Legislation

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Amtrak

Boardman: Amtrak ‘provided a high return on the limited Federal investment’

September 23, 2012 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Amtrak “has provided a high return on the limited Federal investment we’ve received,” Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman told Congress. “[P]assenger rail has received only a tiny portion of the annual Federal transportation budget,” Boardman said in his written testimony. “To give just one example, in the past four years the Federal government has appropriated $53.3 billion from the General Fund of the Treasury to bail out the Highway Trust Fund. That’s almost 30% more than the total Federal expenditure on Amtrak since 1971 [$39.3 billion]. “Federal expenditures on Amtrak during the past 41 years pale next

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FRA

Federal Railroad Administration, OSHA Sign Agreement to Protect Railroad Workers from Retaliation

July 23, 2012 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) signed an agreement to improve coordination between the two agencies in enforcing the whistleblower provision of the Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA). The FRSA protects employees from retaliation when they report safety violations to the government or report work-related personal injuries or illnesses. “Safety is our highest priority and this agreement is an important step in providing protections for those who report unsafe conditions,” said FRA Administrator Joseph Szabo. “Establishing a formal process for safeguarding the rights

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Amtrak

Amtrak: Top Five Priorities of Amtrak for Next Surface Transportation Bill

April 14, 2011 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON –“The development of intercity passenger rail and Amtrak’s national system should be afforded a significant role in the nation’s federal surface transportation programs,” said Joe McHugh, Amtrak vice president for government affairs and corporate communications in written testimony recently provided to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads.