[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 142 (Tuesday, October 21, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2023]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 2169, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND 
               RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1998

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. JOSEPH P. KENNEDY, II

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 9, 1997

  Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of 
H.R. 2169, the Transportation appropriations conference report. I want 
to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for providing 
$1,000,000 to develop the Boston Urban Ring.
  The Urban Ring will make public transportation more efficient around 
Boston. It will stimulate economic growth, and it will enhance the 
chances of persons on welfare to find jobs, by providing an efficient, 
inexpensive form of transportation for them to travel between home and 
work.
  The Urban Ring will stimulate economic growth because it will create 
an affordable transportation system for all commuters to travel the 
Boston area without using their cars. The business community will be 
well served because the Urban Ring will expand the accessibility of its 
labor force. This will help businesses to increase redevelopment 
potential of underutilized or vacant land and buildings that were used 
in the region's older industrial economy.
  The Urban Ring will help the chances of welfare recipients to find 
jobs. These days, many factories and businesses build their new 
facilities in the suburbs. But many welfare recipients live in the 
city. The Urban Ring will provide inner city residents affordable 
transportation to find jobs in the suburbs, and to keep those jobs.
  Finally, I want to thank the conferees for providing $250 million for 
Amtrak's Northeast Corridor Improvement Program. Amtrak's passenger 
service contributes to cleaning up air pollution in my district. It 
reduces the number of cars on the road every day between Boston and New 
York by 27,000.
  The Transportation appropriations conference report is fair and 
adequate, and it is a great help to the Boston area. I urge my 
colleagues to vote in favor of the conference report.

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