[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6498-6499]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           REAUTHORIZE AMTRAK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine Brown) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, today we introduced a 
bipartisan Amtrak reauthorization bill that will truly serve America's 
traveling public. I want to thank the gentleman from Alaska (Chairman 
Young), the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette), and the ranking 
member, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), for joining me in 
this effort. This is truly a bipartisan effort and shows the strong 
support Amtrak has within the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure and the Congress.
  The current funding issues concerning Amtrak brings up a fundamental 
question of where this Nation stands on public transportation. We have 
an opportunity to improve a system that serves our need for passenger 
rail service, or we can just let it fall apart and leave this country's 
travelers and businesses with absolutely no alternative form of public 
transportation.
  Without the funding Amtrak needs to keep operational, we will soon 
see people that rely on Amtrak to get to work each day waiting for a 
train that is not coming. We continue to subsidize highways and 
aviation, but when it comes to passenger rail service we refuse to 
provide the money Amtrak needs to survive.
  This issue is 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 service, we should be providing security 
money to upgrade their tracks and improve safety and security measures 
in the entire rail system.
  Once again, we see the Bush administration paying for its failed 
policy by cutting funds to public service and jeopardizing more 
American jobs. This administration sees nothing wrong with taking 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 such 
shabby treatment from this administration.
  We spend $1 billion a week in Iraq, $4 billion a month, but this 
administration zeros out funding for Amtrak. Just one week's investment 
in Iraq would significantly improve passenger rail for the entire 
country for an entire year.
  I just want someone to explain to the American public why investing 
in transportation in Iraq is so much more important than investing in 
passenger rail service right here in the U.S.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time for this administration to step up to the 
plate and make a decision about Amtrak based on what is in the best 
interest for the traveling public, not what is best for the right ring 
or the Republican Party or the European counters over at OMB.
  Today in America, we have 50 million people without health care. We 
have the highest trade deficit in the history of this country. We have 
a $477 billion Federal deficit. We have a $375 billion shortfall in 
transportation funding, and we still do not know what happened to the 
weapons of mass destruction or who at the White House outed one of the 
CIA agents. Yet this President's top priority is bankrupting Amtrak. I 
do not understand that.
  I represent central Florida, which depends on tourists for its 
economic development; and we need people to be able to get to our State 
to enjoy it. Ever since September 11, more and more people are turning 
from the airlines to Amtrak, and they deserve safe and dependable 
services.
  This is just one example of Amtrak's impact on my State. Amtrak runs 
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long-distance trains from Florida, employs 990 residents with wages 
totaling over $43 million, and purchased over $13 million in goods and 
services last year alone, and they are doing the same thing in every 
State they run in.
  Some people think 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 industry.
  Shortly after 9/11, I was in New York when the plane leaving JFK 
Airport crashed immediately after takeoff. I, along with many of my 
colleagues in both the House and Senate, took Amtrak back to 
Washington. I realized once again just how important Amtrak is to the 
American people and how important it is for this Nation to have more 
than one form of transportation.
  I encourage everyone that uses Amtrak to get to work or to travel to 
call their Congressman or Senator and let them know how important 
Amtrak is to them. This is not about fiscal policy. This is about 
providing a safe and reliable public transportation system that the 
citizens of this Nation need and deserve.

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