I don't know that I really want either one of them at the helm in general, but I was curious about Kerry and Amtrak so I did a Google search, and looked at what it found. Here are some quotes from what I found:
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#862 - January 27, 1995
The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing yesterday on Amtrak to review the service cuts. Thirteen Senators attended and asked questions, which was impressive. Testimony generally reflected support for passenger rail service. Generally, the Senators supported the concept of a national Amtrak system, but were unsure of how to proceed. John Kerry (D.-Mass.) gave an eloquent speech about Amtrak's perennial lack of adequate funding and read from a table NARP prepared that ranked the world's nations by per-capita public spending on mainline railroads.
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#707 - February 7, 1992
The nomination of Andrew Card as Secretary of Transportation was the topic of a confirmation hearing <snip> John Kerry (D.-Mass.) said the President's zero for the Northeast Corridor Improvement Project (NECIP) is "just unacceptable." Card answered that research and development is the first priority and mentioned maglev. Kerry said that's fine for the long-term, but three-hour Boston-New York trains are needed now and doable soon.
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January 17, 2003
Contacts:
Diane Minor, 202.783.7400 x287
David Hirsch, 202.783-7400 x215
Environmental Group Hails Vote to Restore Amtrak Funding
Washington, D.C. – A tri-partisan group of senators, led by Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), last night voted to restore $400 million in funding for Amtrak to the FY2003 omnibus appropriations bill. Environmentalists hailed passage of the amendment, which was offered in repose to a proposed 31 percent cut to Amtrak’s budget, as a victory for passenger rail and the environment. <snip> In addition to Sens. Murray and Hutchison, the amendment to restore funding was co-sponsored by Sens. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Fritz Hollings (D-S.C.), Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.), Joseph Biden (D-Del.), Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Thomas Carper (D-Del.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Jon Corzine (D-N.J.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.).
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John F. Kerry
Candidate for U.S. President (Democrat)
<snip>
Agreed To Amtrak Funding 03/21/2003 Y
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B M W E
JOURNAL
ONLINE VERSION VOLUME 107 - NUMBER 1 - FEBRUARY 1998
Amtrak Agreement Ratified; Congress Passes Amtrak Bill
001.GIF (95965 bytes)
President Clinton signs Amtrak Reauthorization Bill December 2, 1997. Second on right is BMWE President Mac A. Fleming and at far left is BMWE General Chairman Jed Dodd.
<snip>
On the positive side, there are representatives in Congress like Jim Oberstar (D-MN) who led the House fight to protect Amtrak workers' jobs and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) who worked hard to preserve basic employee rights.
Kerry gave some interesting facts during the debate on the issue in November. "While we in Congress have argued over whether the Federal Government should or shouldn't ensure a healthy inter-city rail system, internationally it is no secret that a well-founded rail network is an essential ingredient of a strong 21st century economy.
"In fact, every major economic power, except the United States, invests several billions of dollars annually in passenger rail transportation. The European Union plans to invest more than $100 billion to better utilize and integrate its multi billion-dollar-rail network. And our economic competitors in Asia, including China, Taiwan, Malaysia, and South Korea, are all investing heavily in rail.
"The unfortunate truth is that on a per capita basis, at least 34 countries, including Guinea, Myanmar, South Africa, Iran, and Botswana each spend more than the United States on passenger rail. In this light, which I think is the correct light in which to view what we are doing today, we are doing the bare minimum necessary to ensure continued passenger rail travel in the United States and to maintain a vibrant national transportation network. ..."
Gallup Poll: 69% Favor Amtrak Funding
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OK - from what I've found, it looks like he is certainly not anti-Amtrak. Certainly the quotes are positive. Now as far as what that means he would do once in office??? Who knows. It would be hard to think of him doing worse than Bush proposes, though, on this particular issue. Y'all are welcome to do your own search and see what you find.