CLEVELAND, January 16 -– BLE and GIA members are asked to call their members of Congress immediately in an effort to secure $1.2 billion in funding for Amtrak.
Without proper funding, Amtrak will be forced to shut down from coast to coast, according to Amtrak President David Gunn. Amtrak’s shutdown would mean the loss of approximately 23,000 railroad jobs, which would have a devastating impact on the industry’s Railroad Retirement system.
BLE and GIA members may use the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department’s (TTD) website to contact their legislators to voice support for Amtrak. The link is: http://63.66.87.48/cweb4/index.cfm?orgcode=TTD&entry=search
Members may also contact the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
According to the TTD, members should ask for support of the bipartisan Murray-Hutchison-Byrd-Snowe-Hollings-Chafee-Specter Amendment, which restores Amtrak funding to $1.2 billion
As part of Rail Labor’s lobbying campaign to save Amtrak, the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department is circulating the following letter to members of the U.S. Senate.
January 16, 2003
Dear Senator:
As you consider the FY 2003 Omnibus Appropriations bill, we urge you on behalf of transportation labor and especially Amtrak’s 23,000 employees to support the bipartisan Murray-Hutchison-Byrd-Snowe-Hollings-Chafee-Specter Amendment restoring Amtrak funding to $1.2 billion. Failure to pass this amendment will lead to Amtrak’s shutdown and the dismantling of America’s national rail passenger system.
Last fall, the Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously agreed to provide $1.2 billion for Amtrak in FY 2003. Today, under the Continuing Resolution (CR), Amtrak is funded at a higher level than the amount provided in the omnibus appropriations bill. The CR provides $1.039 billion for FY 2003 while the funding level in the omnibus bill represents a cut of $374 million, leaving Amtrak in severe financial distress. Amtrak continues to face a fiscal crisis as it suffers from years of neglect and chronic under-funding. According to Amtrak’s CEO, the $826 million being proposed would “guarantee insolvency by spring and the shutting down of the railroad.” We urge you to heed this call and stand up for Amtrak’s workers and the passenger rail service upon which millions of Americans rely.
Amtrak is an important part of our nation’s transportation system and infrastructure, and deserves a strong and stable federal investment. We must permit Amtrak to establish the stability that $1.2 billion would bring. We look forward to a debate on a multi-year Amtrak reauthorization, but today Amtrak faces a certain fiscal crisis that must be addressed immediately.
Please join Amtrak workers and transportation labor in supporting this bipartisan amendment to provide Amtrak the $1.2 billion in FY 2003 it so desperately needs to survive.
Sincerely,
Edward Wytkind
Executive Director