House Speaker John Boehner Thursday dismissed complaints from Democrats that Amtrak safety has been compromised by reduced funding and may have contributed to Tuesday’s deadly crash.
“Obviously, it’s not about funding,” Boehner said after a reporter asked him to respond to Democratic claims. “The train was going twice the speed limit.”
Democrats have denounced a GOP railway budget that cuts funding by $262 million below fiscal 2015 levels. The cuts would be applied to infrastructure, which affects safety, say Democrats, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
But Boehner pointed out that the railway safety budget has not been cut and is funded at last year’s levels.
Boehner appeared irritated by the initial query.
“That’s a stupid question,” he said.
