Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis) for yielding. I note that my good friend, Frank Wolf, is on the floor as well. I don't know that there is any Member of this body with whom I have worked more closely on an objective than Frank Wolf and I worked, particularly during the 1980s and early 1990s on this America's subway. I am glad that he is on the floor, and I thank Mr. Davis for his leadership and Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Moran. We have all worked very hard on that. Mr. Oberstar, we thank you as well for your assistance.

Bill Lehman was from Florida. Bill Lehman was chairman of the Transportation Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, and Bill Lehman used to call this America's subway.

I tell the gentlelady from North Carolina, I don't know whether she has left, and I appreciate her remarks, but it is America's subway. It's in the Nation's Capital, yet 18 million to 22 million Americans from outside this region ride it as they visit their Nation's Capital.

The employees who come into this city work for our Nation, not for the State of Virginia and the State of Maryland or even for the District of Columbia but for our Nation and all of our taxpayers.

That's why it's America's subway, and that's why we invested significantly in its construction. That's why it is necessary and appropriate for us to invest in its maintenance and continuing quality.

I would urge my colleagues to support this legislation. I have a statement that I will put in the Record without going through all of the specifics that have been discussed.

I want to say also to the gentlelady, yes, this is an amendment, but, unlike most amendments, this amendment has already gotten the imprimatur of the overwhelming numbers in this House and passed on suspension when Mr. Davis offered it, when the now minority, but the then Republican majority, was in charge of the Congress, with Democrats strongly supporting Mr. Davis' bill.

I think Democrats will strongly support Mr. Davis' bill. I would hope Republicans would strongly support Mr. Davis' bill to accommodate their taxpayers, their workers and their Nation's Capital.

I want to again thank Mr. Davis for his leadership on this issue. I want to thank Mr. Wolf for his partnership for me for now into our third decade of working on this issue.

We can be proud of this Metro system. It is one of the best in the world, not just in our country. Every American can be proud of their subway.

I urge very strong support across the aisle. This is not a partisan issue. As I say, Mr. Wolf and I worked in lockstep for over a decade in ensuring that this subway was completed. Mr. Moran joined us some time later, and that was working at the local level as the mayor of his city. Mr. Davis, as county executive of his county, we worked together. I want to also thank the ranking member very much for his leadership and his facilitating this amendment coming forward on the floor.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Davis-Van Hollen-Hoyer amendment to the Amtrak reauthorization. This critical amendment will help ensure that the ``Nation's subway'' continues to operate in a safe, reliable and effective manner.

The Washington Metro Area Transit Authority--which was established in 1967--has been faced with a severely aging infrastructure. In recent years, it has led to widespread maintenance problems, increased delays, and threats to passenger safety.

In fact, Metro officials recently estimated that the system needs approximately $489 million in urgent and outstanding infrastructure repair work.

This amendment--which is based on legislation which overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives in the last Congress--would authorize $1.5 billion in Federal funding for capital repairs and maintenance in the Metro System. This funding would be collectively matched by dedicated funds from Maryland, DC, and Virginia.

I have heard some of my colleagues question the appropriateness of a Federal investment in this system. In my view, this perspective is shortsighted and does not take into consideration the Federal Government's long history in the development of and reliance upon the Metro.

In 1960, the Congress passed and President Eisenhower signed into law the legislation to provide for the development of a regional rail system for the Nation's Capital. Congress has since passed Metro authorization bills in 1965, 1969, 1979, and 1990. The Federal Government provided $6.2 billion of the approximately $10 billion needed to construct the original 103-mile system.

Metro is critical to the Federal Government's evacuation plans of the Nation's Capital and we experienced Metro's essential role during the city's evacuation on September 11th, 2001.

Nearly half of Metro's riders during peak ridership are Federal employees and more than 50 Federal agencies are located adjacent to Metro stations.

Millions of tourists from across the country visit our Nation's Capital each year and many of these visitors use the Metro system to traverse the city while visiting our Nation's museums, monuments and historic landmarks.

Clearly, the Federal Government and the American people depend on Metro and there is a clear Federal interest in ensuring that the system is able to operate efficiently and effectively.

Unfortunately, just this week we were reminded of Metro's importance and its deteriorating infrastructure when an orange line train derailed in Northern Virginia. This mishap, where thankfully no one was injured, delayed the evening commute for many Federal employees and reinforced the need for this legislation.

Mr. Chairman, we must act now to preserve this critical national asset and ensure that the Nation's capital continues to have a safe, reliable, and effective transit system for the Federal workforce and its visitors. I urge my colleagues to join with me in voting for this important amendment.

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