WASHINGTON, D.C. — A House committee on Thursday is expected to complete work on a transportation spending bill that could eliminate Amtrak service in Houston and other parts of Texas, and deny the state $13.7 million for repairing flood-damaged roads, the Houston Chronicle reported.
The action is part of a broader attempt by President Bush and House Republican leaders to keep a lid on domestic spending, especially as the United States considers entering an expensive war with Iraq.
The Amtrak provision was proposed by Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky. And members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation — including House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land — signed off on it Tuesday.
The full committee is expected to approve the spending bill for transportation programs on Thursday — the same day Bush will be in Houston raising money for GOP Senate candidate John Cornyn.
Jonathan Grella, DeLay’s spokesman, said the cuts won’t necessarily kill Amtrak service anywhere.
“It leaves the door open for state or local governments to chip in and make up the difference,” Grella said of the committee’s decision to eliminate service wherever the federal subsidy exceeds $200 a ticket. “It also gives (Amtrak) time to find more efficient solutions.”
But cash-strapped states, including Texas, are already expecting to run budget deficits in 2003 and may not be in a position to make up for a federal shortfall in Amtrak’s budget.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, a champion of public transportation, said she will work to make sure the House bill does not prevail.
“I will fight it all the way,” she said. Based on the inequity of Amtrak services nationwide, she said Texas should be in line for better access to long-distance passenger rail, not the other way around.
She also said the bill’s formula, to cut service where subsidies are too high, is unfair because budgetary problems forced Amtrak to announce reductions in service during the summer when ridership should have been at its peak.
Two of Texas’ three Amtrak trains would be affected.
One is the Sunset Limited, which connects Orlando to Los Angeles and makes three stops eastbound and three stops westbound each week in Houston, with a total annual ridership of about 92,000 passengers — roughly 17,000 of whom either get on or off in Houston.
The Texas Eagle, which connects San Antonio to Chicago, also could lose service. Roughly 160,000 passengers ride that train each year.
According to a report to accompany the House transportation spending bill, the Sunset Limited runs at a per-passenger loss of $347.45.
The report encourages states to follow the example of California, which kicked in $65 million to operate Amtrak this year. Overall, between 1998 and 2002, all states have increased their share of Amtrak operating expenses from $83 million to $126 million.
The Houston station, 902 Washington, is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to midnight, closed Saturday and opened Sunday by a caretaker for passenger shelter only, no ticket sales.
It also serves as a bus stop daily for service to and from Longview, where passengers can catch the Texas Eagle and make connections to stops between San Antonio and Chicago.
On March 1, cuts forced staff reductions from seven to two. As a result, the local station no longer handles checked baggage or package express shipment.
Amtrak officials said they expected Texans to resist further reductions in service.
“If they want to do away with (Amtrak), it won’t go quietly,” said Jesse Padilla, customer service manager for the Amtrak office in Austin. “There’s a lot of political and public support here.”
House Democrats on the appropriations committee said they will oppose the committee bill during debate Thursday.
“The Republican efforts to cut Amtrak service would result in a number of major population centers losing their entire access to train transportation,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn, a committee member. “That’s absolutely unacceptable. We (Democrats) will do everything in our power to fight this.”
Also on the House Republican chopping block is funding for the Federal Highway Administration. Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Mike Cox said the state had requested $13.7 million in reimbursements to defray the cost of reconstructing roads severely damaged by summer flooding in Central Texas.
That money would not be available in the 2003 budget year, which begins Oct. 1, if Congress approves highway-funding cuts, say congressional staffers.