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Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Why does the GOP hate Amtrak riders?

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It appears that the GOP isn't concerned about preventing Amtrak accidents!  Their constituents don't use Amtrak very much, so they just don't care.
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Why is funding Amtrak such a struggle? Because Republican districts don’t use it.
By Philip Bump, May 13, 2015

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The constant struggle of Amtrak to get funding derives largely from the fact that not very many Americans use the rail system. Ridership is heavily centered in the Northeast, in the corridor between Boston and Washington where Tuesday's accident occurred. But more than that, ridership is unevenly distributed politically.

[snipped]
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House Republicans vote to cut Amtrak funding one day after crash
By Benjy Sarlin, May 13, 2015

The deadly derailment of an Amtrak train Tuesday hovered over an ongoing infrastructure debate the next day on Capitol Hill, where a bill to slash rail subsidies came under fire from Democrats who cited the disaster in opposing the cuts, while Republicans bristled at efforts to link the incident to Amtrak spending. The measure passed along partisan lines after the House committee repeatedly voted down Democratic amendments aimed at boosting funding for Amtrak.

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What Crash? House Cuts Amtrak Funding
By The Daily Beast, May 13, 2015

A House committee charged with funding Amtrak shot down a Democratic amendment to increase funding for rail transportation Wednesday morning, in the wake of a devastating commuter train crash the night before. The committee instead pledged to readdress the issue once the cause of the crash identified by investigators. The Republican proposal cuts $260 million from last year’s level, allocating a total of $1.1 billion for Amtrak.

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Anaheim Mayor: Amtrak Crash 'Certainly Makes Us Think About' Federal Transportation Law
By Emily Tess Katz, May 13, 2015

Mayors across the political spectrum are gathering in Washington, D.C. today to lobby for federal funding towards their cities' roads, bridges and transit in the form of a long-term renewal of the federal transportation law.

Speaking to HuffPost Live from D.C on Wednesday, Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait (R-Calif.) affirmed that Tuesday's disastrous Amtrak train derailing between Philadelphia and Washington D.C., in which at least seven people died, should serve as a reminder of how vital funding the nation's rail system is.

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