Forwarded from NARP:

To NARP Members, September 24, 2008-

House and Senate conferees at long last have reached agreement on a combined rail safety bill (including mandate for Positive Train Control) and Amtrak reauthorization. The latter is the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act featured in our January, June and July newsletters.

House passage is expected today, after which the bill (now H.R. 2095) would go to the Senate, where a motion to concur with the House amendment (bill) is expected. If an objection is raised (quite possible), 60 votes will be required for cloture, that is, to end debate and allow a vote. Just to get floor time to bring this up, therefore, depends on supporters' ability to show leadership the 60 votes needed to shut off debate and allow a vote.

Please contact your senators' offices today or first thing tomorrow and say something like this:

Please vote for a possible motion to concur with the House rail bill (H.R. 2095) and, if it comes to that, vote for closure and, of course, also for final passage.

This legislation is long overdue in light of growing train ridership and demand for more service, and in light of the terrible September 12 collisions in California. Such collisions likely would never happen again following implmenetation of the Positive Train Control mandate in H.R. 2095.

Please send us an e-mail if your senator(s) is/are Republican(s) who clearly indicate they will vote with us.

As information, the bill keeps many provisions from the House and Senate bills, including the Senate's studies of restoring the Pioneer (serving eastern Oregon and southern Idaho) and North Coast Hiawatha (southern Montana and southern North Dakota) and the House's requirement for a plan to restore service between New Orleans and Florida.

Given the time-sensitive nature of this issue, phone calls are necessary; e-mails, letters, and faxes will not be relevant. You may call NARP's toll-free Congressional Action Hotline at 1-800-679-1581. When prompted enter NARP's code: 1189. If you choose to call, be sure do so during normal Senate business hours, which are generally 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time. Otherwise, you are likely to get a recording saying that the office is closed.

If you get a busy signal when you call, please hang up and try your call again in a few minutes.

--Ross B. Capon