Funeral services are scheduled for today and later this week for the victims from the amtrak crash. New questions this morning on what caused the amtrak train to derail. This is also the part of the larger debate on americas infrastructure. Do you support or oppose more Infrastructure Spending . If you support more spending 202 7488000. If you oppose, 202 7488001. You can also join in on the conversation on our Facebook Page, facebook. Com cspan. Send us an email, journal cspan. Org. Or send us a tweet, cspanwj. Good sunday morning to you. This is the headline from todays philadelphia inquirer, suddenly there was darkness and chaos. Jumping the tracks just outside the 30 street station in philadelphia. We want to get your comments and calls. First, the president who spoke about infrastructure last thursday. Here is what he had to say. [video clip] president obama we should not be thinking smaller today, we should be thinking bigger in this Global Economy. My hope is that we have a chance to have a serious discussion and look at all potential revenue sources. What is actually true is that the Highway Trust Fund has consistently gotten smaller smaller, and smaller and inadequate for the needs. What is also true is that patchwork approaches do not make any sense. We need some sort of longterm solution. Host the president as he spoke about Infrastructure Spending. This came in the same week in which the Vice President and secretary foss, even before the amtrak crash, filed for a new highway spending bill. Also, some talking about increasing the gas tax. It has not been raised since 19 i three, during the first year of the Clinton Administration. Inside the Washington Post is this the federal Railroad Administration has ordered immediate rail improvements in the northeast corridor, including the site of last weeks deadly derailment. An automatic brake system had been installed, but not for the new york bound trains, such as the one that jumped the track on tuesday. Amtrak said it will have the Safety System installed in both directions at the sharp curve, by the end of the weekend. The Passenger Rail line said in a statement that it will complete installation of the system that will ensure trains from the west approach the curb. Although the precise cause of the derailment has not been determined, the new safety requirements stem from initial findings federal officials said. We will get to your calls and comments on Infrastructure Spending. You support or oppose more spending for americas infrastructure . There is a related story on all of this on the front page of the New York Times a comparison to former Governor Brown and current Governor Brown. The piece focuses on Infrastructure Spending across california and the problems that that state is now facing with regard to the water shortage. Again, pat brown used water to feel a burning state, and his son lost california is much different. Withlets get your calls on more Infrastructure Spending yes or no. Do you support a . Caller no, i do not support it. I cannot hear you. I support the spending, but i oppose the way that they are probably going to fund it, which is through a gas tax. I have seen how it works out here in iowa. What they are going to do raise the gas tax they built more roads to maintain. Roads that they cannot really afford in the first place. That is how i feel about it. Host is not a gas tax, how do you pay for a . Caller i do not know. I would say, for instance, with amtrak in the northeast corridor , they are going to have to figure out another way to pay for that, not through the gas tax. Why should i as a person living in a rural state where cars are absolutely necessary, why should i have to pay for the northeast corridors mode of transportation . Which i think, rationally, that is the one place where it works and they need it, by should not have to pay that through the gas tax in a state where gasoline is already very expensive. And partly, mainly really, the state subsidizes ethanol, which is a deadend, in terms of the environment. Host let me go back to my earlier question, who pays for a . How do you determine what you pay for in iowa and what someone may pay in york or philadelphia . Caller i think for the northeast corridor, they will have to pay for it for themselves. Host who is they . Caller the people who live there and the people who use amtrak. Host we want to hear from you whether or not you support or oppose more Infrastructure Spending. We have divided the phone lines. 202 7488000 for those who support more Infrastructure Spending. Those who oppose it, 202 7488001. You can also sends a tweet at cspanwj. We are being joined from aurora, colorado. Good morning, caller. Caller how are you . Host fine, thank you. Caller i support the ever structure spending, and i have for probably 10 years. These roads we are not talking about little potholes. Were talking more like sinkholes. And the bridges are falling down. We have not really had a big Infrastructure Spending that i can recall for half of my life. And i am in my 50s. Host read from colorado. Steve has this point. Why spend money on infrastructure that could go to another war that we cannot win . Joining in on the conversation by sharing his thoughts on our twitter page. Also, you can comment on our Facebook Page, facebook. Com cspan. Noah says, support steve says, support, it is our future, plus a creates jobs. Mark says, i am in support. Nathan says, i support it, it benefits everyone. Next is joining us is rick joining us from florida. How are you . Caller good. I very much support Infrastructure Spending. I think it is about time that we quit giving so much money to the pentagon for defense spending. When we have generals and admirals who tell us that they do not even need the money, they dont need the ships, they dont need the tanks, they dont need the drones. We also spend way too much money supporting countries that hate us. What we should be setting money on our our roads are our roads, and an updated rail system. When it comes to how it should be paid for, i think we need to start making the companies, who have moved overseas, pay higher tariffs to sell their products here and just for once, these Large Companies need to maybe take a hit on their bottom line. We need to tax them more. It is absolutely ridiculous that they do not pay their fair share , and their Companies Use our roads, and our railways to move our products along. Instead, they keep putting money in the pockets of politicians that stick their head in the sand, like john boehner, that want to say, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the railways. He was just going twice the speed limit that is besides the point when we know that we are far behind the world. Host thank you for the call. You mentioned to be good john mader. This is what he said last week when he was asked a question on rail spending. He said it was a stupid question. We will get to that in just a moment. Bill says, steve starts asking for examples, you know, location and state. From forbes what caused the u. S. The fall so rapidly in infrastructure rankings . Joan from buffalo, new york, good morning. Caller good morning. Im confused why the question is even being asked. The fact of the matter is bridges have to be maintained. Roads have to be maintained. The longer we wait, the more it will cost. What is alternative . Let the bridges fall down . Let the roads go unrepaired . Im not sure why people would dispute whether or not we need to maintain order for structure. Aside from that, we are more vulnerable to terrorism. That is one thing about a democracy. Everyone in the world, everybody in the world, with a homemade bomb, there goes the bridge. Like i said, im not sure why this is even a discussion. Thats russian the discussion could maybe be how do we pay for it. Host let me go back to an earlier caller who says he opposes any increase in the gasoline tax. It was last raised back in 1993. The obama in administration is calling for an increase in the gas tax. Also, cars are more fuel efficient. Caller welcome to america. Welcome to democracy. Freedom costs. Access costs. Where you can travel 3000 miles across this country, you do not need a visa or passport. It is ridiculous. Somebody has to pay to maintain it. I do not even get that question. Do we require if it requires the gas tax, then it requires the gas tax. If there is some other creative way to finance it like a said, im not a mature why i heard the gentleman from the midwest saying why should we pay for the gas tax for people in the northeast. Again, welcome to america and democracy. Host joan, thank you for the call. From inside the Washington Post a firsthand account of what happened on tuesday evening. As train 188 jumped the track more than 200 injured. Another viewer saying that i will not support Infrastructure Spending until corrupts public unions are abolished. We will go to john, joining us next from florida. Good sunday morning to you. Thank you for being with us. Caller good morning. Im glad that you are being nicer to people than you used to be host . Host what is that supposed to mean . I wasnt nice to people before . Caller i am a longterm listener and you use the flat people around more. Used to flat people around more. Host i thought i was the nicest present television. Go ahead. Caller i actually oppose any more government spending. I think they should have tax breaks for utilities. Like down here florida, if you could get rid of all these powerlines and put them underground, that would be a good use of money. If you would give utilities a tax break and let them manage the money, instead of the government ripping everyone off, i think it would work out a lot better. Host john from florida. Thank you for the call. Monti has this point on her twitter page saying close one or two of the 200 bases around the world and fix our train system and infrastructure. From New York Post reverend al sharptons daughter once 5 million from the city. A congressman struggling to explain some campaign money, in part because of a package put together by his family. The house of representatives and federal commission looking into that. From Boston Sunday Globe we cann choose to remember what made a strong. Our next caller joining us from honolulu, hawaii. Caller i support the measure to move forward with every structure spending. I am not so much worried with the spending or where were going to get the money from. Im more worried about what we are going to do as the government to spend the money wisely, and make sure that planning and more planning is put into place so that in turn in the future, we will have more longterm stability, whereas we do not need to come back to of researchers many again and spending a large amount. Host thank you for the call. I mention the story on the front page of the New York Times about californias water problem. This is a common sight in california as homeowners are literally ripping up the lawns and replacing them with plants and other things that do not require a lot of water. Homeowners ripping up lush lawns as the drought threatens to permanently altered the landscape. Also on the front page u. S. Raid into syria kills Islamic State figure. The details of what happened no u. S. Casualties, and no civilian casualties as well. Randy is joining us from south carolina, as we focus on americas Infrastructure Spending. Do you support or oppose more money . Caller oppose more money. I agree, we need the infrastructure rebuilt but doesnt this president didnt this president just get trillions of dollars in stimulus that was supposed to take care of this . Maybe if the democrats quit paying off their buddies and use the money for what it is and tended for, intended for, or maybe we could confiscate congresses salary. Host a similar thought on our twitter page didnt we already spend one trailer dollars 1 trillion and remember those not so shovel ready jobs . The chair of common good pointing out that the deadly derailment on tuesday is just another symptom of congresses refusal to address the infrastructure. While the cause of the crash is not yet determined, it is still being investigated, even engineer error may have been avoided if amtrak had implemented the positive train control. Mark is joining us from ohio. Good morning. Caller thank you for cspan. Excellent show. Best one on tv. Every american should watch the show, and you would learn how your brothers and sisters in the country feel about topics like this. You get a little bit more truth and light shined on. I support the Infrastructure Spending. All the money to be obtained from the military easily. They spent 500 for screwdriver we could certainly afford to get some of that money. Here in ohio, they resurfaced state route 306 two years ago and is already falling apart. There was no engineering done whatsoever. You keep raising it up higher and higher, you have to put something on the sides. They waste the money they remove the shoulder, it is more dangerous. They dont put signs of saying, no shoulder. It is ridiculous. You are spending all this money and tax dollars on schools which is unconstitutional and you look at the road outside your house, and it is falling apart. Host your final thought . Caller thats it. Thank you. Host thank you and thanks for watching cspan. From government executive, this is the headline americas every structure crisis is really a maintenance crisis. We build even though our pot of road funding requires increasingly Creative Solutions to remain anything but empty. Next is george from knoxville, tennessee. Good morning. Caller good morning. I called in on the oppose line, not because i am opposed to maintain the infrastructure, or even building new infrastructure, but the problem i have is twofold. The term infrastructure has become a political was word. Buzz word. Until you to find specifically what you are talking about, you cannot really deal with it. Secondly, the country has an 18 trillion debt. We tried spending on infrastructure, and that was wasted recently. The states generally have a great deal of responsibility in maintaining their highways, and to use this accident and philadelphia, the train accident , for emphasizing infrastructure, i think is an aberration. We do not know what caused that. The money was available to play in the controls, amtrak is a government organization, currently being mismanaged. I generally think we should maintain our infestation but it should not all come down on the federal government, unless we are willing to give up some other sources of expenditure. We cant have everything. Host george from knoxville, tennessee. Michael on her twitter page how much money that goes to Infrastructure Spending is spent on Administration Costs and permitting . Next is bought from philadelphia. You are front and center with all of this with the amtrak train crash in your community. Caller excuse me . Host i said you are front and center with the train crash last week. Caller yes, we are. I called in on the opposed line because of the simple reason that the government is incompetent and run by morons. This is not a democrat or republican issue. This is an everybody issue. Listen up. This came out from the social security, the inspector general. They did an audit on everyone on social security. Out of all the people, 500,000 of them are at the age of 112 or older. This is why im saying that art government is moronic. This is the easiest fix. All you do is stop payment on the checks. The people who come forward there are legitimate, you give it to them. This is a simple fix that would not cause a lot of money but would say was probably millions. This is why i am so opposed to this. People need to get on the phone and demand that they fix this by stuffing the checks stopping the checks. We need to come together and fix this one problem before they spend anything else. Look at all these things, the people who did not go to jail for that global thing earlier. This is so out of hand, and out of control. We, the people, can fix this. Im so frustrated. All we have to do the guy was going twice this be. A had nothing to do with infrastructure. Plus, the cars, they screw stones at him threw stones at him, or something happen. Host that is part of the investigation. According to the New York Times that is a common problem in philadelphia. If youre just too many and or listening on cspan radio, we are vocus thing on more Infrastructure Spending. We have divided our lines between those who support and those who oppose more spending. The front page of the Des Moines Register by e, dave, as David Letterman steps down from the tonight show. Also, iowa gop audience the lights and bounty of choices. The full story is available online. The lincoln dinner winner is not the person you would expect the Des Moines Register pointing out that the person who kept everyone running on time with tim albright, making sure that everyone spoke for 10 minutes or less. [video clip] rand paul we are having the debate on if the iraq war was a mistake . Was a a good idea . Would we do it again . It is a valid question. Not because we are talking a history, but we are talking of the middle east where history repeats itself. It seems to repeat itself. We have the question, is iraq more stable or less stable since Saddam Hussein is gone . Is there more chaos or less ch