By Ron Thaniel
May 3, 2010

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James L. Oberstar (MN), House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Chairwoman Corrine Brown (FL), and more than 100 House Members sent a letter on April 16 to President Obama urging him to support a dedicated revenue source for planning and development of high-speed rail.

The letter stressed the importance of including a dedicated revenue source for planning and development of high-speed rail in any future surface transportation authorization proposal developed by the Administration.

The letter said, “We cannot just focus on building more roads. We have to find broader solutions to address our transportation problems. That is why we must develop high-speed rail in the United States.”

Highlighting that the United States lags behind the rest of the world when it comes to developing high-speed rail, the letter said, “A robust, high-speed rail system in America will go a long way toward solving some of our nation’s economic, energy, environmental, and transportation challenges, and it will create thousands of jobs, something our nation desperately needs. These benefits, however, do not come without a price tag, and experience in other countries makes clear that a successful high-speed rail system will require a significant financial commitment.”

“A few years ago, that type of financial commitment would have been difficult to secure. Instead of providing Amtrak with the funds it needed to get back on track, the Bush Administration called for Amtrak’s bankruptcy,” the letter stated.

But with the enactment of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act and the Recovery Act, the letter said, “America is on the verge of a new rail renaissance: a transformative moment in the history of transportation.”

Recognizing that the momentum is in jeopardy, the letter states, “We cannot continue to rely on general authorizations and appropriations to finance high-speed rail. We need to identify a dedicated revenue resource for high-speed rail, and we need your help to do that.”

To find out if your representative is supporting dedicated revenue for high-speed rail go to the website http://transportation.house.gov/News/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=1172.