On Tuesday night, an Amtrak train spectacularly derailed on its way through Philadelphia, killing at least seven people. On Wednesday morning, a House appropriations subcommittee voted to cut federal funding for Amtrak by about 20 percent. Those are two dots Republicans don’t want you to connect.
“Don’t use this tragedy in that way,” Rep. Mike Simpson is quoted in a POLITICO article as saying, after Democrats on the appropriations subcommittee for transportation and housing criticized Republicans for proposing and eventually approving the cuts.
The vote took place before news reports that the train may have been going around a curve at speeds of about 100 miles per hour when the derailment occurred. If those reports had surfaced earlier, the Republican objections to linking budget cuts to the derailment would likely have been much louder.
Read more from Moyers & company.
Related News
- Union Mourns the Loss of Brother Charles Harrison
- FRA Issues Grade-Crossing Safety Advisory
- Amtrak To Give SMART-TD Members Holiday Bonuses
- Value of Unions
- 2026 Railroad Retirement and Unemployment Insurance Tax Changes
- SMART-TD Members on UP Properties Ratify Five-Year Agreement
- Railroader’s Son to Perform at Carnegie Hall
- Rail Trespassing and Suicide Fatalities Up 70%
- Help the McLucas Family After Fire Destroys Their Home
- SMART-TD’s Chris Smith Wins City Council Seat in Tama, Iowa