Political Quotes

“Let's be clear. The gentleman who spoke just before me that just rode the train in from New Jersey today should have no problem with this amendment because it does nothing to the Northeast Corridor. However, what it does do, it cuts the over $776 million in funding for the National Network of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. I understand that the President has an affinity for passenger rail, especially Amtrak. Amtrak's 15-year vision released in 2021 mirrors that enthusiasm, plotting out an ambitious 39 new routes in the next 15 years. The problem is, it can't be said enough here in Washington, we are out of money. We are borrowing money to pay these bills. The behemoth IIJA passed just a few years ago contained billions in funding directly for both the Northeast Corridor, which the good gentleman from New Jersey just talked about, but also the National Network. This doesn't include billions of dollars going to passenger rail grant and loan programs at DOT, many of which Amtrak has been and remains eligible for at this moment. It doesn't include it. This amounts to at least $4.4 billion for Amtrak across both accounts. They are already getting that, $4.4 billion per year, preauthorized, prepaid. Why in the world would we continue to pump money into a budget line item that will automatically get generous support for the next few years at least? Like I just said, $4.4 billion. Furthermore, this ignores that sucking chest wound of Amtrak's finances.…”