Yo comprendo just bueno, amigo. If the baggage car is unacceptable, then the animals don't ride, simple as that. So either the Congress ponies up the dinero to build sufficient quantities of climate controlled kennel/baggage cars so that pookie-wookie rides better than the human cargo, or Congress should butt out and stick to whatever it does best (nothing).
Which is exactly what will happen notwithstanding all the howling and screaming and agony and angst expressed here.
Human nature?
Congress? Rational???
Of course in this case luckily, the precedent is actually quite rational too, and works fine all over the world, even in much more enclosed circumstances than obtained on a train. Actually Amtrak is more of an exception, rather than the norm.
I actually pay for my dog to stay in the home of his dog walking when I travel, but it IS expensive. It is $55 per day.
Not true. There were 6 amendments that passed, including Mica's. None were hostile to Amtrak. MacClintock's amendment hostile to Amtrak failed. Gosar and Posey's amendments did not come to the floor at all.
Your link appears to be for H.R.749 from the 113th Congress (Eliminate Privacy Notice Confusion Act), here's the link to H.R.749 - Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015 from the 114th Congress. Took me a little bit to figure out why I was confused at first
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Also note that the page will not get updated with today's action until later this evening at the earliest. Right now it has no information about today's action.Your link appears to be for H.R.749 from the 113th Congress (Eliminate Privacy Notice Confusion Act), here's the link to H.R.749 - Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015 from the 114th Congress. Took me a little bit to figure out why I was confused at first
What construction are they talking about? Platforms? Stations? Tunnels? Bridge rehab? Or new rail?
Any capital expenses which would (likely) mainly consist of new cars and locomotives and the repair of the existing ones.
This is authorization. We will see what happens when it comes time to do the appropriation.
Not quite. They have to be kept in separate accounts but cross-transfer of funds is allowed with appropriate notification.
That apparently is the intent.
No, the capital expenses would include track, signal, power (NEC) system maintenance and modernization, maintenance facilities, station and platform modernizations and repair, ADA compliance, and so on, not just rolling stock. If Amtrak gets enough funding for the LD network to cover the operating losses and basic capital maintenance needs and somewhere close to the $487 million for the NEC, then much of the operating surplus generated by the Acela and NE Regionals can be plowed back into NEC capital funding needs.
This would include the very necessary renovations to Chicago Union Station, Chicago yards & maintenance shops, LA yards & maintenance shops, Oakland yards & maintenance shops. Also, potentially, upgrades to stations nationwide, track & signal on the Empire Corridor and Michigan Line. And, yes, locomotives and rolling stock would fit under "capital" for "rest of the country" as well.
