Happening Now
ACTION ALERT: Help Amtrak beat this month's budget deadline!
September 6, 2016
Passenger trains need your voice in pre-election talks
With the deadline to pass a budget just weeks away, and none of the 12 annual regular appropriations bills passed, Congress is gearing up to pass a short-term budget extension (a Continuing Resolution, or CR) to avoid a shutdown before the election.
NARP is asking passenger advocates to support the White House's request to fully fund Amtrak at $1.39 billion using the new accounting structure approved by Congress last year.
This sensible proposal avoids saddling Amtrak with additional costs and wasted hours that would come from having to run two parallel accounting systems, and is a responsible use of limited taxpayer resources.
We are also asking Congress to support passenger rail programs authorized and approved by both the House and the Senate committees -- though not yet put before the President to be signed into law. These programs are critical to addressing national transportation challenges, and will create American jobs and support economic growth.
"It is an honor to be recognized by the Rail Passengers Association for my efforts to strengthen and expand America’s passenger rail. Golden spikes were once used by railroads to mark the completion of important rail projects, so I am truly grateful to receive the Golden Spike Award as a way to mark the end of a career that I’ve spent fighting to invest in our country’s rail system. As Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, it has been my priority to bolster funding for Amtrak, increase and expand routes, look to the future by supporting high-speed projects, and improve safety, culminating in $66 billion in new funding in the Bipartisan infrastructure Law."
Representative Peter DeFazio (OR-04)
March 30, 2022, on receiving the Association's Golden Spike Award for his years of dedication and commitment to passenger rail.
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