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<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:black'>From the Northern Flyer Alliance … for your consideration.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Senator
Coburn<span style='color:blue'> </span>is blocking Amtrak Reauthorization and a
Safety mandate that would prevent an accident such as occurred in Los Angeles
that killed 25 passengers this month. This bill is H.R. 2095.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Here are the
numbers...</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal>Main: 202-224-5754<br>
Fax: 202-224-6008<o:p></o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122237337593376137.html</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<h1>Fiscal Hawk Blocks Train Bill<o:p></o:p></h1>
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<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal>Legislation that would mandate collision-avoidance systems
for trains and boost funding for passenger rail service is being blocked by
Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, one of the Senate's leading fiscal
hawks.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal>In a phone interview, Mr. Coburn said the continuing credit
crisis and the potential for a $700 billion federal rescue plan added to
specific concerns he has over additional spending in the rail package, which
has an estimated cost of about $14 billion over five years.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal>"We're on a short financial leash for at least the next
couple of quarters," Mr. Coburn said. "We have to start doing things
now… that will make a difference for the future."<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal>Transp ortation leaders in Congress reached an agreement
Wednesday on a long-pending package of bills that would provide record levels
of funding for Amtrak, increase the number of federal railroad inspectors and
limit the consecutive hours train crews can work. The package also includes a
mandate for rail operators to equip their trains with collision avoidance
technology that could have prevented the Sept. 12 train crash in California
that killed 25 people.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal>The House passed the legislation on Wednesday night, and
supporters hoped it would clear the Senate by the end of the week. Earlier this
month, Mr. Coburn also blocked a House-Senate conference from ironing out
differences between two Amtrak bills that had passed each chamber by large
margins.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal>Mary Kerr, a spokeswoman for the House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee, said she is still confident that supporters of the
bill can find a way around Mr. Coburn's objections and clear the Senate.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal>"We think there is enough momentum in the Senate to get
this done, and in our view, it would be absurd to hold up a good safety bill in
light of the recent tragedy in California," Ms. Kerr said in an email.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal>A National Transportation Safety Board official said the
California train crash could have been prevented if the commuter train was
equipped with a technology known as "positive train control," or PTC,
which automatically stops trains if they proceed through a stop signal. The
bill being debated in Congress would mandate P TC systems for trains by 2015.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal>While Mr. Coburn said the bill has "a lot of great
reforms," he also said it lacks performance metrics for Amtrak and
contains unacceptable taxpayer subsidies for food and beverage service on
Amtrak trains.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal>"Amtrak loses $2 billion a year subsidizing food,"
Mr. Coburn said. "There are a lot of great reforms in this bill, but
you're missing $2 billion. Nobody's going to not ride Amtrak because a beer
costs a dollar more."<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal>Mr. Coburn also opposes a provision that would steer $1.5
billion to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, saying
passengers and local authorities should fund mass transit operations in the
nation's capital.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><strong>Write to</strong> Christopher Conkey at <a
href="mailto:christopher.conkey@wsj.com">christopher.conkey@wsj.com</a> <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:7.5pt'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
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