Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), the highest-ranking Northeastern Member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, delivered the following statement on the reauthorization of Amtrak Passenger Rail program:

"Mr. Chairman, let me begin by thanking you, Ranking Member Rahall, Mr. Denham and Ms. Brown for holding this markup on the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2014 (HR 5449).  This bill reauthorizes Amtrak providing $7 billion over four years, including $1.88 billion for the Northeast Corridor.

"The bill is far from perfect, but I appreciate the Committee Leadership’s efforts to develop a bill in a bipartisan manner.

"This bill significantly reforms the way Amtrak funding is authorized. Rather than providing funds for debts service, capital and operating expenses, the bill creates two new accounts – a Northeast Corridor Improvement Fund, and a National Network account. The bill also creates a new program to provide grants to the states funded at $150 million per year, and it sets aside $14 billion in credit authority from the RRIF loan program, both specifically for improvements to the Northeast Corridor.

"I am certainly pleased that this bill targets resources at developing the Northeast Corridor, which is critically important for our economy. According to the most recent report of the Northeast Corridor Commission, the Northeast Corridor  Region contains four of the ten largest metropolitan areas in the country, is home to more than 51 million people or more than 1 out of 6 Americans, and our regional economy is the fifth largest in the world between France and Germany. If the Northeast Corridor were to unexpectedly shut down for just one day, the potential impact on the U.S. economy could be $100 million in transportation-related impacts and productivity losses. There is no question that it is absolutely in our national interest to do everything we can to maintain and develop the Northeast Corridor. But New Yorkers also understand the importance of maintaining a national network, so I am pleased that the bill grants Amtrak flexibility to transfer funds if needed to keep the national rail system operational.  

"The bill also requires a more detailed plan for implementing specific improvements to the Northeast Corridor, it applies Buy America to the RRIF loan program, and it reauthorizes the Intercity Passenger Rail grant program at $150 million annually.

"All of this is good, but we cannot lose sight of the bigger picture, which is that we are still woefully underfunding Amtrak and passenger rail. We spend more than $50 billion per year on highways and transit, and over $15 billion on aviation, while Amtrak gets just $1.4 billion or less than 2% of federal transportation spending. Last year’s transportation appropriations bill funded the Federal Rail Administration at 73% below the Administration’s request. And this is despite the fact that Amtrak needs at least $52 billion, or $2.6 billion per year for twenty years, to meet ridership demands and bring the system into a state of good repair.  This bill still falls well short of addressing that backlog. Instead of micromanaging Amtrak’s food and beverage service, our number one priority should be figuring out how to increase funding for rail and treat it as a mode equal to the way we treat the other modes of transportation.

"Unfortunately, this bill simply reauthorizes the current grossly inadequate funding levels, but that is not surprising given the budget constraints imposed by the Majority.  Given the current situation in the House; however, this bill is probably the best we can hope for right now if we want to move a bipartisan bill.

"So again I thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your efforts to advance this Amtrak reauthorization bill. I look forward to working with you and with the rest of my colleagues, to make sure passenger rail receives the attention and resources it deserves.

"This bill is a good first step but it’s a first step only- but it’s time to take that first step.

"I thank you and I yield back the balance of my time." 

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