Here is the conversation I had with Wes in Lauren's Hager's office today. The Amtrak funding issue has not been resolved and will probably continue right up to the budget deadline which is September 30, or in this case maybe Sept. 29.
The bill is in the Senate right now and that's all we know.
Nobody knows what Senator Johnson will propose, but they think she will do something since she is very anti-Amtrak. They don't know if she will present a substitute to include AMTRAK; not to include AMTRAK; or eliminate AMTRAK. (I guess that covers everything).
The House will meet this Wednesday, Sept. 22 and its unlikely that the issue will get settled. Its a guess that it probably won't get settled, but you never know what might happen because things are unpredictable in the legislature. If it gets settled on Sept. 22, then it will not be necessary for us to attend on Sept. 29, but
we have to wait and see what will happen on Wednesday. So right now Sept. 29 is a scheduled tentative date for a House session.
The House will meet again on Wednesday, Sept. 29 at 10:00 a.m. at the Capital. The whole House will be in session on Sept 29. This is not a conference, but a session.
It is suggested that constituents, passengers, employees, friends, and everybody, in-state and out-of-state, who support this train and show up at the whole House session which right now is tentatively scheduled for September 29 at 10:00 a.m. at the Capitol. Since the whole House will be meeting, it is felt that it is critical for the masses to show up at this session. It was mentioned that we really need a big showing to get the message across to the House members who will be voting on this issue on that day.
It was explained to me that while the public is not allowed in the session, the public can be outside the room and can send messages into the room while they are in session and ask questions. (MATT: We need to really stress the importance of being there, even if we can't speak directly to them while they are in session but they will see us there and they will be able to hear us - and we can send them notes telling them to vote for the bill). Wes will give me more details later about what we need to say and how we will do it once we get down there.
We will have to emphasize - voting for the bill - keeping the train - and needing the train. We can continue to contact our legislators, but the feeling is that our presence is what's going to make the difference with these politicians in saving Amtrak. Calling or emailing is not going to be enough.
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