As a result of extensive lobbing efforts by TCU, IAM and other rail unions as well as the railroad industry, two republican Congressmen have come out to support Railroad Retirement, under attack in the current House budget as proposed by Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI). In a letter Congressman Steve LaTourette (R-OH) and Congressman Spencer Bachus
As Congress considers Fiscal Year 2013 Appropriations for Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, the OneRail Coalition, of which TCU is a member, sent a letter urging them to prioritize investments in rail infrastructure and operations that will create and maintain good domestic jobs, enhance productivity and the competitive position of the United
On March 29, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on a party line vote adopted the so-called Ryan Budget over the opposition of House Democrats. One of the Budget’s provisions states that railroad retirement benefits “are more generous than Social Security in many ways.” The Budget goes on to call for legislation to conform
In a release from the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) stated the impact of the measures that call for conforming railroad retirement tier I benefits to social security benefits. In the statement the RRB states’ “While railroad retirement tier I payroll taxes are coordinated with social security taxes so that employers and employees pay tier I
In a letter sent to every member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Transportation Trades Department (TTD), of which TCU is a member, TTD President Ed Wytkind requests that they vote no on the resolution proposed by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan establishing the budget for Fiscal Year 2013 (H. Con. Res.112). In the letter Wytkind
In a recent vote in the U.S. Senate they extended transportation funding for 90 days. The extension came at the last moment to ensure that funding for transportation projects would remain while the House and senate struggle toagree on a full transportation bill. The extension came two days before a deadline that could have shutdown
In a letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, TCU President Bob Scardelletti asks that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding formula levels be restored in the Surface Transportation Bill. The new formula will drastically reduce the funding for the Alaska Railroad. The bill as currently written would cut 83% of the funding for this
In a joint letter To President Obama from seven unions TCU President Bob Scardelletti, along with the other six presidents asked that, advanced coal technology be expressly included in the energy policy currently being advanced by the White House. Also included in the letter is the concern over the potential job losses under the U.S. EPA’s
House Republicans are abandoning the five-year, $260 billion surface transportation authorization that TCU and many other unions opposed and will try instead to pass a shorter bill that drops the changes that have drawn strong opposition. The shorter House bill could reduce funding below current levels in order to find funding for the bill. The
President Barack Obama recently unveiled a fiscal year 2013 budget. The budget includes $47 billion over six years to develop high-speed passenger-rail corridors and improve intercity passenger-rail service. The proposal also calls for “merging Amtrak’s stand-alone subsidiaries into the high-speed rail program as part of a larger, competitive system preservation initiative,” according to the USDOT’s
