A Crucial Week for The Southwest Chief in Colorado

The Joint Budget Committee meets next week to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of the budget. If the six-member Senate Budget Committee concurs with the House version then we finally will have the financial support of the State of Colorado – joining twelve SE Colorado communities, Kansas, Amtrak and BNSF at the table.

In other words, it's crunch time!

You've helped already and you've made a huge difference at the Capitol. Legislators have commented about how impressed they are by the number of calls and emails they have received. We have identified the three key legislators on the Joint Budget Committee who control the fate of the Southwest Chief. Can you help us with calls and emails today? We wouldn't be asking if this wasn't important.

Please take a moment today and contact the following legislators via email and phone (it's fine to leave a message):

• Senator Kevin Grantham, Canon City: 303-866-4877, [email protected]
• Representative Millie Hamner, Dillon, 303-866-2952, [email protected]
• Representative Dave Young, Greeley, 303-866-2929, [email protected]

What to say?:

Personalize your message, but make sure to say that you want their support for funding the SW Chief in the Budget.

Here are a few other points that you can make to the legislators:

• Explain how we need to support rural Colorado.
• You support saving the Southwest Chief. Why do you support the Chief?
• We're asking for $1.5 Million total in the budget this year. $1 Million as a local match to join Kansas, BNSF Railway, & Amtrak towards another Federal grant. The other half million will go towards studying the feasibility of connecting Pueblo and Walsenburg to the route
• Local communities - in fact 12 - in Southeastern Colorado have already stepped up and paid a share. And, we were successful once receiving a Federal matching grant. If our small communities can step up, why can't Colorado?
• Amtrak, the BNSF Railway, and Kansas have already spent millions on this project. Kansas put in $3 million last year and plans on doing it again: it's Colorado's turn to show our support. We'll leverage all of our state and local dollars towards another Federal transportation grant and multiply our investment.

Thank you for your help saving passenger rail!

Your NARP Team