[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 83 (Thursday, June 20, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5821-S5822]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AMTRAK
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I take the floor to alert my colleagues in
the Senate and those who are following this debate that at a hearing
this afternoon before the Transportation Subcommittee----
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, may we have order in the Senate?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate will be in order. The Senator will
suspend.
The Senator from Illinois.
Mr. DURBIN. Thank you, Mr. President. I am glad my colleague, the
Senator from West Virginia, is in the Chamber because he attended this
hearing. He may not have been present when the questions came. We asked
the administrator of Amtrak what was ahead in the days to follow. At
this moment in time, Amtrak needs $200 million interim financing to
continue operations across America. Mr. Gunn, who testified before
Chairman Patty Murray's Transportation Subcommittee, alerted us this
afternoon that unless the interim financing of $200 million is secured
by Wednesday of next week, Amtrak will cease all operations--all
operations--not scaled back but cease all operations.
Mr. Gunn explained it was necessary in order for them to park the
trains, take the precautions necessary to guard them, and to prepare
for the ultimate shutdown, which could begin as early as the middle of
next week.
[[Page S5822]]
We then asked Mr. Rutter, who is the head of the Federal Railroad
Administration, what was the status of the Amtrak request for $200
million. He alerted us that they were in the process of evaluating it,
and he believed they would be able to get back to Amtrak with the
answer early next week.
If you will do the math, you will understand we are talking about 24
to 48 hours separating the decision by the Bush administration on
interim financing for Amtrak and the suspension of all Amtrak service
across the United States.
I said to Mr. Gunn that I believed we had a moral obligation to
notify Governors across the United States with Amtrak service of this
looming transportation disaster. Let me say for many of us who believe
in Amtrak and national passenger rail service that it is absolutely
disgraceful that we have reached this point.
At some point, this administration should have stepped forward to
work with Congress to make certain that Amtrak service was not in
jeopardy. Now we face the very real possibility of a disastrous
transportation situation as early as next week.
We heard this morning from Secretary of Transportation Norm Mineta, a
speech he gave to the Chamber of Commerce about his vision of the
future of Amtrak. It is a vision which is not new. It is the same
vision that Margaret Thatcher had in England when she took a look at
British rail service and decided to privatize it, to separate it, and
to try to take a different route. It turned out to be a complete
failure--not only a failure in the terms of the reliability of service
but a failure in terms of safety.
The administration's proposal on Amtrak is a disaster waiting to
happen. It is literally a train wreck when it comes to the future of
national passenger rail service.
If you believe, as I do, that our Nation should seek energy security,
that we should try to find modes of transportation to reduce pollution
and traffic congestion, which is getting progressively worse and we
can't ignore it, then we cannot and should not walk away from Amtrak.
This administration's position at this point is going to create a
crisis in transportation. We need to maintain not only the very best
highways and the safest airports in America, but we need national
passenger rail service. We need leadership in the White House and at
Amtrak with a vision of how to turn that rail service in the 21st
century into something that we can point to with pride and
effectiveness.
We don't have that today. Mr. Gunn has been drawn out of retirement
and has been heading Amtrak for just a few weeks. This didn't occur on
his watch. He is a competent administrator who wants the resources to
make Amtrak work. Instead, what this administration has given him is a
doomsday scenario where literally Amtrak service could be terminated
across America next week. What it means for the Northeast corridor is
probably a dramatic change in terms of the way the families and
businesses would have to operate. What it means in my home State of
Illinois is that thousands of passengers and thousands of employees
will have their future and their transportation in jeopardy. It didn't
have to reach this point, but it has.
I sincerely hope my colleagues will join me in urging the Bush White
House to respond tomorrow--not next week but tomorrow--favorably for
financing of Amtrak so we can tell the Governors across America that
this emergency is not going to happen.
I yield the remainder of my time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine is recognized.
(The remarks of Ms. Collins pertaining to the introduction of S. 2662
are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills
and Joint Resolutions.'')
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Johnson). The Senator from Virginia.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I may proceed
as in morning business for not to exceed 6 minutes.
Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, and I shall
not object, of course, but I think there was a unanimous consent
agreement previously that had me following the Senator from Maine with
10 minutes. If I might inquire about the timing here.
Is the Senator from Michigan going to speak after the Senator from
Virginia?
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I am a cosponsor with the Senator from
Maine on this legislation. I can reduce my time to 3 minutes.
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senator
from Virginia be given 6 minutes, if this is all right with Senator
Dorgan, and then Senator Dorgan be recognized to proceed as in morning
business.
Mr. DORGAN. Yes, I think by previous unanimous consent.
Mr. LEVIN. For 10 minutes, as in morning business.
Mr. DORGAN. I certainly would not object to the Senator from Virginia
being recognized if I am recognized as previously agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. WARNER. I thank my good friend for his usual and customary
senatorial courtesy.
(The remarks of Mr. Warner pertaining to the introduction of S. 2662
are printed in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills
and Joint Resolutions.'')
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, the two leaders are going to confer in a few
minutes. How much longer is the order in effect to have morning
business?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Twenty-five minutes.
Mr. REID. From this point?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Yes.
Mr. REID. That should be ample time. The two leaders should be back
by then. The two managers of the bill will have an announcement at 20
till, 25 till.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I follow
the Senator from North Dakota in morning business.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Senator from North Dakota.
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