If you care about mass transit and Amtrak here is something that you can do TODAY that will help Amtrak. Call, email, FAX or go see your representative to tell them to be a cosponsor for H.R. 6003!
H.R. 6003, the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act, was just approved by the Railroads Subcommittee and it will help Amtrak a lot. So, we need to get on this right away to keep the momentum going! It will be much easier to get that limited floor time and ensure passage of the bill if there are more co-sponsors. Currently, there are only 41 cosponsors. But, the bill needs 218 or more cosponsors to get "floor time" -- so you should ask your representative to step up to the plate and be a cosponsor! Tell them it's for the environment, for giving people alternatives with fuel costs so high, and for helping Amtrak continue to grow despite Bush's efforts to shut it down for the past 8 years. Ridership has been going up in recent years so it's time to start funding passenger trains again!
So, contact your House of Representatives member and ask him or her to co-sponsor H.R. 6003! You can find your Representative by visiting http://www.house.gov and putting your zip code in the box at the upper left hand corner of the page.
The National Association of Rail Road Passengers says:
At yesterday's hearing, the full committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) called the event a "historic day." Let's keep the momentum going and get the bill to the House floor!
So, contact your representatives, people! Ask them "Why aren't you a cosponsor yet?"
-To find out if your Rep is one of the lucky 41 who are already cosponsors go here.
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Here is some more info about the bill. (Some of you are wonky and want to read the bill.
Here is it!)
PS. We just need to contact the House right now, not the Senate, they already passed their version of it.
UPDATE: Thanks for putting this on the rec list everyone-- With lot of calls and emails going out they won't know what hit 'em! I hope it helps our representatives see how much support there is for these ideas.