A resolution recognizing 50 years of service by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, commonly known as Amtrak.

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 Trans- portation MAY 26, 2021 Committee discharged; considered and agreed to 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 Pas- senger 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; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR190.ATS SR190 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 SRES 190 ATS Whereas May 1, 2021, marks 50 years since the date Amtrak began providing passenger rail service to individuals in the United States; Whereas Amtrak connects over 500 communities across 46 States, the District of Columbia, and 3 Canadian Prov- inces; 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 re- sulted 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 transpor- tation in many rural communities; (2) employing approximately 16,000 people and sup- porting tens of thousands of additional jobs in the com- munities it serves; and (3) because Amtrak is 47 percent more energy effi- cient than car travel and 33 percent more energy efficient than air travel (as measured by passenger miles), pro- viding an environmentally friendly way to travel: Now, therefore, be it VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR190.ATS SR190 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 SRES 190 ATS Resolved, That the Senate recognizes— 1 (1) 50 years of service by the National Railroad 2 Passenger Corporation (commonly known and re- 3 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. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR190.ATS SR190 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS