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Senate Emphasizes Importance of Rail to Transportation Nom.
January 17, 2025
Key Senate Transportation Committee Emphasizes Importance of Amtrak and Passenger Rail to Trump Transportation Nominee
By Sean Jeans-Gail, VP of Gov’t Affairs + Policy
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held a hearing this week to consider Sean Duffy, President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination for Secretary of Transportation. During the hearing, several Senators—from both parties, representing both Northeast Corridor (NEC) and National Network (NN) communities—emphasized the essential role Amtrak plays for millions of Americans. Mr. Duffy acknowledged the Committee’s commitment to keeping these essential services running, and promised to work with Members to implement any passenger rail legislation Congress sees fit to enact.
In the wake of his nomination, Rail Passengers highlighted Mr. Duffy’s anti-Amtrak voting record during his tenure representing Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District. Our staff worked to educate Committee members on this voting record, while making the case that it ought to be addressed in advance of Mr. Duffy’s confirmation. Happily, several Senators used their limited time to talk about the importance of Amtrak and passenger rail to their constituents, giving Mr. Duffy an opportunity to commit publicly to working with Congress to advance upgrades to the U.S. rail network.
Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) of New Jersey took the most direct line in his questioning, asking Mr. Duffy to explain his position on passenger rail in light of his voting record on Amtrak. Mr. Duffy responded that he was representing a district in northern Wisconsin that did not have Amtrak service, and that he was attempting to represent the points of view he heard expressed by constituents during town halls that he hosted. However, he went on to state that he understood that he would be representing the entire nation as Secretary of Transportation, including communities that relied heavily on Amtrak.
“We appreciate the Committee’s diligence in exercising its oversight powers on behalf of America’s passengers,” said Jim Mathews, Rail Passengers President & CEO. “We’re particularly grateful for the support for passengers shown by Senators Jim Moran, Roger Wicker, Maria Cantwell, Andy Kim, Lisa Blunt-Rochester, Jacky Rosen, and Tim Sheehy. Based on Mr. Duffy’s response to the bipartisan showing of support for Amtrak, we are happy to endorse his confirmation as Secretary. We stand ready and willing to partner with his Department of Transportation and the Trump Administration to continue upgrading and expanding America’s rail network.”
Rail Passengers is providing a summary of the rail-applicable exchanges that took place during the question-and-answer section of yesterday’s hearing.
Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) criticized the Biden Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) for not making staff ratings of the California High-Speed Rail project’s grant applications publicly available. Mr. Duffy committed to sharing USDOT staff ratings for all grant applications in rounds of awards involving California HSR.
RPA Commentary: we believe that this kind of transparency in the grant process should be uniformly applied. The desire for this kind of transparency is why Congress directed the USDOT to create a pipeline of projects as part of the Corridor ID program—one that “identifies capital projects for Federal investment, project applicants, and proposed Federal funding levels”—something that still hasn’t happened three years after enactment of the IIJA.
Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA) asked Mr. Duffy to commit to continuing work on projects that have already received grants awarded by the current USDOT. Duffy responded affirmatively, while also relating that he’d heard from Senators that projects are not moving fast enough and that he would work to speed delivery.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) asked Mr. Duffy to commit to keeping politics out of the grant application selection process, which Mr. Duffy promised to do.
Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) stressed the importance of Amtrak’s long-distance trains, focusing on the Southwest Chief’s role in Kansas. He states that prior versions of Amtrak and its Board hadn’t always supported service outside of the NEC, while highlighting the importance of passenger rail service across the country, particularly for rural communities. Mr. Duffy acknowledged that this point had been flagged for him by several Senators and agreed that providing services to rural communities is important.
Senator Moran closed by talking about the need to keep work moving on the extension of the Heartland Flyer from Newton, Kansas south to Oklahoma City and Dallas, citing it as an example of states putting up their own dollars to support passenger rail expansion.
In addition to asking about his voting record, Senator Kim asked Mr. Duffy whether he would commit to continue advancing the Gateway Project? Mr. Duffy said he wanted to get a better sense of what funding had been distributed but imagined that good projects that are currently underway would continue.
Senator Kim followed up by highlighting the summer of delays that afflicted New Jersey Transit riders, saying a strong federal partner is needed to advance NEC projects given Amtrak’s ownership of the infrastructure utilized by NJT.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) asked whether Mr. Duffy would support the federal two-person crew for train operations. Mr. Duffy said he was horrified by what happened in East Palestine, that Vice President J.D. Vance has a well-defined perspective on rail safety from his time representing Ohio, and that would inform USDOT policy under the Trump Administration. Sen. Markey pointed out that the rule is already in place by the FRA, and asked whether Mr. Duffy would support that rule, and Mr. Duffy affirmed that he would.
Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) said she had talked with Mr. Duffy about Amtrak in their introductory conversation, and she wanted to make sure that the USDOT continued to support the NEC because it’s so a vital to Americans and to the U.S. economy.
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) brought up the Brightline West project, saying she would like work on the corridor to continue. Mr. Duffy agreed, saying it sounded like a great way to get people off the congested Interstate 15.
"I’m so proud that we came together in bipartisan fashion in the Senate to keep the Southwest Chief chugging along, and I’m grateful for this recognition from the Rail Passengers Association. This victory is a testament to what we can accomplish when we reach across the aisle and work together to advance our common interests."
Senator Tom Udall (D-NM)
April 2, 2019, on receiving the Association's Golden Spike Award for his work to protect the Southwest Chief
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