Political Quotes

“I want to save Amtrak. That is what we have been dedicated to. Now, I can tell you, as I am sure many of you know, there are some in this body that do not want to save Amtrak. In fact, I was in a meeting this morning with several Members where we had a hard sell because they were telling us why are you trying to save it? It is about to go into bankruptcy. It is a failure. Let it go down the tubes. But we need Amtrak, but we need an efficient Amtrak. And it is the sad truth. In fact, virtually everybody agrees, it is on a steep path to bankruptcy. The GAO report says that, the panel of experts that Congressman Oberstar and I together appointed in order to come back and give us their recommendations said that. Everybody acknowledges it is on a steep path to bankruptcy. We need to reform it, but we also need the votes to reform it. And it is a fact that virtually the same legislation before us today passed this body in the last Congress 406 to 4.”