November 19, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S10663 

(5) establish and implement a time period 

for completing a recertification; and 

(6) develop measures and implement plans 

to assess the effectiveness of the HUBZone 

program that take into account— 

(A) the economic characteristics of the 

HUBZone; and 

(B) contracts being counted under multiple 

socioeconomic subcategories. 

SEC. 5. REPORT. 

Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

of the United States shall submit to the 

Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee 

on Small Business of the House of Representatives a report regarding the implementation of this Act. 

By Mr. KERRY (for himself, Mr. 

SPECTER, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. 

INOUYE, Mr. BROWN, Ms. 

STABENOW, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. 

DODD, Mr. CASEY, Mr. 

LIEBERMAN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, 

Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. SCHUMER, 

MS. SNOWE, Mr. MENENDEZ, and 

Mr. CARPER): 

S. 3700. A bill to encourage and support the development of high-speed 

passenger rail transportation in the 

United States, and for other purposes; 

to the Committee on Finance. 

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, this has 

been a volatile time for our financial 

system and our economy. Hopefully, we 

will be able to agree on a short-term 

stimulus relief that will help families 

who are suffering and states meet their 

financial obligations. 

Next, we need to create new jobs by 

updating our infrastructure to help respond to the current challenges to our 

economy. I believe a first-rate American rail system is a critical part of the 

efforts to create jobs and expand our 

economy. It will also help make our air 

cleaner, ease traffic congestion, save 

families’ money and time, and lessen 

our dependence on foreign oil. 

That is why today, Senator SPECTER

and I are introducing the High-Speed 

Rail for America Act of 2008. Senators 

LAUTENBERG, INOUYE, BROWN, 

STABENOW, FEINSTEIN, DODD, CASEY, 

LIEBERMAN, WHITEHOUSE, CLINTON, 

SCHUMER, SNOWE, and MENENDEZ are 

cosponsors. This legislation provides a 

bold new vision of how we approach 

transportation policy to expand our 

economy and keep up with changes in 

our society. 

The High-Speed Rail for America Act 

of 2008 builds upon the Passenger Rail 

Investment and Improvement Act of 

2008 which reauthorizes Amtrak and 

authorizes $1.5 billion over a five-year 

period to finance the construction and 

equipment for 11 highspeed rail corridors. I want to thank Senator LAUTENBERG for his leadership on reauthorizing Amtrak and making investment 

in high-speed rail a priority. 

Today, Amtrak’s Acela train on the 

Northeast Corridor is capable of reaching 150 miles per hour. However, due to 

a lack of infrastructure improvements, 

the Acela train only travels at 150 

miles per hour on an 18-mile stretch in 

Rhode Island and a 10–mile stretch in 

Massachusetts. We must make appropriate improvements to our railroad 

tracks and bridges to allow high speed 

rail to work properly. 

While the U.S. is investing heavily in 

other forms of transportation, our investment in world class rail is dwarfed 

by other countries. For example, Germany’s federal government gives its 

states $8.9 billion a year for rail 

projects, France spends twenty times 

more per capita on rail than the U.S., 

and the Ministry of Railways in China 

invested $19.6 billion in rail in the first 

half of 2008 alone. That is why we need 

to provide a constant source of funding 

for investment in high-speed rail. The 

High-Speed Rail for America Act of 

2008 will take our outdated and underfunded passenger rail system and 

transform it into a world class system. 

The High-Speed Rail for America Act 

of 2008 builds on the authorization of 

highspeed rail grants by providing billions of dollars in both tax exempt and 

tax credit bonds. It provides assistance 

for rail projects of various speeds. The 

bill creates the Office of High-Speed 

Passenger Rail to oversee the development of high-speed rail and provides a 

consistent source of funding. This office will ensure that we have the leadership to keep this mission on track. 

High-speed rail is often the fastest 

and most reliable way to get from 

downtown to downtown between most 

cities 100–500 miles apart. High-speed 

rail can save up to an hour per trip 

when compared to air travel and reduces trip time by more than 50 percent compared to driving. The legislation provides $8 billion over a 6-year 

period for tax-exempt bonds which finance high-speed rail projects which 

reach a speed of at least 110 miles per 

hour. This speed is often most practical 

for corridors of less than 100 miles or 

for less travelled routes which cannot 

justify the investment into world class 

high-speed rail traveling at 150 miles 

per hour. 

The High-Speed Rail for America Act 

of 2008 also creates a new category of 

tax-credit bonds: qualified rail bonds. 

There are two types: super high-speed 

intercity rail facility bond and rail infrastructure bond. Super high-speed 

rail intercity facility bonds will encourage the development of true highspeed rail. The legislation provides $10 

billion for these bonds over a six-year 

period. Rail projects that reach a speed 

of at least 150 miles per hour will be eligible for these bonds. This would help 

finance projects including the proposed 

California corridor and make needed 

improvements to the Northeast corridor. 

Rail infrastructure bonds will fund 

projects approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation and be part of 

a State’s official rail plan. The HighSpeed Rail for America Act of 2008 provides $5.4 billion over a 6-year period 

for this type of bond. The Federal Rail 

Administration has already designated 

ten rail corridors that these bonds 

could help fund, including connecting 

the cities of the Midwest through Chicago, connecting the cities of the 

Northwest, connecting the major cities 

within Texas and Florida, and connecting all the cities up and down the 

East Coast. These are projects that are 

ready to go, but they need a source of 

financing. 

The need for a bold shift in the way 

we approach transportation is clear. 

Traffic congestion continues to worsen 

in cities across the country, creating a 

$78 billion drain on the U.S. economy 

with 4.2 billion lost man hours of work 

and 2.8 billion gallons of wasted fuel. 

Last year, domestic flight delays cost 

the economy $41 billion and consumed 

about 740 million additional gallons of 

jet fuel waiting on the ground. Passenger rail reduces congestion and is 

an effective alternative to highway and 

air transportation. Americans want alternatives—and we can deliver them. 

We must focus on making the transportation sector part of the solution to 

global climate change. The transportation sector accounts for approximately one-third of U.S. CO2 emissions—and automobiles make up 60 percent of that. Public transportation is 

an essential part of the solution to 

global warming. According to the 

American Public Transportation Association, public transportation reduces 

CO2 emissions by 37 million metric tons 

annually and saves the average American household over $6,000 annually. 

The demand for alternative forms of 

transportation is only growing. The 

number of people riding Amtrak surged 

by more than 13 percent in July 2008 

from a year earlier—the most passengers carried in any month during 

Amtrak’s 37 year history. Amtrak ridership set an all-time record for fiscal 

year 2008, achieving growth of 11 percent. 

As we look towards economic stimulus legislation next year, we must 

rethink the approach we have taken towards mobility in this country. Countries around the world have realized 

the benefits of high-speed rail and continue to build out their systems as we 

fall farther and farther behind. For far 

too long, we have not made adequate 

investment in our infrastructure. We 

cannot let this pattern continue. 

We have all heard the skeptics and 

cynics dismiss the idea of high-speed 

rail for decades, but due to high energy 

prices, increased passenger rail ridership, and the need to reduce greenhouse gasses, the time is ripe for a big 

change. Not only will this change create a modern and reliable transportation network in the Untied States, it 

will provide tens of thousands of good 

new jobs and help stimulate the sluggish economy. 

I pledge to continue fighting for the 

development of a modern high-speed 

rail system connecting the major cities 

across America, and I ask all my colleagues to support making this vision a 

reality. 

By Mr. DODD (for himself and 

Mr. HATCH): 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with SENATE