John Culberson: “I want to be sure to point out to the House that the account is authorized. Under the Passenger Rail Improvement Act, in…”

“I want to be sure to point out to the House that the account is authorized. Under the Passenger Rail Improvement Act, in order for the metropolitan D.C. area to receive the funds, Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia have to match the money, which certainly helps. And I also note that the committee has included language, which is very important, that the Federal Government cannot provide more than 60 percent for the first time. That's important that the local communities do their fair share. All of the money in the Passenger Rail Improvement Act for the D.C. area has to be used for safety and capital improvements only. They can use the money only to buy new cars and equipment to improve the safety of the system. And as my good friend from New Jersey has pointed out, if there's clearly evidence, apparently, of misuse of the funds, the inspector general can certainly investigate that and even bring criminal charges against those responsible for using the funds for a purpose other than that authorized by the Passenger Rail Improvement Act. I think it's also important to point out that the bill, overall, cuts New Starts funding by $419 million and cuts the request for administrative funding for the FTA by $66 million. These bills that Chairman Rogers has presided over that all of us on Appropriations have worked so hard on, for the first time we've got a whole series of bills reducing spending year after year. There's much, much more to do.…”