[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 19 (Monday, January 30, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S138]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            GATEWAY PROGRAM

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, now, on Gateway, tomorrow is a big day 
for New Yorkers, as we welcome President Biden to celebrate progress on 
the most important infrastructure project in America, the new Gateway 
rail tunnel.
  This day has been a decade in the making. The Northeast corridor is 
the busiest passenger rail line in the country, and the crossing under 
the Hudson is its most important nexus point. But for far too long, 
these two single-track tunnels have been badly in need of repairs.
  After Hurricane Sandy devastated New York and the experts said there 
is limited time in which they will be operable, fixing the tunnel 
became one of my greatest passions, a labor of love, because I love New 
York and, without it, New York's economy would come screeching to a 
halt. For years, I worked hard, bringing together public and private 
partners from New York, New Jersey, and Amtrak to get everyone on the 
same page on Gateway. We met a lot of resistance along the way.
  When President Trump was in office, he tried to freeze progress on 
the Gateway project altogether, going as far as holding it hostage in 
negotiations over the border wall. Still, I was proud that, even during 
the Trump administration, I was able to double, triple, quadruple, and, 
in one case, increase tenfold the funding for various Federal spending 
accounts pertaining to Gateway because I knew that one day--one day--
President Trump would no longer be in office.
  Now, thanks to our bipartisan infrastructure bill and with great help 
from President Biden, Gateway is moving forward. Under our 
infrastructure law, tens of billions of more dollars have been 
dedicated to Federal accounts, which will support Gateway and many, 
many other large projects in the country, and this is something I am 
very, very proud to celebrate.
  I will have more to say in New York tomorrow, but, today, I want to 
affirm once again that progress on Gateway is a very important example 
of how our infrastructure bill is making life better for millions of 
everyday Americans. Building two new tunnels and updating the existing 
tunnels will lead to work with good-paying union jobs--tens of 
thousands of jobs--and lead to a burst of economic activity for decades 
to come.
  I want to thank President Biden for making the trip to New York 
tomorrow, and I am happy to say that, after a lot of hard work and a 
lot of stubborn persistence, our efforts are finally paying off.

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