It's not just Amtrak
Author: Commenter
Date: 03-19-2017 - 19:55
The proposed budget axes long distance Amtrak trains and:
Community development block grants
The Weatherization Assistance Program
The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program
The National Endowment for the Arts
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Water and Wastewater loan and grant program
Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy
Senior Community Service Employment Program
Occupational Safety and Health Administration training grants
The Global Climate Change Initiative
Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund
The Essential Air Service program
Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grants (TIGER) multimodal transportation
Community Development Financial Institutions grants (local banks and credit unions)
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
Chesapeake Bay Restoration Initiative
Energy Star (the rating of appliance efficiency and such)
Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (find chemicals that interfere with human biology)
NASA Office of Education
Appalachian Regional Commission (improve the economy of one of the poorest areas)
Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board
Corporation for National and Community Service (Americorps)
Institute of Museum and Library Services
U.S. Trade and Development Agency (Promotes exports)
Legal Services Corp (provides legal services to the poor)
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp. (Affordable housing)
U.S. Institute of Peace (conflict prevention)
U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
and 32 others.
The money saved would go to the military.
Since many of these programs were initiated by Republicans and serve red states more than blue there is going to be a whole lot of discussions behind closed doors before things even get to committee.
The long distance Amtrak routes serve the red states more than the blue. If you don't understand that you don't understand how the long distance routes operate. No, you can't replace a train from Chicago to Los Angeles with a plane.
Never a boring moment though...