I too got the alert – and sent my comment to Sen. Boxer-CA (I’m doing one a day.)

I wasn’t sure that these two bills will be the actual reauthorization bills – they appear to be ‘guideline’ bills. In any case, these are important bills and all transportation reform advocates should act upon….

“The House version of the bill sponsored by Representatives Russ Carnahan (D-MO), Rush Holt (D-NJ), and Jay Inslee (D-WA), the National Transportation Objectives Act of 2009 (H.R. 2724) sets similar goals, and is even more train-friendly. Click here to urge your Representative to cosponsor this important piece of legislation! (As of Friday, only three Representatives had joined on)

The legislation being drafted now will determine how we travel for decades. We need you to act now to make sure that modern and efficient trains are given the same level of investment as asphalt and cars.”

BTW, my comment to Boxer on her webpage comment form was not very original:

“Would you consider co-sponsoring (S.1036)?
I strongly support increased use of passenger and freight trains and reduced per capita highway vehicle miles traveled.
The bill calls for “increase [in] the total usage of public transportation, intercity passenger rail services, and non-motorized transportation on an annual basis.”

Hopefully others will elaborate more on why we need to end auto-dependency, and how these bills can help….

Transportation committees in both the Senate and the House have come out with long-awaited bills containing guidelines for exactly what the next five-year federal transportation spending plan should accomplish. These two bills both set forth a series of goals that NARP strongly supports, including increased use of passenger and freight trains and reduced per capita highway vehicle miles traveled. There are two things you can do to make these proposals a reality:

The Senate version of the bill sponsored by Senators John Rockefeller (D-WV) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), the Federal Surface Transportation Policy and Planning Act of 2009 (S.1036), sets forth strong goals including an “increase [in] the total usage of public transportation, intercity passenger rail services, and non-motorized transportation on an annual basis.” Highway lobbyists are already fighting the passage of this bill; click here and call your Senators to cosponsor this important piece of legislation! (As of Friday, no other Senators had joined on to this important bill)

The House version of the bill sponsored by Representatives Russ Carnahan (D-MO), Rush Holt (D-NJ), and Jay Inslee (D-WA), the National Transportation Objectives Act of 2009 (H.R. 2724) sets similar goals, and is even more train-friendly. Click here to urge your Representative to cosponsor this important piece of legislation! (As of Friday, only three Representatives had joined on)

The legislation being drafted now will determine how we travel for decades. We need you to act now to make sure that modern and efficient trains are given the same level of investment as asphalt and cars.

–Sean Jeans-Gail
Communications Director
NARP

Crossing my fingers on this one…Hopefully Congress steps up to the plate.