U.S. Reps. Alan Mollohan, D-1st; Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd; and Nick Rahall, D-3rd, all helped the House pass the "Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act."
The 311-104 vote reflects a veto-proof margin for the "nearly $15 billion Amtrak bill," The Associated Press reports.
The bill "would authorize funding for the national passenger railroad over the next five years," the article said. "Some of the money would go to a program of matching grants to help states set up or expand rail service."
AP also reports that "The White House has threatened a veto, saying the bill doesn't hold Amtrak accountable for its spending. But similar legislation has passed the Senate, also with enough support to override a veto."
The article notes further that "Unlike the Senate version, the House bill includes a requirement for the Department of Transportation to seek proposals from private companies to create a high-speed service that would take travelers from Washington to New York in two hours or less."
12 June 2008
They Voted For You: Amtrak
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3 comments:
Sounds like pork to me, but why would so many vote for it?
Amtrak's Acela already makes the NY-DC run.
It takes about two and a half hours, with a stop in Philly.
Do we really need legislation to knock 30 minutes off the trip?
The quality of passenger services at the present time is rather important. The company should necessarily operate across the whole country to be able to stay on the market. At www.pissedconsumer.com I found out that Amtrak is the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. The company operates passenger service on routes across the continental United States of America connecting hundreds of destinations in 48 states; routes to Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. In addition to the passenger service, Amtrak expanded into freight transportation market and now operates a captive bus service. I think the company is worth trusting.
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