NEWARK, N.J. – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez, ranking member of the Senate’s transit subcommittee, and Cory Booker today joined six other senators in requesting $500 million for the Federal-State Partnership for State of Good Repair Program to reduce the repair backlog along the Northeast Corridor. The Trump Administration has proposed zeroing out funding for this vital program.

“Amtrak and commuter railroads on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) transport 800,000 people daily, and the workforce that travels on the NEC contributes roughly $50 billion to the economy. However, the specter of the state of good repair backlog causing delays or track closures is a constant concern,” the senators wrote in a letter to Senators Susan Collins and Jack Reed, Chairwoman and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies. “Given this impact on the regional and national economy, restoring the NEC and other rail networks to a state of good repair must be one of our top priorities.”

Sens. Menendez and Booker were joined by Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Bob Casey (D-Penn.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.).

Sen. Menendez has been a leading voice in Congress to ensure the Gateway Project is funded and completed. In the 2019 budget, he fought to secure $650 million in Amtrak Northeast Corridor funding, a portion of which will be dedicated to Gateway, and an additional $130.1 million in transit formula grants that can be used to advance the project.

Last month, Sen. Menendez announced that the U.S. Coast Guard granted his proposal for marine traffic restrictions on the Hackensack River to mitigate the risk of a Portal Bridge failure that cripples the entire Northeast Corridor.

A copy of the letter can be found here.