(The Associated Press circulated the following article on March 24.)
BOSTON — Gov. Mitt Romney said Wednesday that he and federal transportation officials are “working out of the same book,” but on different pages when it comes to reforming Amtrak.
Romney made his comments at a joint press conference with U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta.
Mineta outlined a plan proposed by Bush to eliminate Amtrak’s operating subsidy and transfer the tracks and stations to state and local control. The plan would pour federal dollars into upgrading the tracks and create a 50 percent federal reimbursement to states for money spent on passenger rails.
The goal is to improve service along the Northeast Corridor by encouraging competition, Mineta said.
“He (Mineta) and I are working out of the same book, maybe a little different page right now, but we are going to keep looking for ways to reform Amtrak,” Romney said. “Clearly the federal government is going to look to the states to pick up a bigger share than we’re going to want to pick up.”
Romney said he is continuing to make the case for rail service improvements to the state’s congressional delegation and the federal government.
A spokeswoman for Romney declined to say whether Romney supported the specifics of Bush’s proposal, but said he wouldn’t back any cuts that would hurt rail service.
U.S. Senators Edward Kennedy and John Kerry strongly oppose the Bush plan.
“What we see again and again from this administration is the call for reform, without the resources to achieve it,” Kennedy said during an Amtrak debate last week. “It doesn’t work in education, and it won’t work with the nation’s passenger rail system.”