Political Quotes

“My amendment is really straightforward and one which I have offered year after year after year after year on the floor of the House of Representatives. It would eliminate funding for the absolute worst performing line, one line, on the Amtrak system, a line that is known as the Sunset Limited, and it runs from New Orleans to Los Angeles. Madam Chairman, the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997 required that Amtrak operate without any Federal assistance after 2002. Amtrak was supposed to be free of Federal operating subsidies. Yet, despite this commonsense requirement that Amtrak cease their financial irresponsibility and mismanagement, instead, it costs the taxpayers $396.31 per rider, per year, on this line. That is $396.31 to subsidize the travels of passengers from New Orleans to Los Angeles, a trip that takes nearly 48 hours, assuming the train is on time. Madam Chairman, we could buy everybody a free ticket on an airline from New Orleans to Los Angeles and probably end up saving money. However, according to Amtrak's most recent performance report, the Sunset Limited only arrives on time 46 percent of the time. So it might even make sense for somebody to get there not only quicker, but also cheaper. This places the Sunset Limited as one of the top 10 worst on-time routes for any of Amtrak's routes in its latest performance report. Madam Chairman, taxpayers should be happy that the train really doesn't run more often.…”