AOC, Costa, Markey, Moulton and Gillibrand Build Coalition of 80 Lawmakers in Support of High-speed Rail

Representatives Seth Moulton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Jim Costa and Senators Ed Markey and Kirsten Gillibrand announced 71 Representatives and 4 Senators have joined their efforts to increase funding for high-speed and high-performance rail. The leaders have been circulating a bicameral letter to the committee chairs and leadership of both chambers for the last two weeks.

The broad, 80-member coalition wants Congress to include high-speed rail among the transformational investments outlined in the American Jobs Plan, and they want Congress to invest as much in high-speed rail as it does in road and air travel.

In the letter, the lawmakers said, “With the new administration, we have a generational opportunity to invest in our nation’s infrastructure, and we are grateful for your leadership in ensuring we invest in next generation infrastructure, not just the infrastructure of the past. As negotiations continue to develop around a comprehensive infrastructure package, we write to express our support for the inclusion of dedicated funding to develop international-standard high-speed rail with high-performance connections that feed into a larger network. A federal commitment to these modern and proven transportation systems will dramatically improve our environment, reduce inequity, and help grow cities and sustain vibrant downtowns across the nation.”

The following Senators signed the letter: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR).

The following Representatives signed the letter: Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA), Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX), Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Rep. Donald S. Beyer Jr. (D-VA), Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Rep. Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA), Rep. Julia Brownley (D-CA), Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), Rep. André Carson (D-IN), Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Rep. David N. Cicilline (D-RI), Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO), Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT), Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL), Rep. Sharice L. Davids (D-KS), Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT), Rep. Suzan K. DelBene (D-WA), Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA), Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA), Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL), Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL), Rep. Jesús G. “Chuy” García (D-IL), Rep. Al Green (D-TX), Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT), Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV), Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Rep. Henry C. “Hank” Johnson Jr. (D-GA), Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY), Rep. William R. Keating (D-MA), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Rep. James R. Langevin (D-RI), Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA), Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV), Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA), Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA), Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA), Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI), Rep. Joseph D. Morelle (D-NY), Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), Rep. Scott H. Peters (D-CA), Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Rep. Kathleen M. Rice (D-NY), Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), Rep. Darren Soto (D-FL), Rep. Marilyn Strickland (D-WA), Rep. Thomas R. Suozzi (D-NY), Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA), Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT), and Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA).

In addition to the lawmakers, the letter has been endorsed by the following organizations and individuals: The U.S. High-speed Rail Alliance, the U.S. High-Speed Rail Association; Former Amtrak Vice President of High-Speed Rail and Immediate Past Chair of the APTA High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail Committee Al Engel; Brightline Trains; SYSTRA USA; Building America’s Future; Emeritus Chair of California High Speed Rail Authority and Past Chair of the American Public Transportation Association Rod Diridon; the American Public Transportation Association; The American Train Dispatchers Association; HJI Group Corp; the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers, SEIU; Cascadia Rail; Transportation for Massachusetts; the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen; the Sunrise Movement; National Grid; the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way, Teamsters; the Eugene, Ore. Area Chamber of Commerce; Turner Engineering Corporation; the Rail Passengers Association; the Green New Deal Network; The Railway Supply Institute; the Railway Supply Institute; Former Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx; Progressive Democrats of America; Manufacturing Renaissance; California High-Speed Rail; Dikita Enterprise, INC; and former CEO of the LA Metro and current CEO of Colorado Regional Transportation District Phillip Washington.

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Quincy Thomas

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