"we all need to have a concrete plan, not just for an appropriation here or there, but for how we're going to do this, long into the future."
"railroads are supposed to deploy the positive train controls (PTC) by 2015."
"In less than 2 years, the Federal Government has now committed $10.5 billion to intercity and high-speed rail."
"Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), all Amtrak stations are supposed to be accessible by July 26 this year."
"Well, they have structured their fleet plan so that it could support a domestic industry for manufacturing rail equipment by spreading the orders over a 30-year period."
"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?"
"this subcommittee is a strong supporter of infrastructure spending. That's what we do, and we believe in it."
"I think we all are."
"I think we need to understand that. We need to know if there's something we can do in the law to make sure that inspectors get in."
"We lost seven workers, and it's just had a huge impact."
"I want to thank you for having this hearing to recognize the men and women who we have lost on the job, and to talk about how we can make our workplaces more safe and healthy."