After a long and grueling debate, the House passed H.R. 1, by a vote of 235 to189 primarily along party lines. The Bill is intended to fund government departments, agencies and programs through Sept. 30, 2011. Three Republicans voted against the final bill, Reps. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Walter Jones (R-N.C.) and John Campbell (R-Calif.) and
The House of Representatives will soon vote on an aviation safety and jobs bill that aims to repeal new and fair union election rules for aviation and rail workers. There’s a lot on the line with a newly elected Congress, and they need to hear from TCU members about the disastrous changes they are considering
TCU President Bob Scardelletti sent a letter to each member of the House of Representatives urging them to oppose the Continuing Resolution (CR) which is expected to be considered this week. The CR will cause cuts that will have a deep impact on TCU members working in the Railroad Industry. These cuts will undermine passenger
Vice President Joe Biden announced a new plan that will help the nation reach President Obama’s goal of giving 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail within 25 years. The proposal will place high-speed rail on equal footing with other surface transportation programs by providing $53 billion in funding over six years to continue
The TCU Legislative Watch contains the end of session status of those bills in Congress we have an interest in and/or worked on throughout 2010. The House, on Wednesday December 220d, passed a motion to adjourn the 111th Congress “Sine Die,” bringing to a close Democrats’ four-year majority in the lower chamber. The blitz of
Here we go again. Republican Congressional conservatives have declared war on Amtrak and commuter railroads. The proposed legislation would eliminate funding for Amtrak subsidies, a move that would reduce funding by $1.6 billion. It also would eliminate intercity and high-speed rail grants, $2.5 billion annually, and it would strike the subsidy for the Washington Metropolitan
TCU sent a letter to be included in the upcoming TTD retirement tribute to former House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar, D-MN. TCU and the labor community lost one of its policy making giants in the midterm elections when House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James Oberstar, D-Minn., was defeated by his Republican challenger
The model legislation is intended to help states address obstructions limiting a driver’s view of an oncoming train. Between 2001 and 2005 reports show that 689 collisions resulting in 242 injuries and 87 fatalities occurred at highway-rail grade crossings with sight obstructions. Click here to view the release from the FRA. Click here to read
President Obama signed new tax law December 17. We are highlighting two aspects of the law. 1 – Under current law employees pay a 6.2 percent Social Security tax on all wages earned up to $106,800. The new law provides a payroll tax holiday during 2011 of two percentage points. This means employees will pay
On July 5, 2010, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) and the Ferrocarril Mexican Railway Company (FXE) petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for a test waiver of compliance to relieve BNSF from performing federally required tests and inspections on designated trains coming into the U.S. from Mexico at Eagle Pass, TX. TCU
