(The following appeared on The Hill website on May 26, 2011.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — At a hearing Thursday on bolstering Northeast corridor high-speed rail with private investment, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) delivered a lengthy defense of the very public national rail service, Amtrak.
Lautenberg, testifying before Rep. John Mica’s (R-Fla.) Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told House members that Amtrak “makes our region work.”
But Lautenberg said Thursday that Amtrak does not get as much money from the federal government as it is often characterized as receiving.
“Last year, we spent more than $40 billion on highways,” he told the panel. “Over Amtrak’s entire 40-year history, we’ve spent just under $38 billion total. That’s worth repeating: Amtrak has received less federal money in its history than highways get in a single year.”
Full story: www.thehill.com