[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 57 (Tuesday, May 1, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S4097]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                    THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF AMTRAK

 Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, today marks an important day in the 
history of national passenger rail transportation. Today is the 
thirtieth anniversary of the American National Passenger Rail 
Corporation, Amtrak. As we mark Amtrak's birthday, we need to 
understand that the demands on our national passenger rail system are 
changing. Amtrak can no longer be solely a link to a bygone era, when a 
long train ride was the only way to get from one city to another. The 
Amtrak of the next 30 years must be a faster, more competitive 
transportation option for the American traveler. A population that is 
more mobile than ever before but faces gridlock on our highways and 
capacity limitations in our skies demands this of Amtrak. Our Nation's 
passenger rail system has already begun to change in the Northeast 
Corridor, where in just four months, Amtrak has shuttled over 55,000 
people between Washington and New York on four daily high-speed trains. 
This unexpectedly high ridership has helped Amtrak beat revenue 
estimates for the Northeast Corridor by four percent. Overall, 
ridership in the Northeast is up eight percent over last year.
  It is my hope that the Congress commemorates Amtrak's thirtieth 
birthday by passing legislation this year that allows Amtrak to 
continue to improve high-speed rail service in the Northeast Corridor 
and replicate that success in the Northeast. The High Speed Rail 
Investment Act is Amtrak's future. This legislation would allow Amtrak 
to sell $12 billion in tax-exempt bonds to finance the development of 
high-speed rail corridors throughout the country, and would allow for 
continued track improvements in the Northeast Corridor. Though Amtrak 
will raise $12 billion, the High Speed Rail Investment Act will cost 
taxpayers only about one-third of that amount. I am proud to be working 
closely with my colleagues Senators Biden and Hutchinson, as well our 
leaders, Senator Lott and Senator Daschle, to enact this legislation 
this year, and I am excited to see that the bill has 55 cosponsors and 
wide bipartisan support.
  On Amtrak's birthday, I hope each one of us will take a serious look 
at the importance of inter-city passenger rail to our Nation. Inter-
city passenger rail is a critical link to our Nation's history, 
reminding us of how we used to travel this glorious country. And that's 
a link which many members of Congress have taken great pains to 
maintain in their states and districts. At the same time, in many 
places, such as the northeast, a modern inter-city passenger rail 
network is not a luxury, it is a necessity. Amtrak's challenge of late 
has been to satisfy both of these roles while trying to act like a 
profit-making company. This task has not been easy for a quasi-
independent government agency that, for its whole life, has operated 
under many Congressionally-imposed burdens but has received sporadic 
and insufficient financial support from the federal government.
  I think we are all aware that Amtrak is subject to unique political 
pressures that private companies do not face. And I think we all know 
that those pressures, which often require the company to operate 
unprofitable routes, influence the company's bottom line in a negative 
way. But high speed rail has proven to be a financial success in the 
Northeast, and is projected to add $180 million annually to Amtrak's 
bottom line when all 20 Acela Express trainsets are in operation. High 
speed rail is a good investment for Amtrak, and it's a great investment 
for our nation's transportation infrastructure.
  It is time to bring Amtrak into the 21st century by creating an 
effective, truly inter-modal transportation network. Let's make high 
speed rail service an indispensable element of our transportation 
infrastructure--our overburdened highways and skyways require it and 
the traveling public demands it.

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