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t r a n s p o r t t i p s c o n t i n u e d o n t h e h o r n s o f d i l e m m a . S h e h a s n o choice but to enforce the law effective January 1, 2016, unless Congress grants extensions. She will become the target of angry people claiming she is to blame for t h e c h a o s c a u s e d b y t h e s t o p p a g e o f essential rail services, and that will not be fair. Obama Won't Support Extending Deadline President Barack Obama could avoid this showdown by passing HR22, the Drive Bill, which was approved by both Senate and House. Instead, he plans to enforce a deadline for rail operators to install safety technology by the end of the year, despite warnings from railroads including Union Pacific and Amtrak that they can't meet the mandate and would have to suspend some service without an extension. "Congress enacted this law, including the December 31, 2015, deadline, and we believe it is important that the Department of Transportation enforce the law that Congress passed," Frank Benenati, a White House spokesman, said the day after lawmakers released a letter from Amtrak saying it might suspend some passenger service if the delay isn't enacted. This is not the time or the place for get- ting tough, because there is nothing to be gained but chaos and national economic problems. Cracking down with outra- geous fines could eventually bring some railroads to financial weakness without producing any evidence of speedier com- pliance. It is, in fact, a time for Obama to dig into the facts and negotiate an exten- sion rather than allowing the economy to go completely haywire. It could be a won- derful opportunity for him to leave an honorable legacy. 3-year Delay Railroads are asking Congress to allow for a three-year delay to install the sys- tems and another two years before they m u s t b e f u l l y o p e r a t i o n a l , s a y i n g t h e mandate has been expensive and they've faced regulatory delays from agencies including the Federal Communications C o m m i s s i o n ( F C C ) t o g e t i t i n s t a l l e d . Senate legislation would require the sys- tem to be installed by 2018, though not necessarily fully operational. A House b i l l i n t r o d u c e d l a s t m o n t h w o u l d a l s o r e q u i r e i n s t a l l a t i o n b y 2 0 1 8 a n d would lay out provisions for two more extensions. Amtrak this week was the latest rail- road to warn Congress it may halt or delay some service if the December 31 deadline stays in place. While Amtrak said it will have the technology up and running on the track between Washington and Boston that it owns, passenger trains in most of the country run on freight rail tracks. Sen. Thune referred in his letter to HR 22 as a vehicle under which the extension may be granted. The best we can determine about its status is "awaiting passage." If the legislation passes and is approved by Obama, it will extend the December 31 deadline. The hope is that Congress can get this wrapped up by the end of October, 22 www.coalage.com November 2015