yes it is, mr. szabo>> frankly there's no position to announce at this time relative to any 11th high speed rail corridor, but the important thing is it's not necessary to be an applicant under the grant guidance we've issued. i think most of this gets addressed again as we start taking a look at a national rail plan. quite frankly, it's possible that there's the need for more than 11. we need to take a look at where are those markets where there's good potential, what is the interest from those states? and historically, there's not been a strong interest from the southwest, but it sounds like the level of enthusiasm frankly nationwide is changing considerably. so i think the issues of whether there's an 11th corridor a 12th corridor a 13th whatever will get fleshed out as we put together a national rail plan. >> senator, could i take a shot at that? >> yes. >> i think the way this is going to happen is to do it. i think that's what mr. skancke said, it's up to us to find a way to do it to scale. i think

and i have the last question to mr. szabo. mr. skancke, do you believe the deity has a realistic and workable plan to implement high-speed rail nationally, and what steps must we take to ensure that we have a sustainable system in the u.s.? >> senator boxer, i don't think the nation as a whole has a plan for high-speed rail. you know me very well to know me that i am very candid when i answer questions so i will try to be as candid. >> that's why i asked it be mac i think our nation lacks a vision on how we are going to move our american public out to 2050. it's why does congress in safety lu created the safety commission. and i think the way we get there is we have to sell the american public, particularly on rail, as we get people out of their own horse and buggy which we have forced them into. it is a cultural shift. we have got to convince the american public that high speed passenger rail is going to be predictable, that it's going to be on time and it's going to be reliable. and we do that in two ways. one, we just make the

so i guess the question and maybe i'll direct this to mr. szabos how are you going to evaluate scutch projections for proposed projects -- such projections for proposed projects and are you going to rely on the project sponsor for those? >> well, first off, one of the key components that we will be ranking the applications on will be their proposed management plan and their management of risk which includes covering all of the operating costs and any cost overruns. those responsibilities belong to the applicant, not the federal government. so clearly it's in their best interest to protect themselves to ensure that those forecasts are accurate. one of the things that we plan to do is to use a temp late where essentially -- template where essentially they'll provide the data to us. we'll run that data through our own calculations to ensure that as we compare the projects we're getting an apples to apples comparison. we believe that that will help ensure the integrity of the data and help us make sure that we have accurate forecasts. clearly at if r.

mr. szabo, we would like to hear from you. >> thank you, chairman lautenberg, senator thune, senator hutchison and members of the committee, it is a pleasure to be here for president obama, vice president biden and secretalhsecretarosecretarodsec speed rail. the obama administration has a vision that insures safe, efficient transportation choices, that builds the foundation for economic competitiveness, promotes energy efficiency and environmental quality and one that supports interconnected, livable communities. in each case, passenger rail is an interval part of that vision. in many cases, even modest investment and existing right of ways can result in high-speed rail with competitive times and continue rail's unmatched safety record. transportation is the lifeblood of any economy. not only will the high-speed rail vision improve mobility, but obviously the construction will create many short-term jobs, but more importantly, the sustained investment will revitalize domestic rail suppliers in

and i look forward to your questions. >> thank you mr. szabo. that is a very encouraging report, carried enlightening i must say. mr. rogoff, i am sure that side of the table is new to you. in your years of service in the other body, the staff have a steep you and the issues of transit and transportation programs and in general transit in particular, and you are more accustomed to being on the other side of the table, preparing questions to grill witnesses. now it's your turn to be grilled. congratulations and welcome and glad to have you here. >> thank you mr. chairman. i know releasing why day elevate the dias. i'm not accustomed to looking up during these events. >> are remember how it was when i was elected. i tickets seaway down there and the chairman, bob jones, let each of those new members say something for one minute. he came to me, and i said well mr. chairman this is a different feeling from when i had real power on this committee when i was administrator. [laughter] >> thank you mr. chairman and i appreciate this opportunity to discus

and i am pleased to welcome mr. szabo who will appear for the first time as the administrator. we are glad to have you here. you will play a major part in this and i'm glad you are going to have seven regional meetings to determine what the parameters for high-speed rail should be. and i think having them all over the country is another good sign. i just want to say that robert eckels is the former executive in texas of the largest county, harris county and he is now heading up the effort for high-speed rail corridor called e