[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 105 (Thursday, July 14, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1327]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  2012

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                               speech of

                           HON. RUSS CARNAHAN

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, July 8, 2011

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2354) making 
     appropriations for energy and water development and related 
     agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2012, and 
     for other purposes:

  Mr. CARNAHAN. Mr. Chair, I move to strike the last word.
  During this time of economic uncertainty it is important to invest in 
the future. High speed rail will play a vital role in modernizing our 
transportation infrastructure, and we must prioritize its further 
development. If we are to remain economically competitive with the rest 
of the world, we must invest robustly in our infrastructure and create 
a true, world class transportation system. High speed rail will 
revolutionize the transportation industry, and its development will add 
valuable jobs to our economy.
  I am firmly against this bill, which would rescind unobligated funds 
from high speed rail projects. While I fully support our disaster 
recovery efforts, there is no reason to do this at the expense of our 
rail infrastructure. This is merely a ploy by Republicans to cut off 
funding for a priority area for President Obama.
  As a country we cannot afford to ignore this opportunity to create 
millions of jobs and develop a comprehensive high speed rail system. 
These cuts would drastically affect the State of Missouri, putting 
plans for a St. Louis-Kansas high speed rail corridor in jeopardy. We 
would also lose almost 8,000 jobs and nearly $300 million in funding 
for high speed rail projects, including $3 million in the 3rd District 
which I represent.
  There is no question that we must curtail excessive government 
spending, a process that will require some belt tightening. But it 
makes no sense to cut funding for programs, such as high speed rail 
construction, that will foster sustained, long-term economic growth for 
America.
  I urge all of my colleagues to consider the numerous benefits the 
high speed rail program will bring to all Americans and to vote against 
cutting the program's funding. We cannot allow our current fiscal 
challenges to prevent us from investing in the future while 
simultaneously helping to kick start our economy.

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