Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Chairman, before I discuss my amendment, I would like to thank Chairman Shuster, Chairman Denham, Ranking Member DeFazio, Ranking Member Capuano, and former Subcommittee Ranking Member Brown for all their hard work and for bringing this bipartisan legislation to the floor so early this year.

Mr. Chairman, this bill shows us what Congress can do when we work together to build consensus, and yes, compromise--compromise--to get things done to improve our Nation's transportation infrastructure.

This bill makes much-needed reforms to Amtrak's business model and the RRIF loan program, which I hope will unlock a potential financing source for the CREATE rail modernization program in northeastern Illinois and help commuter rail agencies make important improvements, such as installing positive train control.

I am pleased the bill contains provisions extending Buy America requirements to RRIF projects. I have been mentioning this need since 2009, and I am glad to see that we are codifying these requirements to ensure that this $35 billion loan program is investing our dollars in American materials and American jobs.

My amendment today is a small but important addition to this bill. It sharpens the directive in section 211 that requires Amtrak's inspector general to conduct a review of Amtrak's boarding procedures. Section 211 is a good step towards improving the experience of Amtrak riders and the efficiency of Amtrak's operations.

This amendment builds on this provision by clarifying that the Amtrak IG should consider the boarding needs of passengers that use mobility devices, including all forms of wheelchairs, as well as passengers with items such as bicycles. This will make sure that the IG's report considers the needs of all its riders, guarantees that Amtrak will focus on complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and harnesses a potential revenue stream from bicyclists and other users of nonmotorized transport.

Right now, Amtrak uses patchwork procedures that can make it difficult for an individual using a wheelchair or traveling with a bike to get on and off a train. The Amtrak inspector general issued a report in August of last year that found that only 10 percent of Amtrak stations are fully ADA compliant, which demonstrates the need to not only look at each station's infrastructure, but how each station gets passengers from station to platform to train. We need to make sure that Amtrak is serving all of its customers to the best of its abilities and in accordance with the law.

Mr. Chairman, similar difficulties exist for other forms of transportation, such as bicycles. Only 38 percent of Amtrak lines provide baggage service for bicycles, while only 18 percent of lines even allow for roll-on bicycle service that are complemented by ad hoc policies at many of the stations on these lines. Mobility is important to reducing congestion, and if we improve the boarding process, we improve quality of service and help encourage ridership.

This amendment is supported by Easter Seals, People for Bikes, the United Spinal Association, the League of American Bicyclists, AARP, the Rails to Trails Conservancy, the National Disabilities Rights Network, Transportation for America, and the Adventure Cycling Association.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.

I want to thank, again, Chairman Shuster for his work and Ranking Member DeFazio. This is what we need to be doing is coming together and working these things out. There is so much that America needs done, especially when it comes to transportation infrastructure.

I want to thank the chairman for his great work in leading this committee. We have a lot of other issues to work on, other forms of transportation, but this is a good example of what we can do by working together.

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