Members of Congress Respond to Passenger Outcry

Written By Sean Jeans Gail

Congressional House appropriators met today to markup the fiscal year 2015 transportation budget, and from the pro-train amendments offered it’s clear that key Members of Congress heard your voice!

• Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) offered an amendment to add $825 million to fund railroad safety technology, which would help implement the life-saving Positive Train Control technology.
• Congressman James Moran (D-VA) offered an amendment to increase Amtrak funding by $200 million, restoring it to FY2014 levels. Rep. Moran ruefully acknowledged that $1.4 billion is far too little compared to the need.
• Congressman David Price (D-NC) offered an amendment to increase TIGER funding, increasing funds for the intermodal grant program. This would bring funding to levels commensurate with the overwhelming demand demonstrated by states and cities.

Unfortunately, all of these amendments failed in party line votes. While many of the Republicans who make up the committee's majority expressed support for the pro-train amendments—including subcommittee Chairman Tom Latham of Iowa—they were unwilling to break with the official party line.

This means the legislation being drafted in the Senate is even more important. If you haven’t taken part in our campaign to demand a dedicated source of passenger rail funding—which would eliminate need for the kind of year-to-year battles we’re losing in the House at this very moment—please take a few seconds to send your Senator a message.

We also need to thank the Representatives who had the courage to stand up for America’s passengers! If you see your Representative in the list below, give them a call to say “thank you!” This let’s these offices know that the public is paying attention, and makes it more likely that they’ll go even further in their support in the future.

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House Appropriations – Members Who Voted for Pro-Train Amendments