Your weekly source of fresh takes on news affecting America's passengers. See also the NARP Blog.
July 2, 2015
July 2, 2015 U.S. Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.) sent a letter calling for increased investment in transit and passenger rail on behalf of 35 California Democratic members of Congress. The letter, addressed to House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), outlined 21 transportation reauthorization priorities, including providing for a...
June 26, 2015
Image courtesy of the U.S. Senate June 26, 2015 The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies approved a fiscal year 2016 funding bill that extends current levels of funding for Amtrak at $1.4 billion, rejecting cuts made in the House version of the T-HUD bill. Key funding provisions include: Highway Trust Fund – $40.26 billion,...
June 19, 2015
The U.S. Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation dropped its version of the passenger rail reauthorization bill -- the Railroad Reform, Enhancement, and Efficiency Act of 2015 (RREEA 2015) -- on June 18. NARP issued a press release, along with a blog post, explaining the details soon after the bill was unveiled. While we didn’t get everything we wanted, we see it as a big...
June 12, 2015
June 12, 2015 The U.S. House of Representatives June 9 voted down five anti-Amtrak amendments that were attached to the Fiscal Year 2016 Transportation, Housing & Urban Development bill, thanks to NARP members calling their congressional delegations to voice their opposition to the measures. NARP members had already helped to turn back two amendments by Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) to eliminate...
June 5, 2015
Two anti-train amendments offered by Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) in June 4 voting on the fiscal year 2016 Transportation, Housing & Urban Development appropriations bill were defeated, thanks in part to the efforts of NARP members who flooded Capitol Hill switchboards with calls supporting passenger trains. The amendments sought to eliminate Amtrak’s operating and capital grants, respectively—...