Sounds like Mr. Gunn is ready for the fight....

[Anonymous]

While Amtrak has many friends on the Hill do not assume that we are in good shape. With 150 agencies getting the knife, they may find ways of pitching survival of ones that help bring pork to local communities in exchange for Amtrak.

As to writing your Congress...uh, 'person,' snail mail takes a long time to get through because of all the screening they do now of the mail (remember anthrax?). I'm told that email carries as much weight as a letter does. But whatever you do, be brief, be consice, and don't belittle anyone else (including the auto- and petrol industries). That being said, I do like to point out that while Amtrak has gotten a lot of federal money over the past 34 years, the total amount still doesn't quite come to the amount of public dollars the federal go vernment spent on roads just last year! Of course Amtrak only carries a small percentage of people nationwide. If we were to invest in it like we have in roads, it would be a smashing success!

[CBQ_Guy]

Look out Feds.

There's a new Gunn in town.

His name is David.

Could you be Goliath?

Who will fall? [soapbox]

[MP57313]

QUOTE: Originally posted by overall
Also, if you have not joined NARP, now is a good time to do so. George

George,
I have been "on the fence" about joining (again). While I do agree Amtrak needs a strong lobbying team I am somewhat turned-off by the email updates that some of the advocacy groups send out. Too harsh and not enough constructive suggestions.
But it's the best we have, so I should just deal with it and join again.
Mike

[Modelcar]

....A real man, Mr. Gunn fighting for the survival of our rail passenger system....Give him all the support we can muster such as stated above by contacting your legislative rep....!
I am one that would like at least a bit of our money to stay here in this country and support something for our infrastructure and service.

[jchnhtfd]

QUOTE: Originally posted by daveklepper

He is truly a great person. I just hope he wins. Dave

[#ditto]! Nice to have a guy of his calibre on our side[:D]

[overall]

Now is the time for all of us who want our passenger trains to continue to write in to our congressmen. A regular letter, sent through the postal system, carries more weight than an e mail because of the extra effort involved. Also, if you have not joined NARP, now is a good time to do so. They are our voice in Washington. They are all we have to counter the highway and airline lobbies. Don't put it off.

George

[daveklepper]

He is truly a great person. I just hope he wins. Dave

[Anonymous]

from railforums...

This comes to me via Friends of Amtrak:
------------------------------
Dear Amtrak Co-workers:

Earlier today, President Bush sent to Congress his proposed budget for FY ’06. It provides no funding for Amtrak. In contrast, this year we are spending $1.4 billion, of which $1.2 billion is from a federal
appropriation to support our operations and capital programs across the country.

The President’s proposal does provide $360 million to the Surface Transportation Board for continued commuter and freight operations on the NEC only after forcing an Amtrak bankruptcy. It also isn’t
accompanied by any kind of plan for how Amtrak could continue operations. In a word, they have no plan for Amtrak other than
bankruptcy.

Obviously, the proposal is irresponsible and a surprising disappointment. It doesn’t acknowledge all the hard work you’ve done
over the past two years to run a tighter and better ship. Our costs are more under control than ever before - that’s quite an accomplishment.

It is critical that reforms and improvements must continue, however. Amtrak’s management is engaged with its board, the Department of
Transportation and others for this purpose. That work continues. We are committed to an efficient and productive rail passenger system. The plan to force us into bankruptcy would be counterproductive to this goal.

The President's proposal is only the start of a long legislative process, and we are taking it very seriously. This process has alot of twists and turns, and it always takes six to nine months to sort out. It won’t have any impact through the ’05 fiscal year, but there’s going to be very little cash left at the end of this year. Rest assured that after all we have been through, I am committed to doing everything I can to secure adequate funding for ‘06. We have strong support in Congress and a lot of support across the country.

The best thing that all employees can do is to do their jobs professionally, delivering the highest quality passenger service we
know how. If we really care about our passengers, others will care about us. As I travel in the Midwest this week, you can bet that I’m going to be looking at service standards. Stay safe out there, and keep
your heads up.

Sincerely, David L. Gunn