Congress says “keep your expectations low”; NARP says “NO!”

Yesterday, Congress passed a short-term extension to keep the government running through December 11. This will allow legislators to turn their attention to other pressing issues—such as the Positive Train Control deadline facing passengers.

NARP has reported extensively on the January 1st PTC deadline, which if not addressed threatens to bring commuter trains, Amtrak, and freight trains to a halt across the nation. NARP has discovered that the House plans to move a standalone PTC extension rather than as a comprehensive transportation bill. That keeps the trains moving—but not much else. “I'd keep your expectations low,” one congressional aide told Bloomberg News.

But NARP knows there’s a better solution: the full Congress must pass the long-term surface transportation bill the Senate passed in July. The DRIVE Act not only contains a reasonable PTC extension, it includes a number of extremely promising provisions that—with the proper funding levels—could be used to build the efficient intermodal transportation network that American businesses will need to compete globally in the 21st Century.

It’s not enough to have more of the same. Tell your elected officials not to settle and push for the passage of the DRIVE Act!