Funding $LA$HED, Time to Contact Your Reps, FAST, NOW

[rrdude]

I just finished writing all my elected officials, please, everyone MAKE THE TIME to do this now!

http://www.narprail.org/cms/index.php/main/act

 

[saxman]

Better yet call them!

 

[the_traveler]

Thanks for the "news" that I was unaware of. I have sent the email from NARP to my 2 Senators and my Congressman!

 

[BobWeaver]

I'm going to play devil's advocate for a second and say, thank goodness it was only a $128 million cut to Amtrak's funding amount.

 

[the_traveler]

thank goodness it was only a $128 million cut to Amtrak's funding amount.

But I bet it was about $128 million more than was cut from the road or air budgets!

 

[ACVitale]

According to the News of the 38.5 B USD in cuts only $351 M USD is real. The rest was unallocated appropriations and grants and programs that were NOT likely to be used. HSR lost a lot of unallocated appropriations. Amtrak would seem to make 1/3 of the actual budget cut.

Apparently, Both Republicans and Democrats are begining to flip out saying they were mis-led or the cuts are too deep etc.

We will see if the Senate vote makes it. The House passed it (Not by much) and the Senate remains. Democrats are unhappy with the cuts and may derail it.

Otherwise it could be a shutdown threat again on Friday.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I predict an eventual shutdown (this was just another stop-gap bill anyway) followed by much larger cuts to future expenditures. I know conventional wisdom is that Amtrak will never go away, but we're not that far from finding out how true that assumption really is.

 

[ACVitale]

Passed the House and now the Senate. Obama will likely sign in the next hr or so.

What is done is done. Time to start working on 2012. We need to start worrying about the needs for the next budget year....

As they used to say.... "Move along, Nothing to see here."

 

[rrdude]

Passed the House and now the Senate. Obama will likely sign in the next hr or so.

What is done is done. Time to start working on 2012. We need to start worrying about the needs for the next budget year....

As they used to say.... "Move along, Nothing to see here."

yuuuuuuuupp. Well that sux.

 

[BobWeaver]

thank goodness it was only a $128 million cut to Amtrak's funding amount.

But I bet it was about $128 million more than was cut from the road or air budgets!

Not quite.

The deal also trims the DOT's discretionary "TIGER" grants for 2011 to $527 million from last year's $600 million, erases some transit funds, calls back $630 million in long-dormant congressional earmarks for specific Highway Trust Fund projects and takes another $2.5 billion from the most recent renewal of highway programs that can't be spent because of restrictions set by other legislation.

 

[Shanghai]

I'm a member of NARP and I sent letters to my Senators and Congressman.

I feel there will be cuts in Amtrak funding in fiscal 2011 and 2012, but

our President made it clear that "ALL" of us must sacrifice to get government

spending and our deficit under control. It would be most effective if our

President would turn in the keys to Air Force One and stay in Washington and

work with Congress to develop a comprehensive plan to put our nation on a

proper trojectory instead of flying off to campaign and raise money for his

party whenever a tough issue arises.