I’m currently recovering from wisdom teeth removal, so I’m not in the mood for a long story. A lot of this came from Rail Passengers of America.
At 7:20PM Eastern last night, our policy staffers learned that President Donald Trump had nominated Todd Rokita, the former Republican Congressman for Indiana, to the Amtrak Board of Directors. They immediately began researching his voting record on rail and transit, and what they found should be concerning to every Amtrak passenger.
Todd Rokita was mentioned a few times last year at DK, but no one seems to have mentioned him with this recent action.
We found that Rokita voted against Amtrak in 8 of the 13 Amtrak-specific amendments we tracked. Some of Rokita’s most eye raising anti-Amtrak votes include:
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2017 – Voted YES on H.Amdt. 287 to H.R. 3354, filed by Rep. Mo Brooks, that would have eliminated funding to Amtrak’s National Network (the amendment failed).
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2015 – Voted YES on H.Amdt. 72 to H.R. 749, filed by Rep. Tom McClintock, that would have completely ended federal grants for Amtrak (the amendment failed).
- 2011 – Voted YES on H.Amdt. 43 to H.R. 1, filed by Rep. Pete Sessions, would have reduced Amtrak’s capital grant by $446 million (the amendment failed).
Our staff is already reaching out to Congressional offices to educate them on Rokita’s voting history. The likelihood of knocking down this nomination dramatically improves if we can activate the voices of passengers. Those same voices shouted down replacing the Southwest Chief with buses last year—there is no reason we can’t hold up a board nomination. Your $50 donation supports the Association’s continuing efforts to hold Washington, D.C. accountable for their blatant disregard for the National Network and all rail passengers.
Another site adds:
Despite Trump’s nomination, it’s not a sure thing that Rokita will actually serve on the board. He first must get confirmed by the Senate, and that has proven tough for Trump’s Amtrak nominees.
Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, has held up confirmation on three previous Amtrak nominees, until the company makes assurances it will fund a rail service through his state. Amtrak officials have scheduled a meeting with Moran to discuss the rail line.
An NWI article adds to his hypocrisy:
Rokita tweeted favorably about a December 2017 ride with his son on Amtrak's three-day-a-week Cardinal service that passes through Indiana on its route between New York City and Washington, D.C. to Chicago.
“Great to be cruising through Indiana on the Hoosier State Cardinal Line with Ryan. Busy night on the train with all 10 cars being sold out,” Rokita said.
“As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee tasked with reviewing our nation's railroads, it is great to see these trains working well for Hoosiers.”
The Hoosier State actually is a separate Amtrak route that runs between Indianapolis and Chicago — most of which is Rokita's former congressional district — on the four days a week that the Cardinal does not pass through Indiana.
However, the new state budget in House Enrolled Act 1001 eliminates the $3 million annual state subsidy for Hoosier State service, and the route no longer will carry passengers after June 30.