Political Quotes

“The enactment of reforms for Amtrak is absolutely critical to the future of intercity rail in this country. Amtrak, as it is currently structured, cannot survive into the future. My committee produced reform legislation in the last Congress that passed this House by a vote of 406 to 4. This legislation relieved Amtrak of burdensome statutory mandates, imposed caps on liability exposure, and restructured the Amtrak board of directors to make Amtrak more streamlined and able to make customer-based business decisions. Unfortunately, the other body never considered the legislation, so 2 years later Amtrak is still subject to onerous statutory requirements that prevent it from providing quality service at a reasonable cost. In my view, it would be a grave disservice to the American taxpayers to provide additional funding for Amtrak if no legislation is enacted. That is why I want to be sure that if additional funding is provided to Amtrak through the reserve fund it will happen only if the reform legislation has been enacted.”