Friday
Mar132009
The U.S. on the rail to success
Friday, March 13, 2009 at 3:10PM
by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service
“In the years I’ve been with the FRA [Federal Railroad Administration], I never thought I’d see the day when a strong and decisive commitment would be made on behalf of Amtrak,” said Jo Strang, the Acting Federal Railroad Administrator at a press conference where Vice President Joe Biden and members of Congress announced that Amtrak would be receiving $1.3 billion in grant funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to expand rail capacity.
Vice President Joe Biden who has been a passenger on Amtrak for over 7,000 round trips said that Amtrak has been neglected in funding. “Amtrak relies on some subsidies. Every, every, every, every passenger rail system in the world relies on subsidies. We subsidize our highways and airports more than we subsidize Amtrak....Amtrak has been left out much too long in my humble opinion,” he stated. Biden also expressed that the $1.3 billion will nearly double Amtrak’s investment program over the next two years. “It is work that will take care of critical, long neglected needs. It will put people to work immediately and it’s an investment of dollars that will not only create jobs now but yield benefits for our economy for years to come. It will begin to build a platform for the economy in the 21st century.”
Amtrak depends on American tax funds and employs more than 19,000 Americans. 500,000 Americans use Amtrak a week, which amounts to 80,000 passengers a day. In the fiscal year of 2008 Amtrak set a record by transporting 28.7 million people, the most in Amtrak’s history.
Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) who attended the conference said “We lose about 4.2 billion hours a year to congestion on our roads....We lose close to 3 billion gallons of gasoline, just people sitting there going nowhere in congestion.” Kerry said that this money will help not only Amtrak but it will help better the environment as well. “It’s going to make America more productive. It’s going to make us more environmentally friendly, it’s going to increase the productivity, it’s going to create jobs, and it’s going to create a sustainable economy,” he concluded.
Some of the funding will go towards the replacement of the movable bridge over the Niantic River on the northeast corridor in Connecticut, for repairing damaged passenger cars, repairs to Amtrak facilities nationwide, and construction of a new station for the auto train in Sanford, Florida.
“In the years I’ve been with the FRA [Federal Railroad Administration], I never thought I’d see the day when a strong and decisive commitment would be made on behalf of Amtrak,” said Jo Strang, the Acting Federal Railroad Administrator at a press conference where Vice President Joe Biden and members of Congress announced that Amtrak would be receiving $1.3 billion in grant funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to expand rail capacity.
Vice President Joe Biden who has been a passenger on Amtrak for over 7,000 round trips said that Amtrak has been neglected in funding. “Amtrak relies on some subsidies. Every, every, every, every passenger rail system in the world relies on subsidies. We subsidize our highways and airports more than we subsidize Amtrak....Amtrak has been left out much too long in my humble opinion,” he stated. Biden also expressed that the $1.3 billion will nearly double Amtrak’s investment program over the next two years. “It is work that will take care of critical, long neglected needs. It will put people to work immediately and it’s an investment of dollars that will not only create jobs now but yield benefits for our economy for years to come. It will begin to build a platform for the economy in the 21st century.”
Amtrak depends on American tax funds and employs more than 19,000 Americans. 500,000 Americans use Amtrak a week, which amounts to 80,000 passengers a day. In the fiscal year of 2008 Amtrak set a record by transporting 28.7 million people, the most in Amtrak’s history.
Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) who attended the conference said “We lose about 4.2 billion hours a year to congestion on our roads....We lose close to 3 billion gallons of gasoline, just people sitting there going nowhere in congestion.” Kerry said that this money will help not only Amtrak but it will help better the environment as well. “It’s going to make America more productive. It’s going to make us more environmentally friendly, it’s going to increase the productivity, it’s going to create jobs, and it’s going to create a sustainable economy,” he concluded.
Some of the funding will go towards the replacement of the movable bridge over the Niantic River on the northeast corridor in Connecticut, for repairing damaged passenger cars, repairs to Amtrak facilities nationwide, and construction of a new station for the auto train in Sanford, Florida.
South Carolina Governor Admits Affair
Sanford had told his staff that he was taking a few days off, and strongly implied that he would be hiking on the Appalachian Trail. His wife told reporters that Sanford often disappears like this, and she was not concerned. In reality, she learned about five months ago that he was having an affair, and she knew that he was actually in Argentina this past weekend.
"What I did was wrong. Period," he told reporters in a hastily-called press conference, in which he also resigned as chairman of the Republican Governors Association. "This was selfish."
Sanford was remarkably candid with reporters today, explaining how the two met, and how he grew close to her.
When he met the woman, she was separated, and the two had a deep conversation about why she should get back with her husband. "Not only was it God's law, but ultimately her two boys would be better for it," he said.
At the end of the conversation, they exchanged e-mail addresses. Over the years, they became very close, sharing personal details of their lives and asking for advice.
"When you live in the zone of politics, you can't ever let your guard down," Sanford explained. "It could be a front page story."
Because the woman lived thousands of miles away, Sanford felt a "zone of protectiveness." The two developed a "remarkable friendship," that "sparked into something more than that" about a year ago. He had seen her three times since then.
This illicit relationship was the first and only time he's been unfaithful to his wife, he told reporters.
His wife learned of the affair five months ago, Sanford said. At that point, he tried to figure out what to do next.
"I spent the last five days of my life crying in Argentina, so I could repeat it when I came back here," Sanford said. "From a heart level, it was something real."