Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee spoke out recently over Chairman John L. Mica’s call to refocus passenger rail funding. They continued the support for the Obama administration’s vision for a nationwide high-speed rail program. “I’m glad this committee wasn’t in charge when the Eisenhower Interstate System was developed,” Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla., said at
In a letter to every U.S. House Representative member Transportation Trades Department AFL-CIO (TTD), of which TCU is a member, President Ed Wytkind stated, “On behalf of the TTD, I urge you to cosponsor the Invest in American Jobs Act of 2011 (H.R. 3533), introduced by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Nick Rahall. This
Working people across Ohio—from autoworkers to teachers and firefighters to the jobless sent a decisive and powerful message across the country, that politicians need to put Main Street ahead of Wall Street. It shows that politicians who scapegoat workers and push an extreme partisan agenda need to instead fight to create jobs for working people
On November 1 the U.S. Senate voted to approve a “minibus” bill that combined transportation, housing, and other spending bills. The minibus bill included $1.48 billion for Amtrak and $100million for the High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program (HSIPR) in the fiscal year 2012. These funding levels are significantly higher than the House version that passed
Senate leaders questioned the House Republicans’ answer to a transportation infrastructure package, that Senate Democrats unveiled last week as the second piece of President Obama’s jobs-creation package. In a letter sent to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-FL), Senator Boxer (D-CA) questioned the differences in the funding numbers that he proposes. This
The following news articles have great relevance to the current situation at Amtrak. This page will continue to be updated with the important articles that effect Amtrak and the TCU members working for Amtrak. Democrats Hope Amtrak Ridership Record Stalls Rail Privatization Efforts – CQ Quarterly October 2011House Committees 2012 Budget Would End Most Amtrak
We are approaching one of the most critical elections for American workers in our nation’s history. Anyone who doubts that should talk to public workers in Wisconsin, Ohio and a host of other states where anti-worker Republicans have captured statehouses and state legislatures. Can you imagine a Wisconsin-type Governor in the White House? With a
The House Committee on Appropriations’ Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee recently passing the fiscal year 2012 budget, which would effectively eliminate state-supported and long-distance Amtrak train service. In light of this, TCU and Rail Labor have partnered with the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP) and other groups to help educate the riding public
The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction—or “Super Committee”—is working on Capitol Hill to craft a bill aimed at slashing the U.S. budget deficit by $1.5 trillion or more by 2021. The U.S. Congress must pass a deficit reduction bill by January 2012 or there will be mandatory reductions across the board. Several proposals are
Amtrak, highway and transit programs would take a big hit in the proposed FY 2012 Transportation-HUD spending bill released Wednesday by House appropriators. Overall, the bill would provide $217 million less than current levels and $19.8 billion less than Obama requested. While the Transportation Department would receive a modest increase in discretionary funds, Amtrak, highway
