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Guest Commentary June 25, 2002
All Aboard for Amtrak
The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
It is hard to believe that it has come to this but, without a way to solve its short term financial crisis, Amtrak trains will screech to a halt on Thursday. That is why I am joining with my colleagues to urge the President to help us avert this looming crisis. We invest billions in our highway system. Billions in our air travel network. Yet we shortchange Amtrak. That is shortsighted and counterproductive. When it comes to helping our citizens have a world class rail system, America ranks 23rd, just behind Estonia; just ahead of Tunisia. In the World Cup of rail service, we never would have made it to the quarter finals.
Fairly funding Amtrak was a transportation issue on September 10, 2001. But since September 11, it is also a security issue. We need redundancy in our forms of mass transit, so that if terrorism temporarily disables one means of travel, others can pick up the slack.
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And a shutdown would have ripple effects. It wouldn't just affect long distance trains, it could also cripple commuter lines -- like the LIRR which transports over 300,000 people a day who depend on it for their livelihoods. And, this is not solely a problem for big cities -- I was in Upstate N.Y. yesterday and my constituents were extremely concerned about what an Amtrak shutdown would do to an already struggling economy.
We appreciate Secretary Mineta's commitment to resolving this problem. But words unmatched by deeds won't make the trains run on time... and threaten to keep them from running at all. The old railroad crossings were famous for their "x" shaped signs reading, "Stop, Look, Listen." We need to stop the talking, look at the big picture and listen to the American people, who want a rail system that is fast, safe and reliable.
We're all aboard for Amtrak -- we urge you to join us and support this urgently needed emergency supplemental funding.
Hillary Rodham Clinton, a Democrat, is a U.S. Senator from New York. The above column has been adapted from a speech Sen. Clinton delivered on the floor of the Senate, June 25, 2002. To contact her, Click Here.
The above column has been distributed by PoliticsOL.com.
