Even as investigators were still identifying victims of this week's crash outside Philadelphia, Democrats continued on Thursday to attack Republicans for not spending enough money on Amtrak operations, as GOP leaders rejected the idea that tighter budgets played any role in the fatal wreck.
"Are you really going to ask such a stupid question?" Speaker John Boehner said to a reporter who wanted to know about GOP efforts to trim the Amtrak budget.
"Obviously it's not about funding; the train was going twice the speed limit," Boehner said.
That evidence from the accident investigation wasn't dissuading more liberal groups like the Agenda Project, which put out an internet video that bluntly blamed the GOP for the crash - with a title of "Republican Cuts Kill...Again."
"I just don't know why, but Republicans have been very much against Amtrak," said Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), as Democrats argued in favor of more spending on the infrastructure that supports Amtrak.
Amtrak and the Obama Stimulus plan
While Democrats have bitterly complained about the level of funding for Amtrak, it wasn't that long ago that Democrats were in charge of Congress - giving them the chance to boost Amtrak's budget.
In the 2009 economic stimulus law, $1.3 billion was provided to Amtrak, which was used for a variety of smaller projects, many for new wheelchair lifts and for compliance with the Americans with Disability Act.
Here is the state-by-state list for Amtrak's stimulus plans:
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