Amtrak will restore a second daily round-trip train service between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., as of March 7th, and promises to boost daily trips between Seattle and Portland from four to six come fall, according to a letter sent to the transportation departments of Washington and Oregon.
Rail service across the U.S.-Canada border was suspended in the spring of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with one round trip restored last September. Before the arrival of the once-novel coronavirus, 750,000 people a year took trains between the Northwest’s three largest cities.
The most enthusiastic advocate for restored rail service has been Senator Maria Cantwell, D‑Washington, who just happens to chair the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and championed the bipartisan infrastructure legislation passed by Congress last year. The legislation provided for $66 billion in rail grants, with $22 billion going to Amtrak.
“I’m thankful that Amtrak is finally on the path to fully restore service in the Pacific Northwest,” said Cantwell. “The Interstate 5 corridor in the state of Washington is one of the most congested corridors in the nation and the Cascades service provides a convenient alternative to travelers.”
That’s especially true for those who don’t own a car and would otherwise have to be wholly reliant on intercity bus service from companies like Greyhound.

Two Siemens locomotives in Cascades livery at King Street Station, in Seattle, the week that Amtrak resumed normal schedules after a year of reduced service due to the pandemic (Photo: Andrew Villeneuve/NPI)
Representative Rick Larsen, D‑Washington, is well positioned in Congress’ other chamber as ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and rode part of the northbound route last year as a nudge directed at Amtrak.
“Thanks to bold long term investments in the bipartisan infrastructure law, Amtrak is able to renew and support routes lie Cascades, Empire Builder and Coast Starlight that connect communities like Edmonds, Everett, Mount Vernon, Stanwood and Bellingham in my district to Vancouver, B.C., Seattle, Portland and Eugene,” said Larsen.
The second daily train between Seattle and Vancouver was originally added in anticipation of the 2010 Winter Olympics in the Canadian city, with arm twisting by Governor Chris Gregoire and British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell.
Their successors, Governor Jay Inslee and B.C. Premier John Horgan, promoted the eventual creation of high-speed rail service in the corridor between Vancouver and Eugene, Oregon. NPI’s research last year confirmed support for both constructing high-speed rail and Amtrak Cascades expansion.
At times on the verge of extinction – Republican administrations have sought to eliminate its long-distance routes – Amtrak has prospered under the Biden administration. The transcontinental Empire Builder, running between Seattle and Chicago, was restored to daily service last May.
The American Rescue Plan contained $1.7 billion for Amtrak, allowing restoration of such routes as Empire Builder and the City of New Orleans.
Other rail projects have also prospered. The omnibus spending bill passed by Congress last month, which funds the federal government through September 30, included $583 million to support extending Sound Transit’s light rail system south to Federal Way and north into Snohomish County. It also provided $15 million to made the monorail station at Seattle Center accessible to all riders.
The American Rescue Plan Act and the infrastructure package have also been kind to Washington’s regional airports, including those in places unlikely to vote for Cantwell or Senator Patty Murray, D‑Washington, who has just become chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Pangborn Field, serving Wenatchee, is getting $10 million. There’s just over $1 million for a new terminal at the Moscow/Pullman Airport, plus $150,000 for the airport in Ephrata and $110,000 for the field at Ocean Shores.
All told, Washington airports are getting $38.68 million in grants from the Federal Aviation Administration.
The Portland/Seattle/Vancouver route is renowned for its scenery.
The trains used to run along the waters of South Puget Sound before the Point Defiance bypass reopened. Cascades trains still hug the coastline at the base of Blanchard and Chuckanut Mountains south of Bellingham.
The Empire Builder, on its route east, skirts the south boundary of Glacier National Park and provides access at West Glacier and East Glacier.
Sunday, January 15th, 2023
Last Week In Congress: How Cascadia’s U.S. lawmakers voted (January 9th-13th)
Good morning! Here’s how Cascadia’s U.S. Representatives voted on major issues during the legislative week ending January 13th, 2023.
The Senate was in recess.
In the United States House of Representatives
The House chamber (U.S. Congress photo)
HOUSE RULES FOR THE 118TH CONGRESS: The House on January 9th passed a resolution (H. Res. 5), sponsored by Representative Steve Scalise, R‑Louisiana, to adopt a set of rules governing the House in the 118th Congress.
The rules include ending proxy voting for representatives, time requirements for legislation to be considered before coming to a floor vote, and measures to cut spending. Scalise said of the desirability of a new rules package: “The way that this House has been running for the last few years has not been designed to address the problems of the people across this country.”
An opponent, Representative James P. McGovern, D‑Massachusetts, called the rules an attempt “to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics, attack women’s access to abortion, make it easier for big oil companies to pollute, and interfere in ongoing criminal investigations into President Trump.”
The vote was 220 yeas to 213 nays.
Voting Yea (2): Republican Representatives Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson
Voting Yea (2): Republican Representatives Cliff Bentz and Lori Chavez-DeRemer
Voting Nay (4): Democratic Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, Val Hoyle, and Andrea Salinas
Voting Yea (2): Republican Representatives Dan Newhouse and Cathy McMorris Rodgers
Voting Nay (8): Democratic Representatives Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Derek Kilmer, Pramila Jayapal, Kim Schrier, Adam Smith, and Marilyn Strickland
Cascadia total: 6 yea votes, 12 nay votes
SLASHING IRS FUNDING AND HELPING WEALTHY TAX CHEATS: The House on January 9th passed the Republican-named Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act (H.R. 23), sponsored by Representative Adrian Smith, R‑Nebraska, to cancel additional funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that was included in last year’s Inflation Reduction Act signed by President Biden.
Smith called the IRS “an out-of-control agency that is perhaps most in need of reform” rather than expanded funding to conduct more audits of middle-class families. An opponent, Representative Richard E. Neal, D‑Massachusetts, said the cut, by decreasing tax collections from the wealthy, “is bad for middle-class families, it is bad for small businesses, who are then asked to pay more when the people at the top don’t pay their fair share.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer declared the bill would be dead on arrival in the other chamber.
The vote was 221 yeas to 210 nays.
Voting Yea (2): Republican Representatives Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson
Voting Yea (2): Republican Representatives Cliff Bentz and Lori Chavez-DeRemer
Voting Nay (4): Democratic Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, Val Hoyle, and Andrea Salinas
Voting Yea (2): Republican Representatives Dan Newhouse and Cathy McMorris Rodgers
Voting Nay (8): Democratic Representatives Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Derek Kilmer, Pramila Jayapal, Kim Schrier, Adam Smith, and Marilyn Strickland
Cascadia total: 6 yea votes, 12 nay votes
FORMING A SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMPETITION WITH CHINA: The House on January 10th passed a resolution (H. Res. 11), sponsored by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R‑California, to create a House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.
The select committee would investigate technological and military competition with China, and offer policy recommendations on the matter.
McCarthy called the threat posed by China “an issue that transcends our political parties, and creating the select committee on China is our best avenue for addressing it.” An opponent, Representative Hank Johnson, D‑Georgia, said he feared the committee would be “a platform to unleash anti-Asian hate and division.” The vote was 365 yeas to 65 nays.
Voting Yea (2): Republican Representatives Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson
Voting Yea (5): Republican Representatives Cliff Bentz and Lori Chavez-DeRemer; Democratic Representatives Earl Blumenaue, Val Hoyle, and Andrea Salinas
Voting Nay (1): Democratic Representative Suzanne Bonamici
Voting Yea (9): Republican Representatives Dan Newhouse and Cathy McMorris Rodgers; Democratic Representatives Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Derek Kilmer, Kim Schrier, Adam Smith, and Marilyn Strickland
Voting Nay (1): Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal
Cascadia total: 16 yea votes, 2 nay votes
FORMING A SELECT COMMITTEE TO ADVANCE HOUSE REPUBLICANS’ AGENDA: The House on January 10th passed a resolution (H. Res. 12), sponsored by Representative Jim Jordan, R‑Ohio, to create a Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government on the House Judiciary Committee. The subcommittee would investigate the collection of and use of information on citizens by the CIA, FBI, and other executive branch agencies.
Jordan said the subcommittee’s goal would be to “respect the First Amendment” and the right to free speech and protest and practice religion.
An opponent, Representative James P. McGovern, D‑Massachusetts, called it “a deranged ploy by the MAGA extremists who have hijacked the Republican Party and now want to use taxpayer money to push their far-right conspiracy nonsense.” The vote was 221 yeas to 211 nays.
Voting Yea (2): Republican Representatives Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson
Voting Yea (2): Republican Representatives Cliff Bentz and Lori Chavez-DeRemer
Voting Nay (4): Democratic Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, Val Hoyle, and Andrea Salinas
Voting Yea (2): Republican Representatives Dan Newhouse and Cathy McMorris Rodgers
Voting Nay (8): Democratic Representatives Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Derek Kilmer, Pramila Jayapal, Kim Schrier, Adam Smith, and Marilyn Strickland
Cascadia total: 6 yea votes, 12 nay votes
CRIMINALIZING ABORTION CARE: The House has passed the Republican-named “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act” (H.R. 26), sponsored by Representative Ann Wagner, R‑Missouri, to require healthcare workers to attempt to preserve the life of an infant who has survived an attempted abortion.
Wagner said the requirement was needed “to ensure that every single baby born in the United States receives lifesaving medical care at their most vulnerable moment.” An opponent, Representative Hakeem Jeffries, D‑New York, the Democratic Leader, called the bill part of a Republican effort “to criminalize abortion care, to impose a nationwide ban, to set into motion government-mandated pregnancies.” The vote was 220 yeas to 210 nays.
Voting Yea (2): Republican Representatives Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson
Voting Yea (2): Republican Representatives Cliff Bentz and Lori Chavez-DeRemer
Voting Nay (4): Democratic Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, Val Hoyle, and Andrea Salinas
Voting Yea (2): Republican Representatives Dan Newhouse and Cathy McMorris Rodgers
Voting Nay (8): Democratic Representatives Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Derek Kilmer, Pramila Jayapal, Kim Schrier, Adam Smith, and Marilyn Strickland
Cascadia total: 6 yea votes, 12 nay votes
CONDEMNING ATTACKS ON ANTIABORTION GROUPS AND FACILITIES: The House on January 11th passed a resolution (H. Con. Res. 3), sponsored by Rep. Mike Johnson, R‑Louisiana, to condemn recent attacks on anti-abortion groups and facilities and ask the Biden administration to deploy law enforcement agencies to combat such attacks.
Johnson said: “We condemn violence, property damage, threats, and intimidation tactics, and these clear violations of federal and state laws must be prosecuted.”
An opponent, Representative Jerrold Nadler, D‑N.Y., said the resolution is “a partisan political ploy designed to advance an extreme anti-abortion agenda and is not a serious effort to condemn political violence.”
The vote was 222 yeas to 209 nays.
Voting Yea (2): Republican Representatives Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson
Voting Yea (2): Republican Representatives Cliff Bentz and Lori Chavez-DeRemer
Voting Nay (4): Democratic Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, Val Hoyle, and Andrea Salinas
Voting Yea (3): Republican Representatives Dan Newhouse and Cathy McMorris Rodgers; Democratic Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez
Voting Nay (7): Democratic Representatives Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, Derek Kilmer, Pramila Jayapal, Kim Schrier, Adam Smith, and Marilyn Strickland
Cascadia total: 7 yea votes, 11 nay votes
BARRING STRATEGIC RESERVE OIL FROM BEING SOLD TO CHINA: The House on January 12th passed the Protecting Americas Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act (H.R. 22), sponsored by Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R‑Washington, to bar the Energy Department from selling crude oil stored in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China.
Rodgers said: “Draining our strategic reserves for political purposes and selling portions of it to China is a significant threat to our national security.”
An opponent, Representative Frank Pallone Jr., D‑New Jersey., faulted the bill for not also blocking petroleum reserve oil sales to Russia, North Korea, and other adversaries of the U.S. The vote was 331 yeas to 97 nays.
Voting Yea (2): Republican Representatives Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson
Voting Yea (4): Republican Representatives Cliff Bentz and Lori Chavez-DeRemer; Democratic Representatives Val Hoyle and Andrea Salinas
Voting Nay (2): Democratic Representatives Suzanne Bonamici and Earl Blumenauer
Voting Yea (6): Republican Representatives Dan Newhouse and Cathy McMorris Rodgers; Democratic Representatives Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Derek Kilmer, Rick Larsen, and Kim Schrier
Voting Nay (4): Democratic Representatives Suzan DelBene, Pramila Jayapal, Adam Smith, and Marilyn Strickland
Cascadia total: 12 yea votes, 6 nay votes
LWIC will be on hiatus next weekend
The House has joined the Senate in recess and no votes are expected next week. The House is expected to reconvene for votes on January 24th, 2023.
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# Written by Targeted News Service :: 7:30 AM
Categories: Legislative Advocacy, Series & Special Reports
Tags: Last Week In Congress, U.S. House Roll Call Votes
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