(The Associated Press distributed the following article on July 15.)
WASHINGTON — A House subcommittee voted Thursday to provide a modest increase for highway construction while giving Amtrak half the money the passenger railroad says it needs to survive next year.
Lawmakers included the money in a $90 billion measure, approved by voice vote, financing the Transportation and Treasury departments next year. The bill includes an amendment by Rep. John Culberson, R-Texas, barring American banks from accepting as identification a document the Mexican government issues to Mexicans in the United States.
The overall bill, approved by the House Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee that oversees Transportation and Treasury, is $1 billion more than President Bush requested and $500 million below this year’s level.
Amtrak, which is constantly struggling to stay afloat financially, would get $900 million. That is $300 million less than Congress provided for this year and half the $1.8 billion the carrier requested for its operations and overhauling its equipment.
The Senate has yet to write its version of the measure. In the past, Amtrak had ended up with extra funds by the time House-Senate bargainers wrote compromise legislation.
The bill would also provide $34.6 billion for highways, $1 billion more than Bush wanted and $1 billion more than this year’s total.
House-Senate bargainers are trying to craft a compromise highway and mass transit bill that would set spending parameters for the next six years. The White House has threatened a veto if the product exceeds the $256 billion, six-year total it prefers.
The Culberson amendment, approved on a 9-7 party-line vote, would prevent banks from accepting the matricula consular identification card Mexican consulates issue to Mexicans in this country. By curbing its use, he said, his proposal would make it harder for terrorists to use the documents to enter the United States.
Rep. Ed Pastor, D-Ariz., said the card is useful for Mexicans sending money home and questioned how effective Culberson’s proposal would be.