Passenger Trains > Congress Requesting Information about VP Biden's Campaign Train

While I'm sure this is all politics I wonder if there was a great deal Amtrak passed onto VP Biden and how the rates they charged differs from the rates they charge to Private Rail Cars or to tour companies who want to charter an entire train.  The part about interferrring with transport of pandemic supplies is hogwash which shows the politics around this request.
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Four Republican Congressmen have sent a letter to Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn questioning whether the September campaign train of Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden “redirected Amtrak’s scarce resources” and interfered with freight-train operation, and requesting — by the day before the Nov. 3 presidential election — details on what the train cost Amtrak to operate and what the Biden campaign paid Amtrak for the operation.The letter expresses concern that “the apparent use of a struggling, resource-deprived, publicly-run service for political gain does not serve the best interests of Amtrak or the American taxpayers at this time” and that it may have been given operating preference over freight trains, which “have proven essential and resilient in transporting essential goods, including medical supplies and personal protective equipment “ during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other questions, it asks if passengers on the train purchased tickets, how many Amtrak employees were taken off their regular duties to staff the charter, and documents spelling out Amtrak policies for political charters and how the Biden train remained in compliance with those charters. 

And those are all fair questions.

Whatever the cost and inconvenience, it can't compare to the cost of Trump's use of Air Force One for his campaign sorties.

 

Like many in the West Wing do with Trump's requests,  just ignore these politicos and it will go away.

wjpyper Wrote:
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> Whatever the cost and inconvenience, it can't
> compare to the cost of Trump's use of Air Force
> One for his campaign sorties.

Two to three Air Force One flights can cost a year's worth of Presidential salary, based on a 2012 article I found. Many on TO refuse to read between the lines, so I'll explictly say that I picked the year 2012 on purpose. In a nutshell, it's one of the undiscussed privileges for the sitting President, which has no party bias.

There's a pettiness to nitpicking the Biden's Amtrak Special, but if the finger points at Amtrak management instead of the candidate, I'm all for it. For example, Flynn panics and fires some of his subordinates. :-)
 

wjpyper Wrote:
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> Whatever the cost and inconvenience, it can't
> compare to the cost of Trump's use of Air Force
> One for his campaign sorties.
>
>   

Amen to that.  Ever been on a train being held for a President or Vice President flying into a city or going by in a caravan?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/21/20 14:57 by RS11.

In 2018, Republican Congressional representatives chartered a train to a Republican retreat in West Virginia.  I do not recall anyone questioning Amtrak or those Congressional representatives for that special move.

cchan006 Wrote:
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> Two to three Air Force One flights can cost a
> year's worth of Presidential salary, based on a
> 2012 article I found. Many on TO refuse to read
> between the lines, so I'll explictly say that I
> picked the year 2012 on purpose. In a nutshell,
> it's one of the undiscussed privileges for the
> sitting President, which has no party bias.

Does the President have an option of not using Air Force One (i.e. the 747)?  Don't think so.
 

RuleG Wrote:
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> In 2018, Republican Congressional representatives
> chartered a train to a Republican retreat in West
> Virginia.  I do not recall anyone questioning
> Amtrak or those Congressional representatives for
> that special move.

That one had a nasty grade-crossing accident. They don't want to be reminded, but they have opened themselves up for criticism. 

I believe presidents must pay the costs of AF One political flights.
Presidents have been using trains for decades, this is just petty politics.

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

RS11 Wrote:
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> wjpyper Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Whatever the cost and inconvenience, it can't
> > compare to the cost of Trump's use of Air Force
> > One for his campaign sorties.
> >
> >   
>
> Amen to that.  Ever been on a train being held
> for a President or Vice President flying into a
> city or going by in a caravan?


Well he is the president, he gets the right to use Air Force One and if it is a campaign event he has to reimburse the tax payers. Joe is a private citizen, so he has not earned those privileges.

Posted from Android

RuleG Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In 2018, Republican Congressional representatives
> chartered a train to a Republican retreat in West
> Virginia.  I do not recall anyone questioning
> Amtrak or those Congressional representatives for
> that special move.


Did they pay the proper price?

Posted from Android

Who was the last President to use a train for campaigning?


MojaveBill Wrote:
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> I believe presidents must pay the costs of AF One
> political flights.
> Presidents have been using trains for decades,
> this is just petty politics.

Jerry Martin
Los Angeles, CA
Central Coast Railroad Festival

GP25 Wrote:
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> Who was the last President to use a train for
> campaigning?
>
>
> MojaveBill Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I believe presidents must pay the costs of AF
> One
> > political flights.
> > Presidents have been using trains for decades,
> > this is just petty politics.
i remember Clinton

Of course his campaign paid for the train.  Team Trump apparently is getting desperate.  From the Post: 

"...in its disclosures to the Federal Election Commission, the Biden campaign reported spending $265,000 on the train charter. Amtrak says that the starting rate for a charter is $30,000, and that no discount was given. “We can’t provide the cost, but can share that we did make money, as we aim to do for any charter,” Amtrak said in a statement.A Biden campaign spokesman dismissed the allegations, saying that “anyone can charter a train with Amtrak...”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/10/21/house-republicans-push-inquiry-into-bidens-use-amtrak-trip-through-ohio-pennsylvania/

ts1457 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> cchan006 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Two to three Air Force One flights can cost a
> > year's worth of Presidential salary, based on a
> > 2012 article I found. Many on TO refuse to read
> > between the lines, so I'll explictly say that I
> > picked the year 2012 on purpose. In a nutshell,
> > it's one of the undiscussed privileges for the
> > sitting President, which has no party bias.
>
> Does the President have an option of not using Air
> Force One (i.e. the 747)?  Don't think so.
>  

Yes he does have options. He doesn't have to fly on the 747 (aka VC-25A), there's also the 757's (VC-32A) that the Vice President usually flies on.
For his trips to the smaller airports like John Wayne in Orange County, CA and his recent trip to Pennsylvania, they flew him on a 757. Still get's the callsign Air Force 1 though.

And how much of the cost of the planes for Trump and Pence is fully reimbused by the Republican National Party.   Both parties should pay the full costs.

Standing presidents have always and always will have use of AIr Force One for whatever they desire. No nit picking there.

Wurli1938 Wrote:
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> And how much of the cost of the planes for Trump
> and Pence is fully reimbused by the Republican
> National Party.   Both parties should pay the
> full costs.

If the visit has a component of official business and a rally, and most do, there's a formula for allocating the official and political costs.  The party pays for non-government people on board, I believe.

The Secret Service pays rack rate for full year space at Mar-a-Lago, Trump Tower, Bedminster, etc. Something like 11 different locations where they need to have a presence.

dcfbalcoS1 Wrote:
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> Standing presidents have always and always will
> have use of Air Force One for whatever they
> desire. No nit picking there.

And that's fair. As long as the campaign pays for campaign expenses and the taxpayers pay for business related expenses.