Sherrill Fights for Greater Transparency From Amtrak

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) supported passage of the Amtrak Transparency and Accountability for Passengers and Taxpayer Act — legislation that would require Amtrak to release more information to the public about the timing and location of their board meetings, allow Americans to observe their meetings, and produce publicly available minutes. Sherrill has led advocacy to hold NJ TRANSIT and Amtrak accountable for the continued “summers of hell” that New Jersey commuters have endured. She has secured federal grants to begin work repairing the outdated infrastructure that has caused these delays, delivered billions of dollars in federal funding to build the Gateway Tunnel, and pressed Amtrak to improve public access to board meetings.

“Public transit is the lifeblood of New Jersey’s economy and is a key quality of life issue for Garden State families. Yet, for too long, New Jerseyans have not had access to a public transit system they can rely on to get to work on time, pick up their children from day care before it closes, or coach their children’s soccer team. With this commonsense bill, we will be able to ensure Amtrak makes their board meetings available to the public, a key step in ensuring accountability for riders across the state. With NJ TRANSIT operating on Amtrak’s lines, this bipartisan legislation is a critical measure that will help us ensure that Amtrak is using its funding from Congress to make the appropriate improvements across the Northeast Corridor. I urge the Senate to vote on this bill quickly,” said Rep. Sherrill.

Rep. Sherrill has been leading efforts to improve service and hold Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT accountable for recent rail breakdowns. After significant malfunctions caused dozens of delays in June and July, Sherrill led the New Jersey delegation in writing two letters directly to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg demanding answers for service breakdowns and improved transparency between the agency and riders. In direct response to her advocacy, Amtrak has since released a report on their inspection and repair work to address these malfunctions, as well as the additional coordination and maintenance actions that they will undertake moving forward. 

H.R. 8692, the Amtrak Transparency and Accountability for Passengers and Taxpayer Act requires Amtrak's board to notify the public of the time, place, and location of pending Board of Directors meetings; allow for public observations unless closed under an exemption of the Sunshine Act; and, if a meeting is closed for observation, produce a set of publicly available minutes that provide a full and accurate summary of matters discussed and actions taken. 

Since first taking office, Sherrill has brought back billions of dollars in federal funding for Amtrak, NJ TRANSIT, and the Northeast Corridor, including $4.4 billion in COVID relief funding for NJ TRANSIT, $1.1 billion in the FY 2024 budget for Northeast Corridor repairs, $6 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law specifically for Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor to address the maintenance backlog and improve track safety and reliability, and an additional $24 billion for large capital projects on the Northeast Corridor. She also secured an additional $300 million in federal funding to replace the aging catenary wires that have been a major cause of this summer’s malfunctions and complete other critical Northeast Corridor projects.

Sherrill has long championed the Gateway Tunnel Project, which will cut commute times, reduce traffic and air pollution, and bring good-paying union jobs to North Jersey. She led advocacy and voted for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides $66 billion in funding for passenger rail projects, and successfully advocated for a full funding agreement to ensure that the federal government will pay 70% of the project’s cost.

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