Politics
Senate Democrats Demand More Money for Amtrak Repair Backlog
JOAN LOWY, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats on Thursday demanded that Republicans provide more money for Amtrak so the railroad can tackle a $21 billion maintenance and repair backlog, including replacing tunnels more than a century old.
Democrats at a news conference cited last week’s deadly crash in Philadelphia and said the backlog is compromising safety and service.
Investigators have said the crash could have been prevented if expensive safety technology called positive train control had been in operation. The technology can prevent derailments due to excessive speed and collisions between trains. Amtrak says the system will be ready by year’s end throughout the Northeast Corridor, which stretches from Boston to Washington, with the exception of some track owned by commuter railroads in New York.
Democrats want Congress to give Amtrak the entire $2 billion in subsidies the railroad requested for the budget year that starts Oct. 1. They say GOP lawmakers have starved the railroad financially for years.
A Republican-controlled House panel approved a spending bill the day after the crash that provides Amtrak with $1.1 billion, a cut of $251 million from this year.
A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Republicans have long criticized the nation’s long-distance passenger railroad as wasteful and inefficient. Outside the busy Northeast Corridor, Amtrak service generally doesn’t turn a profit.
Amtrak more heavily serves urban areas in the Northeast, Midwest and West Coast that are predominantly served by Democrats than less populated, GOP-leaning states in the South and West.
The budget that President Barack Obama submitted to Congress in February proposed allotting Amtrak $2.5 billion next year, with most of the increase dedicated to capital investment in tracks, tunnels and bridges.
“Throughout the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak has some infrastructure that is so old, it was built and put into service when Jesse James and Butch Cassidy were still alive and robbing trains,” said Senator Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
One tunnel in Maryland that needs replacement is more than 140 years old. Tunnels under the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey are over 100 years old.
“We should not be putting Amtrak in a position of having to choose between safety, like positive train control and other technologies, and investing in fixing crumbling bridges or crumbling infrastructure,” said Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.
Also Thursday, the Federal Railroad Administration issued an emergency order requiring Amtrak to make computer and transponder changes so that trains traveling northeast toward Frankford Junction in Philadelphia can be automatically stopped if they attempt to enter a curve there at an excessive speed. Amtrak Northeast Regional train 188 was traveling at 106 mph as it approached the curve on May 12. The posted speed limit for the curve is 50 mph.
The train derailed, tossing cars into a mangled heap. Eight people were killed and about 200 injured in the crash.
The agency also said it is requiring that Amtrak develop a plan over the next 20 days to assess other curves in the Northeast Corridor and whether modifications are necessary to existing train control equipment or signal systems. Administration officials also say they plan to announce other safety steps to address potential speed problems at other passenger railroads around the country in the next few weeks.
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Follow Joan Lowy on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024
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Barbara Lee
Congresswoman Barbara Lee Issues Statement on Deaths of Humanitarian Aid Volunteers in Gaza
On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12). “This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.
By California Black Media
On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12).
“This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.
The same day, it was confirmed by the organization that the humanitarian aid volunteers were killed in a strike carried out by Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Prior to the incident, members of the team had been travelling in two armored vehicles marked with the WCF logo and they had been coordinating their movements with the IDF. The group had successfully delivered 10 tons of humanitarian food in a deconflicted zone when its convoy was struck.
“This is not only an attack against WCK. This is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the direst situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said Erin Gore, chief executive officer of World Central Kitchen.
The seven victims included a U.S. citizen as well as others from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Palestine.
Lee has been a vocal advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza and has supported actions by President Joe Biden to airdrop humanitarian aid in the area.
“Far too many civilians have lost their lives as a result of Benjamin Netanyahu’s reprehensible military offensive. The U.S. must join with our allies and demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire – it’s long overdue,” Lee said.
Community
Financial Assistance Bill for Descendants of Enslaved Persons to Help Them Purchase, Own, or Maintain a Home
California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) vice chair Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Inglewood) introduced new legislation related to reparations to the Senate Committee on Housing on April 2 in Sacramento. Senate Bill (SB) 1007, “establishes the Homeowner’s Assistance for Descendants of Enslaved Persons Program to make financial aid or assistance available to descendants for the purposes of purchasing, owning, or maintaining a home,” the legislation states.
California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) vice chair Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Inglewood) introduced new legislation related to reparations to the Senate Committee on Housing on April 2 in Sacramento.
Senate Bill (SB) 1007, “establishes the Homeowner’s Assistance for Descendants of Enslaved Persons Program to make financial aid or assistance available to descendants for the purposes of purchasing, owning, or maintaining a home,” the legislation states.
The Senate Housing Committee advanced the bill with an 8-1 vote. It will be re-referred to the Appropriations Committee for consideration.
Sen. Kelly Seyarto (R-Murrieta) was the only member who voted against the bill.
“SB 1007 is about starting a long process of paying back a debt that is not only owed, but that was also promised, and is 160 years overdue, to African Americans,” Bradford told the committee chaired by Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley). “It is the first step in closing the wealth and equity gap created by centuries of slavery and racial discrimination policies.”
The bill aligns with one of the 115 recommendations listed in a two-year study conducted by the California reparations task force, of which Bradford was one of nine members.
Bradford said the report reveals that, in the state of California, a typical Black-owned home is 22% less valuable than a White-owned home.
Various advocacy groups from around the state attended the hearing held at the State Capitol Annex Swing Space. The California Housing Partnership, Bay Area Regional Health and Inequities Initiative, Coalition for A Just and Equitable California, Disability Rights of California, the American Civil Liberties Union of California, and California Community Builders all voiced their support of the bill.
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