(The following article by Kathryn A. Wolfe was posted on the Congressional quarterly website on November 4.)
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday added to its deficit-reduction package provisions that would fund and restructure Amtrak, the nation’s passenger rail service.
The reauthorization language, sponsored by Trent Lott, R-Miss., was added as an amendment to the budget package after the Senate waived its budget rules on a 93-6 vote. Amtrak proponents said they had to add the language to the budget package because of a veto threat on another bill.
The White House has threatened to veto the fiscal 2006 Transportation-Treasury-Housing bill if lawmakers insist on keeping the bill’s $1.45 billion in funds for Amtrak without overhauling the system.
“Because the administration has indicated it will not support any funding for Amtrak this fiscal year unless Congress enacts Amtrak reforms, it is imperative for the Congress to make its voice heard on Amtrak,” Lott said.
The Senate action came on the heels of a Government Accountability Office report released Thursday suggesting that Amtrak’s lack of a “meaningful strategic plan” and measurable corporate goals has hampered its effectiveness.
Lott’s $12 billion bipartisan bill would reauthorize Amtrak through 2011.
Of that sum, about $3.3 billion would go toward operating the system – which Lott said would be a cut of about 40 percent from Amtrak’s current yearly operating subsidy. Another $6.3 billion would go toward grants to Amtrak and interested states for capital improvements. The measure also would authorize $1.6 billion to pay back Amtrak’s high-interest debt.
In a concession to the White House, the measure would allow states to petition Amtrak to let them or another entity take over money-losing long-distance routes. It also would allow freight rail companies to bid on Amtrak routes that use freight lines’ tracks.
The measure would, for the first time, give the Surface Transportation Board the authority to levy penalties against freight railroads for not giving Amtrak trains priority on its tracks – a situation that often creates passenger train delays.
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved Lott’s reauthorization bill on July 28. That measure originally included a plan for the passenger rail service to use $13 billion in bonds. But the language added to the budget bill does not include any suggestions on bonding. A Senate Democratic aide said this was because the Senate Finance Committee would have had to approve the actual mechanism for issuing the bonds, which the panel has not yet done.
It is unclear whether the Amtrak language in the budget bill will mollify the administration. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta has said Lott’s reauthorization bill, while “thoughtful,” does not go far enough to solve Amtrak’s problems. However, he has not said whether Lott’s plan would be enough to silence calls for a veto.