Daily Egyptian Spring 05
Cole to lobby in D.C. for Amtrak
William Ford
Daily Egyptian
Mayor Brad Cole will meet with U.S. Sen. Barack Obama in Washington today to lobby for key changes Cole said can help Carbondale. Cole said he hopes to persuade the Democratic senator that Amtrak is worthy of government funding and also to persuade him to vote for the Clear Skies Act. President Bush proposed cutting Amtrak's funding at the end of this year as a part of his federal budget. If this budget passes, Amtrak will rely on already cash-strapped states for funding.
Cole said Amtrak is important to Carbondale and the state of Illinois in general. He said Amtrak is something on which Carbondale relies, mainly because of SIUC students, many of whom use the trains to go to and from Chicago. "Amtrak is a big issue for the whole state," Cole said. "We need to maintain support for Amtrak. Carbondale needs the access north and south." In addition to keeping Amtrak funding, Cole wants to lobby for passage of the Clear Skies Act. The Clear Skies Act is an updated version of the Clean Air Act, which was created in 1970 to reduce pollution. The new legislation would create specific guidelines for reduced emissions.
On Monday, Cole traveled to Chicago to meet with the Chicago Sun Times editorial board along with representative from the Peabody Cole Company to discuss the importance of the Clear Skies Act. Cole said he supports this act because he thinks it will help coalmines in southern Illinois. Cole said the current emissions regulations set up by the Clean Air Act are unclear, and this has forced many mines to close, putting miners out of work. If the mines were given clear guidelines, Cole said it could potentially double Illinois coal production.
"It puts everybody on a level playing field," Cole said. "This, we think, will allow us to keep coal as an efficient energy source." Obama is on the committee that is voting on whether the bill will be presented before Congress. Cole said this committee is split on the issue and that Obama could be the potential swing vote. Cole said he hopes showing how this legislation could put miners back to work and keep coal more affordable will help persuade the senator to vote for it.
"We're trying to bring attention to that, and we certainly think meeting with Senator Obama is a way to do that," Cole said. On Tuesday morning, Cole will fly to Washington for the meeting and be back in Carbondale in time for the 7 p.m. City Council meeting. At the meeting, Cole plans to talk about his visit.
Last update: Tuesday, March 1, 2005 at 3:22:44 AM
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