WE ARE FACING THE MOST SERIOUS THREAT TO AMTRAK’S EXISTENCE IN MANY YEARS!
Congressman John Mica, a Florida Republican, has opposed Amtrak’s existence for more than fifteen years. But now, because the Republicans won the House of Representatives in the last election, he has become Chairman of one of the most powerful committees in Congress. And with this new power, he has set his sights on accomplishing his dream: getting rid of Amtrak, with its union wages and benefits.
Congressman Mica knows that there’s too much congressional support for intercity train service to just eliminate Amtrak. So he’s come up with the idea of “privatizing” it.
“Privatization” sounds good to the anti-government Republican majority. Mica also promises that private operators would run the system much more economically, thereby appealing to Congressmen who want to cut the deficit.
But the truth is that so-called privatization is a sham. It’s a naked attempt to shift federal money to private operators, while keeping taxpayers on the hook to underwrite their profits.
The bill, dubbed the “Competition for Intercity Passenger Rail in America Act”, would not only privatize the Northeast Corridor. It also would encourage private operators to replace Amtrak on long distance and state supported services. It would also foster contracting out of existing Amtrak services, like ticketing, on-board dining and Carmen. It would result in the elimination of most, if not all, medium and long distance routes, since there would be no funding if the new operator couldn’t run the service cheaply.
We need YOU to get directly involved.
We need every Congressman to be bombarded with calls and letters opposing this bill.
Click here and send a letter to your Congressmen, tell them to say “NO” to the Mica-Shuster “Competition for Intercity Passenger Rail in America Act”.
Click here to read the letter sent to all TCU members on Amtrak.
Click here for a downloadable “Save Amtrak” flyer.
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