Tell Dubya How The Choo Choo Goes

(Possibly the most infantile blog post title I’ve ever come up with, but I’m trying to communicate in a way that could be easily understood by George W. Milhous Bush.)

So our preznit is going to act now, thus “forestalling a possible strike by Amtrak workers on Saturday,” is he (as noted here)? Wow, talk about being proactive! I mean, this is only Wednesday; he could have waited two more days at the most…

(Yes, that was snark.)

The Inquirer story also notes…

The labor dispute centers on health-care contributions, proposed changes in work rules, and back pay to Jan. 1, 2000, when the last contract ended.

Amtrak has about 15,000 unionized workers in its workforce of 18,500. About half of the union workers are represented by the nine unions affected by the current impasse. They include train dispatchers, track repairmen, signal operators, machinists, electricians and coach cleaners.

A strike, which would be the first by Amtrak workers, would also disrupt commuter railroads, including SEPTA and NJ Transit, which operate some of their trains on Amtrak tracks and rely on Amtrak dispatchers.

The presidential board has 30 days, starting Saturday, to investigate the labor dispute and report back to Bush.

Anything not related to the Iraq war or other key Repug constituencies (such as insurance, pharma, or financial services) has been hurt by the budgets submitted to Congress by this administration, but Amtrak is a noteworthy case. As stated here…

President Bush's fiscal year 2006 budget proposal, which represents the leanest funding proposal so far of the Bush presidency, includes reductions in and elimination of many programs important to America's cities, such as Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and Amtrak operating subsidies, while preserving a directive that 80 percent of homeland security grants must go directly to local governments.

And as noted here…

…the president's budget proposal makes deep cuts to Amtrak funding to $900 million in 2008 from $1.3 billion estimated for 2007. This 83 percent cut jeopardizes Amtrak’s ability to serve many of its passenger lines and removes an alternative to automotive transportation fueled by gasoline and diesel.

However, the U.S. House recently passed an Amtrak funding bill, noted in this story which also tells us that…

For the past six years, the Bush Administration has repeatedly sought to break up Amtrak's service and eliminate rural routes. (Dem Sen. Robert) Byrd (WV), joined by Senators from both political parties, has consistently led the effort to protect Amtrak and improve its service. In the 2007 Amtrak bill, Senators Byrd and Rockefeller successfully opposed an amendment that would have taken funding away from “long-distance” routes, including those serving West Virginia.

“Amtrak carries people between our biggest cities and our smallest communities,” Byrd added. “Without Amtrak service, many regions of rural America would not benefit from the convenience and economic opportunities offered by a rail system. I have consistently fought against efforts that would harm Amtrak service in West Virginia, and will continue to do so.”

Amtrak’s last authorization, the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act (ARAA), expired in 2002. In recent years, attempts by Congress to improve and modernize Amtrak’s operations were stalled by the Republican-controlled House.

“After more than seven years of stopgap funding bills, the new Congress has acted responsibly by putting a plan in place that will sustain Amtrak for the long-term,” Byrd said. “This $19.2 billion authorization will mean better long-term planning and stronger accountability for Amtrak. This plan is right for America, and it is right for West Virginia. I hope the President will do the right thing and sign this legislation into law.”

Dubya and the Repugs are being particularly dumb here because, as noted in this New York Times story…

..Amtrak could see a ridership growth spurt of 50 percent in the next five to 10 years, but it would require billions of state and federal dollars invested in the tracks of other railroads, and millions more of private investment in passenger rail cars, the new president of the railroad (Alexander K. Kummant) said Thursday in an interview.

I realize that funding Amtrak and negotiating a new contract for Amtrak’s workers are financial issues that have dependencies but are also exclusive to each other somewhat, but the way each have been approached by our primarily-Republican-run government over the last few years can be summed up by one word: neglect (so many reasons why this is dumb; as noted above, mass transit ridership is up partly because of energy costs, and that should be encouraged because of global warming, our highway infrastructure wouldn’t break down as quickly, etc.).

Maybe it would help if I put this another way, Dubya; many of those mass transit riders vote, and you should try to get it through that particle of gray matter of yours that neglect on this issue will further hurt the chances of your party next November. And though I would ordinarily do anything I legally could to hurt Republican prospects in an election, I have to encourage you and your cohorts to act like adults on this for a change for the reasons I just stated.

The title of this post notwithstanding, it’s long past time for you to act like a grownup on this, among many other matters.