[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 87 (Wednesday, June 26, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H4037-H4039]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONGRESS HAS AN OBLIGATION TO THE TRAVELING PUBLIC TO SUPPORT AMTRAK
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Brown) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me just say that
I am here to discuss Amtrak, but I not only support Amtrak, I have
loved the trains ever since I was a little girl. I remember when I was
a little girl, the Silver Meteor used to come right by my house. The
question that we have in this country is whether or not we support
passenger rail.
Let me just say before I get started that there is no form of
transportation in this country or anywhere that supports itself.
Whether we are talking about the airline industry, whether we are
talking about trucks, roads, buses, none of them support themselves. So
the question is whether or not we support passenger rail service, or
whether we are going to let it fall apart and leave this country's
travelers and business people with absolutely no alternative form of
public transportation.
Without the $270 million Amtrak needs to keep operating, we will soon
see people that rely on Amtrak to get to their work each day waiting
for a train that is not coming.
This Congress absolutely must provide funds to avert a shutdown of
Amtrak. We continue to subsidize highways and aviation, but when it
comes to our passenger rail service we refuse to provide the money
Amtrak needs to survive. This issue is much bigger than just
transportation; this is about safety and national security. Not only
should we be giving Amtrak the money it needs to continue to provide
services, we should be providing security dollars, money to upgrade
their tracks and improve safety and security measures in the entire
rail system.
Once again, we see the Bush administration's too-little, too-late
policy. I am surprised they have not suggested a tax cut to solve this
problem. Instead, they are trying to take money from the hard-working
Amtrak employees who work day and night to provide top-quality service
to their passengers. These folks are trying to make a living for their
families, and they do not deserve this shabby treatment from this
President.
It is time for the administration to step up to the plate and make a
decision about Amtrak based on what is good for the traveling public
and not what is best for the right wing of the Republican Party and the
bean counters at OMB.
I represent Crescent City, Florida, where we recently experienced a
tragedy when an Amtrak auto train derailed, killing four and injuring
hundreds of others. Soon after that, we experienced another derailment
in Gainesville that injured many more.
Florida depends on tourists for its economy, and we need people to be
able to get to this State safe so they can enjoy it. Ever since
September 11, more and more people are turning from the airlines to
Amtrak, and they deserve safe and dependable service.
Some people think that the solution to the problem is to privatize
the system. If we privatize, we will see the same thing we saw when we
deregulated the airline industries. Only the lucrative routes will be
maintained, and routes to rural locations, I say to Members who
represent rural areas, will be too expensive and too few. In other
words, they will cut these areas out if we privatize it.
Mr. Speaker, I was in New York shortly after September 11 when the
plane leaving JFK crashed into the Bronx. I, along with many of my
colleagues in both the House and Senate, took Amtrak back to
Washington.
This isn't about fiscal policy, this is about providing a safe and
reliable public transportation system that the citizens of this Nation
need and deserve. Lets stop this crisis now, before it is too late.
Mr. Speaker, we have an obligation to the traveling public to support
Amtrak.
Ms. McCARTHY of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of
providing Amtrak a loan guarantee or supplemental funding in order to
keep our national rail system from shutting down. Since 9/11, many
travelers have opted to use rail transportation as an alternative to
flying. A shutdown would cause serious disruptions for commuters and
travelers nationally, and to local economies across America.
Amtrak is critical to my constituents in Kansas City and to the
people of Missouri. Missouri has four Amtrak trains: two Missouri Mules
that travel between Kansas City and St. Louis and the two Ann Rutledge
trains that travel between Kansas City, St. Louis, and Chicago. These
trains are integral to tourism and commerce in our state.
This year, the Kansas City station has had approximately 60,000
passengers, the St. Louis station has had over 74,000, the Jefferson
City station has had more than 41,000, Hermann's station has had over
11,000, and the Warrensburg station has had 11,000 plus passengers.
Amtrak has proven to be an extremely convenient method of
transportation for the business traveler. Missouri state officials
commute on the train to work at the State Capitol in Jefferson City.
Many Missouri business travelers
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commute between Kansas City to St. Louis to avoid airport and highway
congestion. This rail system has played a significant role in helping
reduce congestion at Lambert International Airport in St. Louis by
providing routes from Kansas City to St. Louis and throughout the
Midwest.
The stop in Warrensburg Amtrak station provides an affordable
transportation route for Central Missouri State University students
from across the state. This station also provides 10,000 military
personnel and civilians access to Whiteman Air Force Base which
maintains the Air Force's premier weapon system, the B-2 bomber.
Individuals traveling on the Missouri routes are able to visit many
sites including the: restored historic Kansas City Union Station,
Truman Presidential Museum in Independence, American Jazz Museum in
Kansas City, Missouri State Capitol and Governor's Mansion in Jefferson
City, Hermann's wineries and famous Octoberfest activities, Lewis and
Clark Territory, and the restored St. Louis train station by the
landmark Arch.
Amtrak has been forced to run a national system with insufficient
financial support since its creation. Approving $200 million in
emergency funding is essential and timely. The federal government has
provided subsidies for all modes of transportation including our
nation's airports, highways, riverways, and buses. No comparable
national passenger rail system in the world has operated without
subsidies, and no system has ever succeeded without substantial public
capital investment. I urge my colleagues to support emergency funding
for Amtrak in order to maintain and reform America's national passenger
rail system.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, we're not talking about tracks, or trains,
or rails, or stations--we're talking about people--their jobs, their
families, their lives. And I am sick of people playing politics with
it. In a modern nation, in the greatest nation on Earth, passenger rail
service is not a luxury, it's a necessity for the millions of people
who use it to get to work, to get to clients, to create new business,
to meet friends, to see family, to take a vacation, to enjoy the
Holidays.
America needs reliable, affordable, efficient rail service--for all
these reasons. All over the world, passenger rail service is a
comfortable, popular, reliable mode of transportation, especially
between cities that are two to four hours apart--like Paris and London,
Tokyo and Osaka, and New York and Washington. The same should be true
of travel between cities like Orlando and Miami, Atlanta and Charlotte,
Chicago and St. Louis, and Los Angeles and San Diego.
At a time when roads are increasingly clogged, when air travel is
strained, wisely investing in rail service is the right thing to do,
and the smart thing to do. But this Administration has been asleep at
the switch--and if Amtrak fails, if we lose passenger rail service, it
will be because this Administration didn't think it was important
enough--tell that to the parents who won't be able to get to work to
support their families; tell that to the businesses that won't be able
to get to their clients; tell that to the grandchild who won't be able
to get to her grandmother's house; and tell that to the union worker
who loses his or her benefits.
As of last year, Amtrak employed 1,736 people in my state. Almost 4
million people from my state rode Amtrak last year--and 80 thousand
daily commuters ride New Jersey Transit, that would be effectively shut
down if the signaling and operators that Amtrak provides are closed.
The passenger rail system in my state, my region, and our country
provides hubs of job creation, commercial development, and commerce,
especially in revitalized urban centers and smaller communities between
major cities without an airport or other means of mass distance travel.
The loss of commerce for even a single day closing would be enormous--
and in some cases devastating.
So I say again: we're not talking about tracks and trains, we're
talking families and towns and cities and livelihoods. Amtrak is not
some disembodied entity--it's an integral part of the communities it
serves. We need immediate action, and we need it now, but we also need
this Administration to start getting serious about a real, long-term
solution that ensures the smooth continuation of passenger rail
service--not just a rehash of the Amtrak Reform Council's proposal to
largely privatize the system and separate infrastructure ownership from
operations, which has been tried and failed elsewhere. Besides, the
nation's railroads are adamantly opposed to giving other entities the
access rights to their tracks that Amtrak currently has. So to the
Administration I would say: get serious and start dealing with reality.
We need this Administration to be involved not just when we are at a
crisis point--not just days before the system could go under--we need
long-term thinking, long-term planning, and a real commitment to make
sure America has the passenger rail service it deserves.
Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, many of my colleagues have spoken about the
importance of Amtrak to the Northeast Corridor, or to the small towns
throughout the country that do not have access to air travel. However,
Amtrak is equally important to Michigan and the Midwest, where it
provides competition to the airlines and links major cities,
alleviating congestion on roads and in airports.
Americans have chosen to ride Amtrak at increasing rates. Between
1996 and 2001, systemwide ridership grew from 19.7 million to 25.3
million. Last year, Amtrak served over 500,000 people in Michigan, many
of whom are my constituents. It is important that Congress let
President Bush know that Amtrak must be kept running.
Passenger rail service should not be stopped in its tracks,
especially as riders begin to receive the benefits of Amtrak's roll out
of high-speed service. Amtrak owns 96 miles of track in Michigan in the
Detroit-Chicago high-speed corridor. Amtrak, the Federal Railroad
Administration, the State of Michigan and private industry have
invested in upgrading this corridor. The ultimate goal of this high-
speed project is to reduce the total time between Detroit and Chicago
from the current 6 hours to 3 and one-half hours. In January 2002, 90
mile-per-hour service began on a segment of the Amtrak owned right-of-
way. Additional speed increases over the entire length of the Amtrak-
owned line are planned for later this year. This is the first
significant increase in passenger rail speed above 80 miles per hour
outside the Northeast in 20 years.
Amtrak has been woefully underfunded since it was created in 1971.
The Bush Administration has continued this unfortunate legacy,
proposing $500 million for Amtrak for FY 2003 when it needs $1.2
billion. This is unacceptable and would only continue to allow Amtrak
to wither on the vine.
President Bush's recent proposal that Amtrak make a quick profit and
be spun off to private corporations is a nonstarter. First, no
passenger rail service in the world--including every subway system--
operates without subsidies. Second, Amtrak was created because the
private railroads asked that they no longer be required to operate
passenger rail service because it was unprofitable. If passenger rail
service was not profitable for railroads to run three decades ago, I do
not see how it could be profitable now.
The American people deserve an alternative to driving and flying. If
the President refuses to lead. Congress must step in and keep the
trains running on time.
Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, Amtrak is an institution that
we must preserve. Now is not the time to turn our backs, and deny the
emergency aid that we need to keep this service running. Amtrak
officially began service on May 1, 1971, when Clocker no. 235 departed
New York's Penn Station at 12:05 a.m. bound for Philadelphia. This very
same route is traversed by Amtrak trains several times daily,
transporting thousands of passengers who depend on this service.
Mr. Speaker, as you well know, Amtrak has announced the imminent
shut-down of operations to begin in one week. Amtrak is our national
passenger rail service. I have joined the effort by signing a letter to
the Appropriators asking for $200 million in supplemental
appropriations in order to keep Amtrak in business. Were Amtrak to shut
down, the consequences would be far more widespread than merely
affecting long-range service. This shut down would be disastrous to
commuters, as such commuter lines as Virginia Railway Express and MARC
in the Washington DC area, and Shoreline East in Connecticut, all
operate on Amtrak tracks and use Amtrak crews.
Each day, 60,000 passengers travel on Amtrak, and 24,000 travel
between New York and Washington, DC alone. The entire Northeast
Corridor would be crippled by a shutdown of Amtrak service.
Mr. Speaker, when service first began in 1971, Amtrak had merely 25
employees. Today, Amtrak provides employment for over 24,000 workers.
Amtrak's future is an issue that must be resolved. Mr. Speaker, we in
Congress must be adamant about guaranteeing to Amtrak that we will not
let it fall. Congress must also resolve to adopting a long-term
strategy of reform for our nation's passenger rail system. Congress
must be sure that Amtrak can continue maintaining, and upgrading its
fleet of trains. A quick fix cannot be misconstrued as being a long-
term answer.
Mr. Speaker, I do not stand alone when I say America needs Amtrak.
Yes, we need a strong and reliable passenger rail system. With
improvement, Amtrak would be much cheaper to maintain than constructing
new airports and highways. Rail stations, are far more environmentally
friendly than airports, and putting more cars on our highways.
Terminating Amtrak will mean a serious loss to metropolitan areas as
New York and Chicago. The loss of train service will lead to increased
automobile traffic into downtown areas from the suburbs. Passenger rail
service is very important to maintaining and improving pollution
levels. Without commuter rail service, the number
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of cars that already pack New York City's crowded streets would greatly
increase.
Pollution and transportation are not issues limited to the
northeastern corridor. These are national issues, as well. Amtrak is
also a national issue. People all over the country ride on the
passenger rail service Amtrak provides.
Mr. Speaker, Amtrak is worth maintaining. We must also recognize that
it is in Congress's power to step in and fix this problem.
Mr. Speaker, this issue needs our attention and it needs it now.
Congress must pass an aid package that gives Amtrak the tools not only
to survive, but also to excel.
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