Sen. Casey Wants Congress To Avoid Cutting Amtrak Funding
By Mike DeNardo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- US Senator Robert Casey (D-Pa.) is going to bat to try to stop a federal funding cut for Amtrak.
Casey says Amtrak ridership is up, so it would be a mistake for funding from Congress to go down.
Speaking at a news conference today at 30th Street Station, Casey says he supports the $1.45-billion funding level for Amtrak backed by the Senate Appropriations Subcommitee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development, not the $950 million the House Appropriations Committee favors.
"There's a job impact. When you start cutting Amtrak funding by a third -- you've got 2,600 people in Pennsylvania who are employed by Amtrak -- you're obviously going to have an impact, short term and long term," the senator said.
And Casey says if Northeast Corridor service has to be cut back, it would affect the longterm economic competitiveness of the region.
