Articles tagged “congress”

The 2014 reauthorization bill for Amtrak wouldn't speed up the prospect of high speed rail service along the northeast corridor, but it would at least keep plans on track to make much-needed repairs before trains can start getting faster.

Proponents of the bill are counting on a Senate vote that might not happen, at least until after the November elections. With Senator Menendez's strong opposition to the bill and Senator Rockefeller retiring and under no pressure to move it forward, the bill's future is anything but certain.

The attitude in Congress seems to be: Hey, lets solve the budget impasses by taxing travelers some more. After all, they aren't organized, and we can sneak these new taxes through. But if air travel is a stimulator of the economy, then Congress may be shooting itself in the foot.

Kudos to the house panel for the humor and savvy in leveraging BuzzFeed, but the chairman's opposition to in-flight voice calls is based on pandering and misinformation about a service that has worked without incident on international airlines for years.

Airlines weren't happy with Lautenberg for his advocacy of tarmac-delay rules, but Amtrak, other mass transit groups, and the organized labor that makes tourism and transportation move loved him.

The cruise industry issued its own passenger bill of rights to head off more rigorous measures. Let's see if Congress has the stomach to read the fine print, and to amend the provisions to make them enforceable.

Carnival caved to intense pressure from Washington and its decision to reimburse the government for the Carnival Triumph and Carnival Splendor rescues could serve as a precedent. Carnival and other cruise lines could be getting bills in the mail from the U.S. Treasury for future incidents.

It would be a much more difficult task to bolster passenger rights on board cruise ships than on planes, but the need is no less necessary.