mr. arcuri. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for three minutes. mr. arcuri: thank you, mr. speaker. and i thank my friend from the great state of maine for yielding me the time. i rise today in strong support of this rule and the underlying bill. however i would like to voice my strong opposition to one of the amendments that will be oered later on today and that is the amendment to strike the second jet fighter engine. for two reasons. one is, i think the two things that are most critical for us in considering this bill, one is obviously the security of our constituents and the people at home and secondly the cost. and both of these, i think it's very important to note that, one, a second fighter engine gives us a strong sense of security, redundancy in the insurance that we will have one good engine and that we will have a good backup engine. secondly, the cost in the long run clearly will show that the price will come down if we have competition. it is demonstrated in the past. it will continue to demonstrate it. but i'd like to yield the balance of

mr. arcuri: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. arcuri: the total program is expected to cost more than $100 billion over the next 30 years to 40 years. the government accounting office says that competition between engine suppliers could have a cost savings of over 20%, a competitive f-35 engine program would reap other benefits such as increased reliability, improve contractor responsiveness, less chance to ground the entire fleet. chairman andrews and ranking member congressway have stated -- member conway have stated that it will make engines better and save taxpayers money based on the f-16 experience. it is nearly 75% complete. to pull the plug on the program will forfeit funds which have already been spent. competition savings taxpayers money. it's been proven in the other fighter engine program. why wld we write a blank check to sangle supplier for over 40 -- to a single supplier for over 40 years? i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? mr. wilson: to address the

mr. arcuri: thank you, madam speaker. improving our rail infrastructure isn't just about getting people and goods here from there faster and more efficiently. it's the heart of regional economic development, connecting communities, businesses, consumers and producers to foster the kind of economic growth and job creation we as a nation need. our short line railroads are just at the center of this, but because the tax extenders act of 2009 has not been enacted into law, they have been unable to plan vital maintenance work this construction season. section 45-g short line railroad tax credit, included in this bill, generates 6.9 million workhours of rail maintenance on the way each year. the equivalent of more than 3,300 full-time jobs nationwide. not to mention the tens of thousands of jobs in america, steel and timber industries, that make railroad ties. it is too important to our economic recovery to ignore them any longer. it's time for the house and the senate to come to an agreement so we can keep our railroads operat