From the Office of Dick Durbin (D-IL)
10/26/2011
ST. LOUIS – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin will hold a news conference to discuss drastic cuts to transportation spending proposed by U.S. House Republicans in their appropriations bill for FY 2012. The House legislation slashes funding for Amtrak by 60 percent and would effectively eliminate all state-supported Amtrak service, including the route from Chicago to St. Louis. The operating cuts would also force Amtrak to eliminate jobs across the country.
The Senate debated its own FY 2012 Transportation Appropriations funding bill last week and is set to vote on the measure following the recess. The legislation would maintain current funding levels for Amtrak and also includes a bipartisan, Durbin-authored amendment that would restore $100 million for high-speed and intercity passenger rail. Last year, construction began on a high-speed passenger rail line from St. Louis to Chicago, the first link in an integrated high-speed rail network across the Midwest.
Durbin will be joined by representatives from Amtrak, the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission, and Southern Illinois University, which has campuses in Alton and Edwardsville, as well as Tom Hoechst, mayor of Alton, Illinois.
DATE: 10/26/2011
TIME: 12:00 PM
LOCATION: Gateway Station (430 S. 15th Street St. Louis, MO)