by Petra Todorovich, Director, America 2050, RPA
What does it take to pass a bill in Washington, D.C.? Here's a short refresher course from your high school civics class. First, the House and Senate must both pass a bill on roughly the same issue. Then the differences must be worked out among the two Houses in a conference committee. Once the conference committee reconciles the two bills into one identical bill, then the Senate and the House must each vote to approve the conference agreement. Then the President signs the bill and the bill become law. This entire process must take place within the two years of one Congress, or the process starts over and any progress made is discarded.
Since late 2007, both the Senate and the House of Representatives have passed, with veto-proof majorities, versions of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act. This legislation would authorize increased funding to Amtrak and the states for capital investments and operating subsidies to improve and expand intercity passenger rail service in the United States over the next five years.
Now the bill is stuck in the Senate because a single Senator, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, has put a "hold" on the bill. This practice is rarely mentioned in high school civics class. Senate custom allows any senator, for any reason, to "hold" a bill from being voted on. Sen. Coburn has various problems with Amtrak, and wants them cleared up. If the Senate can push past Mr. Coburn's obstruction, there's an opportunity in the next three weeks - before the two-year mark - to work out the differences between the two bills in conference committee and pass the reconciled bill in both chambers and send it to the President's desk. If the bill stalls until the Congress breaks for election season and no lame duck session is called, then it is lost to the dustbin of history.
The converging forces of public sentiment, economic conditions and growing ridership could hardly be better positioned than they are at the moment to support Congress taking action on this bill. This was articulated by a group of Northeastern business leaders who met in Washington D.C.'s Union Station last Wednesday with several U.S. Senators, Representatives and Amtrak's President and CEO Alex Kummant to urge passage of this bill. RPA is co-convener of the Business Alliance for Northeast Mobility, a coalition of business and civic organizations from Maine to Virginia who have come together to draw the clear connection between transportation investments and economic productivity and growth in the Northeast megaregion. The Business Alliance's first and primary goal is to secure funding to bring Amtrak's Northeast Corridor to a state of good repair, benefiting the speed, reliability, safety and frequency for over a half-million daily passengers on intercity and regional services in the Northeast.
The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act will not solve all of Amtrak's problems, but it is the first step toward steady, increased funding for the railroad, which had not had a multi-year funding authorization in Congress since 1997. Amtrak is having a record year, with ridership up 11 percent and revenue up 14 percent. With high gas prices, growing frustration with air travel and a flagging economy, more and more Americans are giving rail a try, particularly in regions outside the Northeast Corridor, where service is much less frequent or reliable. New passengers are likely to experience frustration because most Amtrak services outside the Northeast run on tracks owned by freight rail companies, causing delays to passenger trains. Despite this, in the Capital Corridor between San Francisco and Sacramento, California, for example, ridership has grown 33 percent since last year. Even in the near-capacity Northeast Corridor, ridership on Amtrak is up 8 percent since last year.
Gas prices are up. Rail ridership is up. Concern about climate change and our foreign oil dependence is high. Now is the time to expand the government's support for making intercity passenger rail a viable transportation option in this country. Passage of this popular bill is a simple action that Congress can take in this session, affirming the choices of the American public to travel by rail when possible and convenient.
What does it take to pass a bill in Washington, D.C.? Here's a short refresher course from your high school civics class. First, the House and Senate must both pass a bill on roughly the same issue. Then the differences must be worked out among the two Houses in a conference committee. Once the conference committee reconciles the two bills into one identical bill, then the Senate and the House must each vote to approve the conference agreement. Then the President signs the bill and the bill become law. This entire process must take place within the two years of one Congress, or the process starts over and any progress made is discarded.
Since late 2007, both the Senate and the House of Representatives have passed, with veto-proof majorities, versions of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act. This legislation would authorize increased funding to Amtrak and the states for capital investments and operating subsidies to improve and expand intercity passenger rail service in the United States over the next five years.
Now the bill is stuck in the Senate because a single Senator, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, has put a "hold" on the bill. This practice is rarely mentioned in high school civics class. Senate custom allows any senator, for any reason, to "hold" a bill from being voted on. Sen. Coburn has various problems with Amtrak, and wants them cleared up. If the Senate can push past Mr. Coburn's obstruction, there's an opportunity in the next three weeks - before the two-year mark - to work out the differences between the two bills in conference committee and pass the reconciled bill in both chambers and send it to the President's desk. If the bill stalls until the Congress breaks for election season and no lame duck session is called, then it is lost to the dustbin of history.
The converging forces of public sentiment, economic conditions and growing ridership could hardly be better positioned than they are at the moment to support Congress taking action on this bill. This was articulated by a group of Northeastern business leaders who met in Washington D.C.'s Union Station last Wednesday with several U.S. Senators, Representatives and Amtrak's President and CEO Alex Kummant to urge passage of this bill. RPA is co-convener of the Business Alliance for Northeast Mobility, a coalition of business and civic organizations from Maine to Virginia who have come together to draw the clear connection between transportation investments and economic productivity and growth in the Northeast megaregion. The Business Alliance's first and primary goal is to secure funding to bring Amtrak's Northeast Corridor to a state of good repair, benefiting the speed, reliability, safety and frequency for over a half-million daily passengers on intercity and regional services in the Northeast.
The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act will not solve all of Amtrak's problems, but it is the first step toward steady, increased funding for the railroad, which had not had a multi-year funding authorization in Congress since 1997. Amtrak is having a record year, with ridership up 11 percent and revenue up 14 percent. With high gas prices, growing frustration with air travel and a flagging economy, more and more Americans are giving rail a try, particularly in regions outside the Northeast Corridor, where service is much less frequent or reliable. New passengers are likely to experience frustration because most Amtrak services outside the Northeast run on tracks owned by freight rail companies, causing delays to passenger trains. Despite this, in the Capital Corridor between San Francisco and Sacramento, California, for example, ridership has grown 33 percent since last year. Even in the near-capacity Northeast Corridor, ridership on Amtrak is up 8 percent since last year.
Gas prices are up. Rail ridership is up. Concern about climate change and our foreign oil dependence is high. Now is the time to expand the government's support for making intercity passenger rail a viable transportation option in this country. Passage of this popular bill is a simple action that Congress can take in this session, affirming the choices of the American public to travel by rail when possible and convenient.
@RegionalPlan