A Note from Jim Matthews President and CEO RPA

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A note from Rail Passengers Association aka NARP:

Many passenger rail riders, of all political persuasions, are ready to declare victory for passenger rail now that “Amtrak Joe” will be moving into the White House on January 20th. It is indeed a good thing that from the very top of the Executive Branch, we’ll have an Administration that understands the role that passenger rail plays in our economy and that it will play in our recovery.

But the breathless speculation I’ve heard from some corners about giant investments and a moon-shot rail program needs to be brought down to sobering reality. We all need to recognize that in some ways our battle for next year has become harder, not easier. And I’ll be calling on each of you to keep up the pressure you’ve applied since late this summer, reminding your Congressional representatives and Senators over and over again that passenger rail is important to you and your community.

The Biden-Harris transition team has made a point of putting experienced professionals in place who will be ready to start executing a plan on day one. The team includes a deep bench of folks with a background in public transportation. These personnel choices send a message that the incoming Biden Administration has a grander vision for its Department of Transportation than simply building more highway lanes and runways.

While these are encouraging signs…..

“Amtrak Joe” has no magic wand to wave over the U.S. Congress where the funding proposals that really count are formulated, especially in the U.S. Senate. Both the House and the Senate that will be seated in January will be nearly evenly split, which means that it will only take a small handful of legislators to grind everything to a halt. The Biden Administration can’t simply decree that we will spend $10 billion each year for five years on passenger rail, even if that’s what they – and the House of Representatives – would like to do.

We can NOT become complacent. I must urge all of you to look past the hope of President-Elect Joe Biden unilaterally solving all of our problems with Amtrak and passenger rail. Even with the most rail-friendly President in recent American history, we have work to do to educate the incoming Congress about the value of rail. Please donate today to help your professional DC staff keep the pressure on Congress. Any amount helps!

Best,

Jim Mathews
President & CEO
 
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