Kerry says Bush Amtrak cuts way off the track

[jccollins]

Kerry says Bush Amtrak cuts way off the track

By Kimberly Atkins

Tuesday, March 1, 2005

Sen. John F. Kerry [related, bio] last night slammed President Bush's plan to cut federal support to the fiscally strapped Amtrak passenger rail system, calling the proposed budget cut "incomprehensible."

Kerry, accepting an award for public service from the Kennedy Library Foundation, said the president's plan to zero out Amtrak must be derailed by Congress - and vowed to lead the fight.

Calling the move one of several "backwards" steps resulting from White House policies, the Bay State senator said the focus should instead be on building high-speed railway systems to support the industry and create jobs.

The Bush administration says the proposal is a way to cut government losses at Amtrak by privatizing parts of the rail service and eliminating routes that do not turn a profit.

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This makes Kerry's take on Amtrak quite clear, something that we often wondered about during the 2004 Election since he hadn't addressed Amtrak specifically (or at least THIS clearly) at the time. Just think - it could (would) be a whole different ballgame if he were in office right now...

 

[battalion51]

Well first off let's not start a political debate, we got stuck with the village idiot again, but let's move on. I would like to see some more unity and press on this topic nationwide though.

 

[PRR 60]

This makes Kerry's take on Amtrak quite clear, something that we often wondered about during the 2004 Election since he hadn't addressed Amtrak specifically (or at least THIS clearly) at the time.  Just think - it could (would) be a whole different ballgame if he were in office right now...

Talk is cheap when you are not responsible for the budget. What he says as one of 100 senators is not necessarily what he would have said as President. Remember Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter? Were either particularly good to Amtrak?

 

[IceColdMintJulep]

Why couldn't Kerry act like he has since the concession speach during the campaign. I think in hindsight a lot of people who didn't vote for him said to themselves: hey, he's not half bad afterall. And it's true that building a better rail system would be good for the economy by providing jobs in many sectors. Here in Oklahoma they always talk about how the train costs 2.9mil to operate, but they never look at how much it puts back into the state. If I remember correctly Amtrak says they spent almost 1mil in the state in salaries and purchases (food and stuff I guess).

 

[lepearso]

Although I really appreciate the Senator agreeing to "lead the fight", he needs to be careful not to turn this into a divisive partisan issue, otherwise he could lose some of the winnable Republican votes that we desperately need in Congress to turn this situation around. I hope he'll seek unity with his colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

 

[tp49]

This makes Kerry's take on Amtrak quite clear, something that we often wondered about during the 2004 Election since he hadn't addressed Amtrak specifically (or at least THIS clearly) at the time.  Just think - it could (would) be a whole different ballgame if he were in office right now...

Talk is cheap when you are not responsible for the budget. What he says as one of 100 senators is not necessarily what he would have said as President. Remember Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter? Were either particularly good to Amtrak?

An even more interesting question is has any President been good to Amtrak sincei ts inception?

 

[battalion51]

Remember Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter? Were either particularly good to Amtrak?

I think all Presidents look to cut costs to the taxpayers wherever possible. While Clinton was in office there were heads of Amtrak that said it could be "self-sufficient." So if you're sitting in their shoes you'll take that in a heartbeat, more money for other programs. Meanwhile Bush is spending $80 billion a year on a war we didn't even start. It is my personal belief that we need to be provoked into war, not provoke war. Example, WWII, we got bombed at Pearl Harbor, people flocked to sign up for the war because they wanted to get back at the Japanese. Meanwhile, Vietnam and Korea, we went in. Did anyone want to be there? No. As a rule in this country people will rally and nip it in the bud if someone else throws the first punch. So, we threw the first punch this time, and we are draining billions of dollars into a country that's not our own, that was doing ok before we were there.

 

[AmtrakWPK]

It would be nice to have a President for whom what the CITIZENS wanted was actually relevant. Not just the real rich, the major Bush campaign contributors, and the leaders of big business. The average citizen. Polls of the average citizen always show strong support for Amtrak, and strong support for a national passenger rail system. I wonder if and when W will ever acknowledge that fact. I guess what the average citizen wants is completely irrelevant to him.

I still say change "Amtrak" to "IraqTrak", with a Baghdad mail drop, have the staff wear white robes and headdresses, and apply for foreign aid. They'd probably get so much money they'd have trouble spending it.

 

[Amtrak Watcher]

A few weeks ago, while in the Acela lounge at NYP on a Sunday night (20 February), I met Sen. Joe Lieberman in the men’s room. We got to talking about Amtrak and its budget. He told me to “not worry about Amtrak’s future,” and that “Amtrak’s funds will be restored.” He went on to explain that the current political “discussions” are nothing more than a ritual of various posturing exercises. He seemed to see the whole thing as a non-issue.

 

[tp49]

I would tend to agree with the Senator's assessment which is what I have been saying all along since the story broke.

 

[battalion51]

A few weeks ago, while in the Acela lounge at NYP on a Sunday night (20 February), I met Sen. Joe Lieberman in the men’s room.

"Honey you'll never guess who I met in the john today!" :lol:

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

I would tend to agree with the Senator's assessment which is what I have been saying all along since the story broke.

And I agree with you........just hope you and I and Lieberman are correct.

Man, I have been through the mill with all this stuff. Because, before Amtrak, we had to go through all the agonizing individual train-off petiitions all through the years.

Not exactly the same thing,(because most of those trains really did come off) but the strain has had its cumulative effect.

 

[Bill Haithcoat]

A few weeks ago, while in the Acela lounge at NYP on a Sunday night (20 February), I met Sen. Joe Lieberman in the men’s room.

"Honey you'll never guess who I met in the john today!" :lol:

Yes, Battallion, I thought that was funny, also.

Actually,I ran into the Rev. Jesse Jackson at a public restroom one time, but that is a story for another time, another place.

 

[Arkarch]

Regarding Posturing...

I agree that it is the standard for discussion in Washington.

However there are so many targets in the proposed budget. The Bush administration may be hoping that something gets lost in the horse-trading. Certainly they are hoping to increase their leverage to fund the stuff they want to see.

Regardless of the actual tactics played, always good to keep Amtrak in the focus.