Patty Murray

So I am assuming that one of the things you are looking at in proposals is, at the end of the day, does that community envision having lower costs as a result of their planning?

Well, following on that, what changes would you expect to see from a community after it has developed this integrated plan?

So you will set that out up front, this is what we expect to see?

So you will be looking at that?

In some cases, the plans are a valued part of the process. But in others, they are largely ignored.

I want to hear from both of you on what you would tell Bellevue or other cities like that where they would now look for Federal funding.

The idea of a sustainable or livable community sometimes doesn't resonate in some of our smaller or rural communities.

I am concerned that this could provide some serious instability in the market.

Basically, we want to see more transparency at the Federal level.

I am still looking, Mr. Secretary, for the rationale on which HUD awarded the $2 billion in competitive neighborhood stabilization program grants.

I would like to see the money in highways spent on highways.

We have got so many demands at the same time we have a record budget this year of $1.6 trillion.

I want to see those planning efforts focused on planning at the local level for what they need to do.

I'm glad the administration is not submitting budget requests that would guarantee the bankruptcy of Amtrak anymore.

So, what you're saying is, if we have that goal, as a country, and it's very clear and consistent, it will send a message to domestic manufacturers that we're in it.

The need for Amtrak is to put on the table to Congress what our capital needs are, and we have not been bashful about doing that, because we need to rebuild the railroad.

But, in the end, it all comes back to Congress, because all capital is subsidized by Congress, in one fashion, form, or another.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), all Amtrak stations are supposed to be accessible by July 26 this year.

Okay. Well, in order to decide which projects you're going to fund through this program, you're going to have to rely on forecasts of ridership levels and revenues and public benefits, projects costs.

Well, you've requested a billion dollars. Can you tell us how much you expect to use for intercity projects and how much for high-speed rail corridors?

That is an important long-term investment.

That's a lot of money, especially when we're asking them to also do positive train control.

Absolutely. Thank you.

Well, as Senator Bond mentioned, we're talking about billions of dollars. Do you have a plan for how to get there?

This is going to cost billions of dollars.