[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 442 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 442

 Recognizing the 75th anniversary of Amtrak's Empire Builder rail line.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 3, 2004

 Ms. McCollum submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
     referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing the 75th anniversary of Amtrak's Empire Builder rail line.

Whereas on June 11, 1929, the Great Northern Railroad's premier passenger train, 
        the Empire Builder, began operating between Chicago, Illinois, and 
        Seattle, Washington;
Whereas prominent Minnesotan and Great Northern's founder, James J. Hill, 
        himself known as the Empire Builder, once said of his railroad ``When we 
        are all dead and gone, the sun will shine, the rain will fall, and the 
        railroad will run as usual'';
Whereas the Empire Builder, now operated by Amtrak, today travels between 
        Seattle, Washington, or Portland, Oregon, and Chicago, Illinois, by way 
        of Spokane, Washington, and St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota;
Whereas the Empire Builder serves 45 stations, including two in Illinois, six in 
        Wisconsin, six in Minnesota, seven in North Dakota, twelve in Montana, 
        one in Idaho, ten in Washington, and one in Oregon;
Whereas over 415,000 people rode the Empire Builder last year;
Whereas nearly 3,000 people work for Amtrak in Empire Builder States;
Whereas Amtrak expended over $103,000,000 in goods and services in Empire 
        Builder States in fiscal year 2003;
Whereas the Empire Builder follows the trail of Lewis and Clark's historic 
        expedition west through the Louisiana Territory;
Whereas the Empire Builder provides grand views of our country's natural 
        heritage, such as the Mississippi River, the North Dakota plains, Big 
        Sky country in Montana, the Columbia River gorge, the Cascade Mountains, 
        and Puget Sound; and
Whereas the Empire Builder takes passengers to the Sears Tower, the Wisconsin 
        Dells, the St. Paul Winter Carnival, the North Dakota State Fair, 
        Glacier National Park, the Grand Coulee Dam, and Seattle's Space Needle: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That the Congress recognizes--
            (1) the important economic, historic, and cultural 
        contributions of Amtrak's Empire Builder to the 45 cities and 8 
        States which it visits; and
            (2) Amtrak's Empire Builder rail line's 75th Anniversary.
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