Final Deal on the Stimulus Package Reached!

[Madbuster]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Congress and the Obama administration reached a deal on Wednesday on a $789 billion economic stimulus package that would mix tax cuts and new government spending to rescue the faltering U.S. economy.

Senate majority leader Harry Reid told reporters negotiators had "bridged differences" between an $820 billion dollar House version of the package and an $838 billion version passed by the Senate.

Reid said votes on the final stimulus bill could come as early as Thursday. Senators said more than one-third of the bill was dedicated to middle class tax cuts, and it would create 3.5 million jobs.

I sure hope Amtrak's 850m is still there as well as the high speed rail money.

 

[Steve4031]

I was wondering the same thing too. Amtrak can use those viewliner diners and sleepers and baggage cars. I thnk they could do some stuff with high speed rail in the midwest too.

 

[transit54]

I was wondering the same thing too. Amtrak can use those viewliner diners and sleepers and baggage cars. I thnk they could do some stuff with high speed rail in the midwest too.

Was any of that included? I thought it was mostly NE corridor stuff.

 

[wayman]

I was wondering the same thing too. Amtrak can use those viewliner diners and sleepers and baggage cars. I thnk they could do some stuff with high speed rail in the midwest too.

Was any of that included? I thought it was mostly NE corridor stuff.

Is there a specific list of approved projects for the Amtrak stimulus money? I haven't seen one.

 

[had8ley]

It's amazing that a quasi-public corporation, that has existed on taxpayer funds for decades now, is about as transparent as a five foot concrete wall. I wonder if the present administration can blast through that wall so that we, as riders and tax payers, can have some input into what does come of a BILLION dollars

 

[haolerider]

It's amazing that a quasi-public corporation, that has existed on taxpayer funds for decades now, is about as transparent as a five foot concrete wall. I wonder if the present administration can blast through that wall so that we, as riders and tax payers, can have some input into what does come of a BILLION dollars

I am sure there is a list of work to be completed with this money, but I am also sure that Amtrak is not looking for our individual input as to what they should do. How would you communicate this to Amtrak - other than through NARP or some other organization? I agree that this is taxpayer money, but we all have elected representatives in Congress - some good and others not so good - that are supposed to be our voices. I don't expect Amtrak to publish a list of what they are going to do until they have some assurance that the money is there and that it will be available readily. It is my understanding that the bulk of this money is going to be used to re-build equipment that is much needed on the rails.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

I do remember it specifically exempting the Northeast Corridor from more than 50% of the stimulus money. I'm hoping Amtrak uses it for mainly other things, and pulls their "take that and ask for more for needed things" for the NEC instead of new equipment.

Truthfully, there are six tons of things Amtrak could use. But I'd say they get the most acute pain from the lack of functioning single-level long-distance equipment, particularly diners. In addition, I'd think that the new equipment is a preferred use of the stimulus money. Most other things would preserve jobs, this would create them.

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

How would you communicate this to Amtrak - other than through NARP or some other organization? I agree that this is taxpayer money, but we all have elected representatives in Congress - some good and others not so good - that are supposed to be our voices. I don't expect Amtrak to publish a list of what they are going to do until they have some assurance that the money is there and that it will be available readily. It is my understanding that the bulk of this money is going to be used to re-build equipment that is much needed on the rails.

I'd love to see Amtrak publish an ambitous plan of what they would do if they got ten times more money than Congress seems likely to give them. Maybe then Congress would be able to figure out that there would be value in a more dramatic increase than they've been contemplating.

I think sending a letter to Joseph Boardman, your Congressional Representative, and your Senators makes a lot of sense. That's probably a more effective way to communicate than letting NARP claim to Congress that there are N people who agree with them.

 

[wayman]

It's amazing that a quasi-public corporation, that has existed on taxpayer funds for decades now, is about as transparent as a five foot concrete wall. I wonder if the present administration can blast through that wall so that we, as riders and tax payers, can have some input into what does come of a BILLION dollars

I am sure there is a list of work to be completed with this money, but I am also sure that Amtrak is not looking for our individual input as to what they should do. How would you communicate this to Amtrak - other than through NARP or some other organization? I agree that this is taxpayer money, but we all have elected representatives in Congress - some good and others not so good - that are supposed to be our voices. I don't expect Amtrak to publish a list of what they are going to do until they have some assurance that the money is there and that it will be available readily. It is my understanding that the bulk of this money is going to be used to re-build equipment that is much needed on the rails.

From earlier discussion in another thread, I believe we determined that given the cost of rehabilitating/rebuilding a rail car, less than 10% of the $850 million would get every single Amfleet and Superliner on the rails. Throw some additional money at the heritage diners currently out of service to get them back on the rails for another 5-10 years (while being able to rotate out for service the ones still in use)--new diners won't be in service for 5-10 years. But as I understand it "the bulk of the money" will be free for other projects, even if they start by rebuilding everything they can possibly rebuild.

 

[had8ley]

I know I'm going to the dog house for this one but I'd rather bark at the moon, in hopes that Amtrak would listen, than depend on NARP to get something done in a timely and expeditious manner. I just thought I was the only one they deleted when I called and e-mailed. :angry:

 

[haolerider]

I know I'm going to the dog house for this one but I'd rather bark at the moon, in hopes that Amtrak would listen, than depend on NARP to get something done in a timely and expeditious manner. I just thought I was the only one they deleted when I called and e-mailed. :angry:

I would have to agree with you on that - even though I included NARP in my comment above. I don't think they are taken very seriously by Congress and/or their own members.

 

[had8ley]

It's amazing that a quasi-public corporation, that has existed on taxpayer funds for decades now, is about as transparent as a five foot concrete wall. I wonder if the present administration can blast through that wall so that we, as riders and tax payers, can have some input into what does come of a BILLION dollars

. It is my understanding that the bulk of this money is going to be used to re-build equipment that is much needed on the rails.

Are there any guarantees that there will be a list of to-do projects made public? The lack of PR amazes me; it's almost like waiting for the Sunset ten years ago and expecting it to be ahead of time.

 

[haolerider]

It's amazing that a quasi-public corporation, that has existed on taxpayer funds for decades now, is about as transparent as a five foot concrete wall. I wonder if the present administration can blast through that wall so that we, as riders and tax payers, can have some input into what does come of a BILLION dollars

. It is my understanding that the bulk of this money is going to be used to re-build equipment that is much needed on the rails.

Are there any guarantees that there will be a list of to-do projects made public? The lack of PR amazes me; it's almost like waiting for the Sunset ten years ago and expecting it to be ahead of time.

I don't think there is anyway to publish a list before the amount of money and the time frame for delivery of the money is confirmed. Too many times, Amtrak has expected to receive an appopriation to find it is delayed, diminished or deleted!

 

[GG-1]

Aloha

Well if this stimulus money was going where it would do the most good, to taxpayer spending, I would spend mine on Amtrak.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

Aloha
Well if this stimulus money was going where it would do the most good, to taxpayer spending, I would spend mine on Amtrak.

how about funding a railway bridge to HI so amtrak can get to the big island.

 

[GG-1]

Aloha
Well if this stimulus money was going where it would do the most good, to taxpayer spending, I would spend mine on Amtrak.

how about funding a railway bridge to HI so amtrak can get to the big island.

Oahu first :lol:

Aloha

 

[birdy]

Well, its a moving target, but when I checked at mid-day, the figure I read was $1.35 bil for amtrak, and $8 bil for HSR. Quite a nice jump. Paid for, basically by reducing the carry back tax deduction for small businesses only. Someone realized that giving massive tax refunds to a bunch of companies that have been cooking the books was probably not good public policy.

What they count as HSR, I don't know. One article suggested that it was slated for Las Vegas to LA, (Harry Reid) which would be a little tacky, if true, but not a horrible project. It would be successful, I think, and demonstrate that there is a use for passenger rail outside of the NE corridor.

Why the overnight flip-flop on rail is a mystery. Could it be that unbelievably tedious press conference by President Obama a few days ago had an effect? Or is the grass-roots ferment showing up in the votes?

 

[James]

$8 billion for high speed rail is nice, but how are these projects "shovel ready"? Aren't most of these lines still in the planning process? Or could this money be used for increasing speeds on current routes? Also, how do you think Amtrak will use its $

1.3 billion?

 

[amtrakwolverine]

hopefully buy new rail cars and rebuild all the current ones.

 

[Guest_jcl653_*]

The Washington Post reports this morning that in the final bill includes $9.3B for Amtrak and high-speed rail projects:

"In a victory for rail advocates, the bill includes $9.3 billion to develop high-speed trains and to improve Amtrak."

 

[jis]

I doubt very much that $8B for HSR will all go to Amtrak.

 

[jcl653]

The Wall Street Journal reports "Rail Advocates Win in Stimulus Bill."

Passenger-rail advocates scored big in the final stimulus bill, reflecting the Obama administration's successful push to make the sector a priority.
 
The final bill contains $8 billion for "high speed" passenger-rail service, four times the amount allocated in the Senate version, and another $8 billion for public transportation. President Barack Obama wants to invest more in rail, and the White House had sought the increase.
 
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123447166618579033.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123447166618579033.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123447166618579033.html

 

[had8ley]

I doubt very much that $8B for HSR will all go to Amtrak.

Maybe not, but it's a lot better than the bags of peanuts Amtrak has been handed down by prior administrations.

 

[AAARGH!]

Saw this on CNN.com under winners and losers in the final stimulus bill:

___________________________

Winners

High-speed and inner-city rail: Went from $300 million in House bill to $2.25 billion in Senate to $8 billion in final version. There also is a $6.9 billion provision for public transit.

Amtrak: Picked up $500 million from both House and Senate versions to total $1.3 billion. The bill stipulates that no more than 60 percent can go to the Northeast Corridor.

___________________________

Nice.

 

[AlanB]

Are there any guarantees that there will be a list of to-do projects made public? The lack of PR amazes me; it's almost like waiting for the Sunset ten years ago and expecting it to be ahead of time.

While I certainly wouldn't consider this golden just yet, here's one possible project:

An Amtrak representative told tri-state officials Thursday that if enough money is included for passenger rail service in the federal economic stimulus package, the proposed Chicago-to-Dubuque route is about as "shovel-ready" a project as any being considered.

The full story from the Telegraph Herald,