Robert Torricelli

Mr. TORRICELLI

Mr. TORRICELLI. I am. I hope our colleagues understand this. When we talk about Fidel Castro's dictatorship today, this isn't some old, unsettled grudge. This is a continuing security problem. Ninety miles off our shore we have now established there are fugitives from American justice, including people who have hijacked airplanes and committed murder. There are now established bases for terrorist organizations on an ongoing basis, and an international concern for bioterrorism--not 40 years ago, not 30 years ago, right now, while the United States is engaged in a war against terrorism.

Mr. TORRICELLI. I say to the Senator from Florida, it would leave American law enforcement with no leverage to get the return of these fugitives to the United States. You can imagine the pain of an American family whose loved one was murdered by one of these fugitives now knowing that our country's institutions are lending money to this government, and those very institutions being, in some cases, insured by the U.S. Government. I think it would be extremely painful and difficult to explain.

Mr. TORRICELLI. Indeed, I was not, I say to Senator Graham, but I am appreciative of the fact that the Senator is bringing it to the attention of our colleagues, if they are, indeed, serious about their intentions of now financing exports to this government.

Mr. TORRICELLI. I am. Indeed, it is because of not only allowing them to operate but a permanent presence for these terrorist organizations in Havana that the State Department, under both the Clinton administration and now the Bush administration, has cited Fidel Castro's government as being complicit with terrorism on what remains a very small list of rogue nations. This is not conduct where terrorists simply pass through the country. It requires a continuous, outrageous national policy of actually harboring these organizations that the Senator cited.

Mr. TORRICELLI. As I have noted previously, it is important for our colleagues to know that the fact that Fidel Castro is involved in bioterrorism and has these facilities that he refuses to allow international inspectors to visit is cited not only by the U.S. Government but cited by the Canadian Government as a source of concern. We have information from former Soviet officials that, indeed, they were aware of it and concerned of it themselves.

Mr. TORRICELLI. Let me respond to Senator Graham, if I could. I hope every Senator thinks about the incongruity of this situation. Fidel Castro is blaming the attacks of September 11 on the policies of the United States. He is now stating his opposition to our military campaign abroad, and we are about to engage in finance of our products to his country and his government. Imagine explaining that to the parents of an American soldier now in Afghanistan or coming to New York, New Jersey, or Virginia or explaining that to the widow of a victim of the September 11 attacks. Talk about choosing whether you are for us or against us, and then trying to explain away what happened to our country. I am happy to yield for a parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. TORRICELLI

Mr. TORRICELLI. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. TORRICELLI. Mr. President, on behalf of myself, Senator Corzine, Senator Biden, Senator Carper, I have an amendment that would assure the Nation will for the next year have two independent suppliers of antitank and short-range missiles. Without this, we fear the Nation will be reduced to a single supply.

Mr. TORRICELLI

Mr. TORRICELLI. These are the resources in a very real way, just as real as in Afghanistan to win that fight to secure these people, and I am grateful to the Appropriations Committee for its commitment.

Mr. TORRICELLI. Three minutes.

Mr. TORRICELLI. Madam President, I thank the Senator from West Virginia for yielding the time. There are moments when we are reminded why our fathers and mothers created this Union. This is one of those moments to provide for the common defense, to promote the general welfare. All of America was attacked, but that attack fell most directly on the peoples of several States. The President of the United States has reminded us that in this new war, we are all soldiers. If that be the case, the obligation of this Senate is to provide resources for all the police officers, all the citizens, all the workers who are on the front lines. The Senator from West Virginia has answered that call for my State, and I believe for the national interest. Since September 11, thousands and thousands of people are unable to get to their place of employment because the trains under the Hudson River were, in some instances, destroyed; businesses had to relocate and have had enormous economic disruptions. The Appropriations Committee has provided money to repair those trains, and $100 million for ferry service so businesses can continue to operate. We are told that one of the greatest threats to our security in another terrorist attack is the tunnels under the Hudson River, identified as the primary threat in the country. The Appropriations Committee has provided $100 million to repair the tunnels for safety, for fire, for escape. We are told that one of the greatest threats, from a previous threat from the al-Qaida organization, was to attack the tunnels for automobiles and bridges. Indeed, that attempt was foiled once before, but we remain vulnerable. The Appropriations Committee has provided $81 million for security upgrades of the George Washington Bridge and the Lincoln Tunnel. Finally, on this very day, we have this Senator's testimony about the vulnerability of millions of uninspected containers coming into this country on container ships from every corner of the Earth. The Appropriations Committee has provided $29 million for new security personnel and new boats for New York Harbor to ensure these ships are intercepted, and that these containers are inspected to assure the safety of our people. President Bush is right. This country is at war. It is not a distant war. It may be fought in Afghanistan, but it began in New York and in Washington.

Mr. TORRICELLI

Mr. TORRICELLI. Madam President, I rise today to support the Terrorist Victim Citizenship Relief Act, legislation introduced yesterday by Senator Corzine. While we all know the horror of the terrorist attacks of September 11, many who lost a loved during those tragic events face additional difficulties that our fellow Americans do not. One such person is Deena Gilbey, a young women living with her family in New Jersey. On September 11, Mrs. Gilbey lost not only her husband Paul, but because she had been residing in the United States on her husband Paul's work visa, she faced deportation upon his passing. There are still many unresolved issues that Mrs. Gilbey and those like her face. The Terrorist Victim Citizenship Relief Act is designed to provide relief to families that face potential deportation and other difficulties because of the death of their primary visa holder on September 11. It would enable them to address many of the daunting issues by conferring United States citizenship upon them. I want to thank Senator Corzine for introducing this legislation and am pleased to be a cosponsor of it. I urge my fellow Senators to join in support of this measure.

Mr. TORRICELLI

Mr. TORRICELLI. Madam President I rise today in support of the private relief bill for Mrs. Deena Gilbey introduced yesterday by Senator Corzine. Along with thousands of Americans and citizens from over 60 nations, Mrs. Gilbey lost a loved one when her husband Paul died in the attacks on the World Trade Center. Unlike many of those families, Mrs. Gilbey was not a citizen of the United States, but rather a citizen of the United Kingdom. Therefore, for the last 8 years, she has been residing in the United States on her husband's work visa with their two American born children. Then, on September 11 she was widowed when, her husband who had safely exited the World Trade Center, chose to return to help in the evacuation of those who remained behind. In the aftermath of this horrific moment, Mrs. Gilbey found herself ``out of status'' and facing the prospect of having to uproot her two young children from their home and return to the United Kingdom. The legislation Senator Corzine introduced will address this injustice by making Mrs. Gilbey a citizen so that she and her young sons can continue to live in this Nation that they have for so long called home. I am pleased to be a cosponsor of Senator Corzine's bill and urge my fellow Senators to join Senator Corzine and myself in support of this relief for Mrs. Gilbey.

Mr. TORRICELLI

Mr. TORRICELLI. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. TORRICELLI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. TORRICELLI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Finance Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 2884, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. TORRICELLI. Mr. President, as Members of the Senate proceed to Thanksgiving Day celebrations with our families, there is little we can offer to the victims of September 11 but our prayers and our good hopes. But in this final act of the Senate, before we recess, perhaps there is something of this world we can do of some meaning for the children and the widows and the widowers who remain. For these families, September 11 is the crisis that never ends. Even as the dead are buried and families reconstitute themselves, they are faced, every day, with the living reality of life without someone they loved--a father, a mother without a paycheck or savings or a financial future. They need our prayers. They need our support and our encouragement. But they also need our help. I think H.R. 2884, as amended by the Senate Finance Committee, for this holiday, offers the hand of the American people to our neighbors. It very simply extends current American policy which waives Federal tax liability to the families of American soldiers or civilian employees of the U.S. Government who are killed in combat or in terrorist actions. This extension would now include American citizens whose family members were killed on September 11, 2001, in New York and Virginia. First, liability for Federal income taxes will be waived for this year and last year. Any moneys previously paid will be refunded. This money is simply better used to pay mortgages and rents and to feed children than it is to be contributed, at this point, to the Federal Government. Second, we are mindful that many people of moderate means were killed in the Pentagon and the World Trade Center who may not have paid Federal income taxes. They worked in the restaurants or they cleaned the buildings or they performed other valuable services. Their families may be in the most dire circumstances of all. They will no longer be liable for payroll taxes and will be refunded taxes previously paid. Third, for those nonworking spouses and children who may have now been in a position to inherit the earnings of a father or a mother who is deceased, they, of course, receive that money knowing no more will be earned. Whatever money is inherited must carry them through a lifetime--to educate the children, house the family. There will be nothing else arriving. This legislation provides significant estate tax relief from all State estate taxes on assets of up to $3 million and Federal estate taxes on assets of up to $8.5 million. Fourth, there are those who did not die on September 11 but whose physical wounds may be with them for a long time. Many are now eligible for disability benefits. Those benefits are theirs, all of them. No matter how long it takes for the scars to heal--the people to be able to walk or to see or to hear--the Federal Government should have no part of their disability funds. Taxes on them will be waived. Fifth, and finally, through the extraordinary generosity of the American people, hundreds of millions of dollars have been raised from schoolchildren and families and neighbors, corporations, churches and synagogues and mosques. It has been a wonderful expression by the American people, revealing much about ourselves as we help those in desperate need. None of those payments from governments or charities or corporations should be taxed. By virtue of this legislation, taxes on all such payments will be waived. This evening in New Jersey I will meet with hundreds of the widows and widowers of people who died in the terrorist attack. I know of no better expression by this Senate to those who have survived the loss of people they loved in the terrorist attack than to offer not merely words of sympathy or an expression of understanding that it was not those families who were attacked but America than for the representatives of America, assembled in this Chamber through this legislation, to express our solidarity with this simple act. This is not all we will do. It is not even the beginning of what we should do. But it is something we can do.

Mr. TORRICELLI. Mr. President, I understand Senator Baucus has a substitute amendment at the desk. I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be agreed to, the act, as amended, be read the third time and passed, the amendment to the title be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record.

Mr. TORRICELLI

Mr. TORRICELLI. Mr. President, the Senate is in its final moments before the Thanksgiving recess. I am mindful that most Senators have left to be with their families and return to their States. All of us having now lived through one of the most extraordinary periods in the long and proud history of our country, I wanted, if only for my own purposes, to take a moment to reflect on the day, its meaning, and some things we all take to our homes that distinguish this year and this Thanksgiving from others. I trust that we are all mindful as we travel to be with our families for Thanksgiving, traveling to each of the 50 States of the Union, that there are thousands of soldiers and sailors and airmen gathered in the hulls of ships, flying in aircraft, some huddled in trenches on the ground--all brave, all strong, but they would not be human if some were not afraid. They are far from home at a time when all Americans want to be at home. They are in a strange land, often with people they do not know, at a time when Americans want to be with family and people they love. I know all Americans will remember them in our prayers this Thanksgiving and be grateful not just to them but to the great good fortune of providence which with every generation, every time our Nation has been threatened for more than two centuries, has produced men and women of such extraordinary courage, so willing to sacrifice for our Nation and its freedom. I do not know how America has been so fortunate through each succeeding generation to have produced such men and women, but I, as with all of my colleagues, have a gratitude that cannot be fully expressed. I am reminded that President Lincoln, during another troubling period of our history, reminded us that as great armies were on the field of battle against each other, they prayed to the same God. Each invoked his name against the other. The prayers of each could not be answered. Indeed, as our soldiers have prayed for their lives and their country and victory, so, too, have our adversaries. It is of no small comfort to know that the prayers of our soldiers and our citizens have to date been so fully answered. Victory is not yet assured, but we have moved more swiftly, more certainly, and more skillfully than we most probably had a right to dream. In the most remote corner of this Earth, thousands of American soldiers, and sailors, and airmen descended within weeks of the tragedy of New York and Virginia. No place could have been more distant, no area of the globe more hostile, no cities, no towns, no country more remote than Afghanistan. Our own forces not only found their way but established themselves and with extraordinary ability, with skill and courage, mounted an offensive to hold those accountable who would strike our country and our Government and kill our citizens with wanton abandon, without any sense of decency. I know the terrorists who struck America on September 11 intended to teach us a lesson. We have learned many lessons. They may not be what was intended, but the lessons are real and I hope they are lasting. We learned again the extraordinary strength of our Nation, measured not only in our military power or economic resilience but our faith, our belief in each other, our willingness to overcome obstacles and divisions for common purpose. It is this which has sustained us for 200 years. There are moments of comfort and without challenge when we have probably wondered whether they were still alive with us. We don't need to be concerned anymore. Those qualities still live in America. We taught not only ourselves but the world a good deal about the goodness and kindness in America. Indeed, what other people in all of history would drop bombs on our adversaries by day and distribute food to their children and widows by night? What other country in all the annals of history would conquer an army but not conquer the land, meet our military objectives but state from the outset and commit our resources fully to leaving the people of that land in peace, with more prosperity and a greater freedom than they knew before? These things we learned about ourselves and, perhaps, we reminded the world about the United States of America. We all hope they are lessons that, having been taught before, will never be forgotten. We have given up believing that there are any final wars. We are no longer naive enough to believe there are wars to end all wars. Every generation has its own challenges. It was said by Jefferson that ``eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.'' We have always known that freedom is not free. So now this generation, in this decade, has paid the price again, knowing it will be paid again in the future. But we have a hope that finally the world will remember, even if sometimes we forget, those essential elements about our country that seem to lead to our vulnerability; that because we are kind, people perceive us as sometimes being weak; because we are generous, people sometimes believe we lack resolve; because we have been prosperous, some believe we have lost the will or the ability to fight to defend ourselves. History is littered with people who have made those miscalculations before. Now the Taliban and al-Qaeda are about to share their fate. The battle is not yet fully won, though victory, at least in this first battle of this new war against terrorism, has taken sufficient form that we can see the outlines of success. Before this war on terrorism targets new adversaries, there will be the matter of how to bring to justice those who created these crimes, murdered our people, and attacked our Nation. President Bush has suggested a military tribunal that would hear the evidence and render justice. It is an important decision for our country. We have always, in dealing with criminal cases in our country, taken enormous pride in that the accused is afforded every right and assumed to have every innocence until convicted in full accord with our Constitution. After declarations of war and military campaigns, in those instances when people have committed either atrocities against humanity or engaged in military hostilities outside of the conduct of the rules of war, they have been brought to justice; they have been tried by military justice. Now we are engaged in a new kind of war. Our adversaries wear no uniforms. They may not belong to the army of any recognized state. Our country received no declaration of war, according to the articles of war of civilized nations. So the actions of President Bush in bringing the leaders of al-Qaeda, or the Taliban, to justice are precedent. But they need not be controversial. The Taliban and al-Qaeda may not have been in the family of nations, but the law is not blind. By their actions and their words, Bin Laden and the Taliban leadership declared war on the United States of America. The destruction of American civilian aircraft into our greatest cities and the offices of the U.S. Government and the taking of thousands of lives was an act of war, not a civilian crime. It would have been no different had an aircraft with a foreign flag dropped a bomb on New York or Washington. The orders given would have been the same, the consequences identical, and should stand before the law on an equal basis. The leaders of the Taliban and al-Qaeda are entitled to military justice, to be heard before a military tribunal of either the U.S. military or the assembled military leadership of the allies in this endeavor. But they are not entitled to sit in a civilian court provided for American citizens under the Constitution of this country for the rights of our people and those who enter our shores. The level of justice may not be the same in a military tribunal as in a civilian court, but it is justice. They can be heard as any other military adversary. Before leaving on this Thanksgiving holiday, I wish to say how proud I have been of this Congress, my country, and our Armed Forces. This is not what any of us wanted for the 21st century. We all believed that somehow only months ago as the 20th century came to a close, our time was going to be different. Through all the ravages of the 20th century, the disappointment, the destruction, the genocide, finally men and women had come of age. We understood the foolishness of combat, the recklessness of armed struggle, the uselessness of combat. We had built institutions to resolve our international differences. While cultures, faiths, and languages might differ, there at least was emerging some common understanding of the principles of governance, justice, and self- respect. It would appear that our enthusiasm for a new time was either misplaced or poorly timed. Not only do these opening years of the 21st century not appear to be an improvement on all we experienced in the 20th century, but they look remarkably similar to the 18th or 19th centuries. All human progress is not forward. All nations do not advance at the same speed. All cultures have not learned history the same. Yet we are patient and hopeful. If anything characterizes the people of the United States, it is our boundless optimism. From this terrible experience, perhaps we can at least take this to salvage those many years still remaining in the 21st century to make our time different. In the destruction of al-Qaeda and the Taliban, a message will at least be received by those who would harbor terrorists or those who would collaborate in these actions: Our kindness is not weakness; our laws do not provide you opportunities to take advantage of our justice; we are strong, we are resolved, and we are determined to defend ourselves, our children, and our future, as every generation before us. We are a good and a great people, but we are a strong and determined people. We have our place in the future, our role in the world, and it will not be compromised. It will not be taken from us. Much of this planet has decided upon some common norms of justice and conduct, to conduct ourselves in peace within institutions. All nations are welcome to join in them according to their own traditions, their own laws, and their own faiths, but the age when nations or organizations would be permitted to operate against all human experience and all rules of decency are over. We have only perhaps begun to defeat one terrorist organization in one country, but surely the lessons from this experience are unmistakable and are heard on every corner of the globe. That is my hope and my prayer for this Thanksgiving. Godspeed to every American soldier wherever he or she may be on this holiday. May you be home for Christmas; may we not have to call upon you again. But if we do, may you serve with the same distinction, courage, and valor that every American has seen in your actions in these last few weeks.

Mr. TORRICELLI

Mr. TORRICELLI. The Senator cited $4.4 billion worth of tax breaks for Amtrak. What provision would that be? I am the author of the Amtrak provisions. I am unaware of any tax breaks for Amtrak. Amtrak, being a public corporation, doesn't pay taxes. So it would be hard to give them a break. Nevertheless, the Senator made a statement about a provision of which I don't know. For purposes of the institution, my colleagues would like to know what tax breaks Amtrak has as a special interest?

Mr. TORRICELLI. The Senator is very kind to yield. For that, I am very grateful. I would like the record to be correct. Amtrak doesn't pay taxes so it can't get a tax break. The provision is that the States can issue bonds to build high-speed rail lines, and the Federal Government will pay the interest on it. So the Federal Government, in fact, is helping the States. The tax breaks go to the States that we represent, not Amtrak, not any projects, not any special interests, the States of the Union. I include in that the State of Ohio. I thank the Senator for yielding to me.

Mr. TORRICELLI. Madam President, in the legislation before the Senate on economic recovery, we are, of course, focused on those who have lost their jobs, those businesses and unions that are in distress, and our various communities. But there are some American families for whom September 11 is not a memory; it is a crisis in their lives that they wake up with every morning. I am speaking about the families of those who perished--the 5,000 husbands and wives and thousands of children for whom September 11 will be a day they will live with for the rest of their lives. Nearly 600 of the dead were from my State of New Jersey. Senator Corzine and I have begun meeting with the husbands and wives of those deceased. It is an experience I wish every Senator could share. It becomes so common to speculate on whether September 11 has changed America forever. I don't know. But I know that when I meet with these widows and widowers, America has forever changed for them. We debate the economic consequences for our country. I want you to consider the economic consequences for them, what the morning was like, not of September 11 but of September 12, when a husband or a wife was gone. It could have been a young family in a new home, with a new baby. Families wanted to mourn, but there wasn't a lot of time because in 2 weeks a mortgage payment was due, in 3 months a tuition payment was due, that weekend there were groceries to buy, and there were no more paychecks. For them, it is a crisis that never goes away. In the legislation before the Senate, there may be things Senators like and there may be things they do not like. There may be points of controversy. I trust there is one thing upon which we can all agree. I am very grateful that, on a unanimous and bipartisan basis, Members of the Senate accepted, under Senator Baucus's leadership, an amendment I offered that will change the tax status of families who lost a family member on September 11 at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, or through the anthrax attacks in recent weeks. The amendment I offered is based on an aspect of current American law. If, under the statutes of our country, a member of the military is lost in an engagement abroad, or a civilian employee is killed by a terrorist act abroad, they will incur no tax liability to the U.S. Government for that year. When that provision was written, I have no doubt it did not occur to Members of the Congress that victims would not be people in the service abroad but would be civilians at home; that the front lines would not be in Latin America, Africa, or Asia but in New York, New Jersey, or Virginia. But that is the world in which we live. The laws must be changed accordingly. The Finance Committee, therefore, has put before the Senate a provision that changes the tax laws to relieve the liability of these tragic families. First, income tax liability for this year and last year is waived. No further payments will be paid and refunds will be received when appropriate. Second, we recognize that many of those who worked at the World Trade Center or even in the Pentagon were not salaried employees of considerable means but may have been performing janitorial services or were service employees or worked in the restaurant at the World Trade Center. With modest means, their families face great obligations to plan their futures. They may not have paid Federal income tax. Therefore, the second provision waives FICA taxes or payroll taxes that were paid and may be owing for these families. Third, many of the families of the deceased are now in the process of examining the wills of the dead that say what is available for children, wives, or husbands. Under the Finance Committee legislation, there is estate tax relief for the first $3 million in assets from Federal and State estate taxes. There is $8.5 million of Federal estate tax relief. It is generous, but it is appropriate. Whatever money is to be left for many of these families is all the income they will know for the rest of their lives. It is theirs. That is what the deceased husbands or wives would have wanted. It is for their children and for their futures, not the Government. Fourth, the bill provides help for those who were fortunate enough to survive the attacks, but for those thousands who had injuries current law excludes disability benefits from income if a U.S. employee is injured in a terrorist attack outside the United States. This legislation will extend the same benefit to those citizens of the United States injured in a terrorist attack and receiving disability benefits. Fifth, there is no better statement about America than the hundreds of millions of dollars donated to private charities since September 11, but there is the question of the tax liability of families who receive some of this assistance from employers, friends, family, or charities. Under the provision of the bill, we have made it far easier for charitable organizations to make payments to victims and their families and for companies to establish private foundations to help the survivors with short- and long-term needs. Indeed, any payment from an employer to a victim or family for personal, living, family, or funeral expenses will be tax exempt. It clarifies that payments made by airlines, as well as Federal, State, and local governments as a result of the attacks are also not to be taxed. The Senate may debate much of this legislation. As one Senator who represents hundreds of these victims and their families, much may be negotiable. Some things may be excluded, but one thing must stand. When this year is concluded, no American who found a member of their family on the front line of the war against terrorism should be held liable for taxation of the U.S. Government for charitable, governmental, family, or other assistance. What last dollars these family members may have earned for their wives or husbands or children surely by justice must be their own. On this provision, we should all insist. Madam President, I yield the floor.

Mr. TORRICELLI. Will the Senator yield for a question?

Mr. TORRICELLI

Mr. TORRICELLI. This package is not complete if we deal with unemployment and health benefits and the impacted area of New York, but we do not also do something about the national infrastructure. The truth is this Nation had a severe infrastructure problem long before there was a recession. Thirty-three percent of the Nation's half million bridges are structurally deficient. Fourteen million children attend schools that are a decade or two beyond the needs of basic repairs. The time to do that work is when we have workers to do it. In 6 months or a year, as commercial construction activity in the Nation slows and people employed in the building trades add to the ranks of the unemployed, the one means of keeping them working is to do the work for the Nation that already needs to be done. Yet our Republican friends and even some in the media call this a special interest--pork. Can building a school for a child in a deficient structure ever be a needless expenditure? It may be safe for someone in some media outlet or someone who feels good about their own child to call building a school pork. To me, it is meeting a basic obligation. I have placed in this bill, and I make no apologies for it, a major national investment in national infrastructure to build high-speed rail lines. It is right and it is proper. As was demonstrated on September 11, this Nation's transportation infrastructure is fragile. When it is interrupted, business stops, employment declines, and the Nation's economy suffers. This economic downturn is an opportunity, once again, to increase employment by modernizing our infrastructure, as we have done in almost every recession in the last 50 years. As the chart to my left illustrates, as we try now to provide duality in our national transportation infrastructure so the Nation is not entirely dependent on an aircraft system, this chart demonstrates how much each of these Federal Governments contributes to the construction of rail systems. In Germany, the government provides 21 percent; France, 20 percent; the United Kingdom, almost 18 percent; and the United States of America, .04 percent of our rail system is provided by the Federal Government. It is therefore no wonder the Nation is largely without a modern high-speed rail system outside of the Northeast corridor. The amendment I provide in this economic stimulus package provides $9 billion in bonding authority which will be repaid by Amtrak. The Federal Government only pays the interest on these bonds. It would cost $4 billion to provide modern systems throughout the country, in the Southeast from Washington to Jacksonville, including Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia; a modern high-speed rail system from Orlando-Miami-Tampa; on the gulf coast, from Houston and New Orleans, eventually to Atlanta; and a Midwestern Express covering nine States. This is the moment. We need to employ people. Ridership is soaring. The demand is clear.

Mr. TORRICELLI. I ask unanimous consent for an additional 5 minutes.