm bells.

Can you point to any significant steps that were taken to change the culture and relieve this undue pressure?

It doesn't seem like anything was done to relieve the undue pressure in this culture where people were afraid for their jobs.

I am sorry to say I am hesitant about putting my family on a Boeing airplane.

We may never know what key steps could have been taken that would have altered the fate of those flights, but we do know that a variety of decisions could have made those planes safer and perhaps saved the lives of those on board.

We are going to get to the bottom of this, and we are going to fix it, and we are going to see it never happens again.