NJ’s House delegation: Needs to Co-sponsor HR6003 (Amtrak Reauthorization)
May 22nd 2008 08:06 am
This note was sent by NARP’s Dave Johnson to members on May 21. So far, none of the 41 co-sponsors are from New Jersey, traditionally a very pro-Amtrak state :
A House version of the Amtrak reauthorization bill has been introduced. H.R. 6003, the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act, was approved yesterday by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Railroads Subcommittee and will see full committee action on Thursday.
House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) has indicated that he wants to give H.R. 6003 time on the House floor before the August recess. It will be much easier to get that limited floor time and ensure passage of the bill if there are more co-sponsors.
Currently, there are 41 cosponsors on the bill. Ideally, the bill needs 218 or more co-sponsors (more than half of the chamber). A list of current co-sponsors can be found here on our website.
Contact your House of Representatives member and ask him or her to co-sponsor H.R. 6003! Given continued security screening of physical mail delivered to Congress, we recommend sending a fax or calling your Representative’s office. A sample message is presented at the bottom of this email.
You can find your Representative by visiting http://www.house.gov and putting your zip code in the box at the upper left hand corner of the page.
You may also call NARP’s toll-free Congressional Action Hotline at 1-800-679-1581. When prompted enter NARP’s code: 1189. If you choose to call, be sure do so during normal House business hours, which are generally 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time. Otherwise, you are likely to get a recording saying that the office is closed.
This Action Alert is specifically for House action; do not contact your Senators on this issue (the Senate passed S.294, their version of the Amtrak reauthorization, on October 29 on a 70-22 vote).