[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 17336-17337]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  NEW STARTS AND SMALL STARTS PROGRAM

  (Ms. KUSTER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of the Federal 
Transit Administration's New Starts and Small Starts program, which 
provides critical grant funding for the creation or extension of 
existing fixed guideway transit systems.
  Funding for these projects has facilitated the creation of dozens of 
new or extended public transportation systems in rural, suburban, and 
urban communities all across this country.
  By creating good-paying construction jobs and connecting job-seeking 
commuters with employers, New Starts offers significant benefits to 
communities that are in need of rail expansion.
  In New Hampshire and across New England, we have been working 
collaboratively with our neighboring States to create a unified vision 
for our region's rail networks.

[[Page 17337]]

  I was pleased to host a rail summit just a few weeks ago that brought 
together regional stakeholders and officials from the Federal Railroad 
Administration, the FTA, and New England States.
  As we continue to work on the highway bill this week, I urge my 
colleagues to support Congressmen Lipinski, Nadler, and Dold's 
amendment, which will restore much-needed local flexibility for New 
Start projects.

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