Think Differently Transportation Act
Floor Speech
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support the Think Differently Transportation Act, a bipartisan bill that will advance accessibility to Amtrak-served stations.
Amtrak received $22 billion in the bipartisan infrastructure law, or BIL, to buy new equipment, invest in station accessibility, and reduce the backlog of capital projects and operating needs.
In the BIL, Congress directed Amtrak to make all of the stations that Amtrak serves accessible. The Think Differently Transportation Act, as led by Senator Tammy Duckworth and passed by the Senate, will require Amtrak to report annually to Congress on the accessibility status for all of the more than 500 stations Amtrak serves, not just the ones where it has the responsibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Thanks to the BIL, Amtrak is investing in new equipment and upgrading stations. We need assurances that these investments are taking into account people with disabilities, as required under the ADA. This bill helps to do just that.
This bill differs slightly from the House companion version of the Think Differently Transportation Act, sponsored by Representative Molinaro, which I am proud to cosponsor and that the House has previously passed.
This version included a requirement that Amtrak report on accessibility of its railcars in addition to stations. While that requirement has been left out of this version, we are hopeful that Amtrak will also include these updates on how their equipment is and will be accessible to people with all types of disabilities.
My friend, the late Representative Donald Payne, Jr., whose 66th birthday would have been today, cosponsored and helped write the House companion version of the Think Differently Transportation Act, and I am pleased that this bill, soon to become law, will be part of his legacy.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support S. 4107, the Think Differently Transportation Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Molinaro, as well, and I think of Don Payne at this moment. I am pleased to support the Think Differently Transportation Act, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same.
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