Hotline
Your weekly source of fresh takes on news affecting America's passengers. See also the RPA Blog.
Hotline #714
March 27, 1992
The Supreme Court announced its verdict in the Montrealer case on March 25. On a 6-3 vote, the high court found for Amtrak, thereby overturning a lower court's ruling that Amtrak and the ICC had acted improperly by condemning a piece of Guilford trackage in Vermont used by the Montrealer. Justice Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court and was joined by Rehnquist, Stevens, O'Connor, Scalia, and Souter. Justice White wrote the dissenting opinion and was joined by Blackmun and Thomas. The disse
Hotline #713-A
March 25, 1992
Great news today from the Supreme Court. On a 6-3 vote, the high court overturned a lower court's ruling that Amtrak and the ICC acted improperly by condemning a piece of Guilford trackage in Vermont used by the Montrealer. Ruling for Amtrak were Rehnquist, Stevens, O'Connor, Kennedy, Scalia, and Souter. Dissenting were White, Blackmun, and Thomas. This important victory is expected to put Amtrak in a better bargaining position with the freight railroads when operating agreements expire in 1996.
Hotline #713
March 20, 1992
The current co-sponsors of H.R.4414 are Representatives Swift, Ritter, Pease, Richardson, Slattery, Manton, Andrews, Eckart, Frank, and Wyden -- but we need more for this important Ampenny bill! It now looks like there will never be a vote on H.R.3732, Representative Conyers' (Mich.) proposal to remove the wall between defense and domestic spending. Without it, a House budget resolution will take effect giving Amtrak and transit a funding freeze for 1993. That would be pretty bad for Amtrak, wh
Hotline #712
March 13, 1992
Chairman Al Swift's Amtrak trust fund bill, H.R.4414, was introduced March 10. He is asking each NARP member to write to their Representatives and ask them to co-sponsor H.R.4414. Already sponsoring are Representatives Ritter, Pease, Richardson, Slattery, Manton, Andrews, Eckart, and Frank. A House vote on whether to remove the wall between defense and domestic spending has been postponed at least until next week. Right now, there are not enough votes in the House to do it, meaning a House budg
Hotline #711-A
March 10, 1992
Chairman Al Swift's Amtrak trust fund bill was introduced this afternoon in the House. It is H.R.4414. Swift has asked each NARP member to ask their Representative to co-sponsor this important bill. Representatives Ritter, Pease, Richardson, Slattery, Manton, and Andrews already are sponsors. Meanwhile, H.R.4250, the Amtrak reauthorization bill, was approved March 5 by the Transportation Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The Crescent will be replaced with a bus between Bi
Hotline #711
March 6, 1992
Chairman Swift's Amtrak trust fund bill has not been introduced yet in the House, but we are told that it will happen soon. Swift still needs co-sponsors, so ask your Representative to support his bill. Meanwhile, H.R.4250, the Amtrak reauthorization bill, was approved yesterday by Swift's Transportation Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The House has approved a budget resolution with two possible outcomes, depending on what happens next week with a proposal by Representa
Hotline #710
February 28, 1992
The Senate confirmed the nomination of Andrew Card as Secretary of Transportation on February 21. NARP testified on Amtrak reauthorization on February 26 before the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Transportation. Senator Nickles (R.-Okla.) said he had assurances from Amtrak President Graham Claytor for a tri-weekly Lone Star by the end of 1993, though Amtrak says it would have to be a 403(b) train. The Amtrak gas-tax penny got an impressively sympathetic hearing from Senators Breaux (D.-La.) an
Hotline #709
February 21, 1992
The House Energy and Commerce transportation subcommittee held a hearing yesterday on H.R.4250, the two-year Amtrak reauthorization bill. Subcommittee Chairman Al Swift (D.-Wash.) is the author of the bill, authorizing $969 million for Amtrak and the Northeast Corridor in 1993 and $921 million in 1994. Besides the reauthorization bill, Swift plans to introduce next week a bill to create a passenger rail trust fund by earmarking a penny of the federal gasoline tax to Amtrak capital and other hig
Hotline #708
February 14, 1992
Some good ideas are catching on! Push them with your own legislators! House Ways and Means Democrats tentatively agreed in private session on a tax package that includes the one good item in Bush's transportation budget proposal -- raising the ceiling on tax-free employer-provided transit benefits from $21 to $60 a month. Bush did not say how he would pay for this, but Committee Democrats propose to tax that portion of the value of employer-provided parking spaces that exceed $160 a month -- in
Hotline #707
February 7, 1992
The nomination of Andrew Card as Secretary of Transportation was the topic of a confirmation hearing this morning in the Senate Commerce Committee. Six Senators discussed Amtrak, three of them mentioning Amtrak at the start of their remarks. Card of course defended the Bush budget, but then said, "The deficit forces very difficult decisions. I think Amtrak is a viable form of transportation in America. I want it to be accessible. I want it to be self-sufficient." Chairman Ernest Hollings (D.-S.