Amtrak President Joe Boardman sent a letter to the President of the Senate Joe Biden (D-DE) and the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to ask congress to provide enough funding for Amtrak to pay its contractual obligations in 2009. The back pay, recommendations of the presidential emergency board, agreements Amtrak made in 2008 required a payment of $573 million, the remaining balance of those agreements are $145 million. Boardman is asking congress to provide the $114 million Amtrak still needs to finish the payments and not reopen negotiations with its unions in 2009.
In the letter Boardman says “Amtrak is committed to meeting our agreements, and holds the skills of its employees and the dedication they bring to their job in high esteem.”
Click here to read the letter to Biden and Pelosi.