III 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 190 

Recognizing 50 years of service by the National Railroad Passenger 

Corporation, commonly known as Amtrak. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 29, 2021 

Ms. CANTWELL (for herself, Mr. WICKER, Mr. PETERS, Mrs. FISCHER, Mr. 

TESTER, Mr. MORAN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. LUJA ́N, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. 

BALDWIN, and Ms. KLOBUCHAR) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing 50 years of service by the National Railroad 

Passenger Corporation, commonly known as Amtrak. 

Whereas, on October 30, 1970, Congress enacted the Rail 

Passenger Service Act of 1970 (Public Law 91–518; 84 

Stat. 1327), which created the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (commonly known and referred to in 

this preamble as ‘‘Amtrak’’) to assume the responsibility 

of providing the United States with nationwide passenger 

rail service, which began on May 1, 1971; 

Whereas May 1, 2021, marks 50 years since the date Amtrak 

began providing passenger rail service to individuals in 

the United States; 


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•SRES 190 IS 

Whereas Amtrak connects over 500 communities across 46 

States, the District of Columbia, and 3 Canadian Provinces; 

Whereas, in 2019, Amtrak provided over 32,000,000 trips, 

the highest yearly ridership in its history; 

Whereas the total annual economic impact of Amtrak and the 

passengers it serves across the United States exceeds 

$8,000,000,000; 

Whereas Amtrak has formed valuable partnerships with 17 

States to operate 28 regionalized routes, which resulted 

in 15,400,000 trips in 2019; 

Whereas Amtrak operates 15 long-distance routes that resulted in 4,600,000 trips in 2019; 

Whereas the Acela and the Northeast Regional, 2 services of 

Amtrak along the Northeast Corridor, provided 

12,500,000 trips in 2019; and 

Whereas Amtrak provides a number of essential services and 

public benefits, which include— 

(1) serving as the only source of public transportation in many rural communities; 

(2) employing approximately 16,000 people and supporting tens of thousands of additional jobs in the communities it serves; and 

(3) because Amtrak is 47 percent more energy efficient than car travel and 33 percent more energy efficient 

than air travel (as measured by passenger miles), providing an environmentally friendly way to travel: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate recognizes— 


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•SRES 190 IS 

1 (1) 50 years of service by the National Railroad 

2 Passenger Corporation (commonly known and re3 ferred to in this resolution as ‘‘Amtrak’’); 

4 (2) the need for safe and affordable national 

5 passenger rail service in the United States; 

6 (3) that Amtrak provides a vital connection for 

7 both urban and rural communities throughout the 

8 United States and, in the process, contributes to the 

9 economic growth of those communities; and 

10 (4) that the restoration and expansion of the 

11 services that Amtrak provides is in the interest of 

12 the United States. 

Æ 


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