093_HJ0030

 
                                     LRB093 11454 DRH 14395 r

 1                       HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS,  In  order  to  ensure  the   safety,   quality,
 3    reliability,   and   efficiency   of   our   country's  vital
 4    transportation network and to preserve our national  defense,
 5    America  needs  a  balanced, integrated transportation system
 6    and the American people need diverse transportation  choices;
 7    and

 8        WHEREAS,  Passenger  rail  is  a  critical component of a
 9    modern multi-modal transportation system and  needs  to  have
10    financial  support, unified policy development, and oversight
11    similar to that  afforded  to  our  air,  highway,  and  mass
12    transit modes, therefore be it

13        RESOLVED,   BY   THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE
14    NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF  ILLINOIS,  THE
15    SENATE  CONCURRING  HEREIN,  that  we  urge  Congress and the
16    President  of  the  United  States  to  fully  institute  the
17    following passenger rail components, which  are  critical  to
18    the future of passenger rail in the United States, within the
19    upcoming reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act for
20    the   21st   Century   (TEA  21)  or  Amtrak  Reauthorization
21    legislation:
22             1. Establish a dedicated, multi-year federal capital
23        funding program for intercity passenger  rail,  patterned
24        after  the  resting  federal  highway,  airport, and mass
25        transit programs.
26             2. Establish, as federal  policy,  a  preserved  and
27        improved  national  passenger rail system - a nationwide,
28        interconnected  passenger  rail  system  that  stimulates
29        higher   levels   of    efficiency,    innovation,    and
30        responsiveness.     Direct     the    Federal    Railroad
31        Administration,  or  another  agency  within   the   U.S.
32        Department  of  Transportation, to - with state and local
33        input - develop, fund, and oversee this federal policy.
 
                            -2-      LRB093 11454 DRH 14395 r
 1             3.  Provide  full  federal  funding  of  Amtrak   to
 2        maintain  the national network during the period that the
 3        new federal plans and policies are being developed. Then,
 4        fully fund implementation of the national passenger  rail
 5        system  -  with  its  new  efficiencies,  innovation, and
 6        responsiveness - in subsequent years; and be it further

 7        RESOLVED, That suitable  copies  of  this  resolution  be
 8    delivered  to  the  president pro tempore of the U.S. Senate,
 9    the Speaker of the U.S. House of  Representatives,  and  each
10    member of the Illinois congressional delegation.