(Hearst Newspapers circulated the following article by Timothy Spence on May 15.)
WASHINGTON — In a sign of more trouble for the Bush administration’s proposal to give the states more responsibility for subsidizing Amtrak, some Democratic and Republican House members have formed a special congressional group to lobby for continued federal support of the passenger rail system.
Organizers of the newly created Rail Passenger Caucus say the federal government needs to provide funds to keep Amtrak trains running and to invest in its neglected infrastructure and equipment.
“We hope to be the catalyst that will perhaps allow solutions instead of just a lot of proposals,” said Rep. Michael Castle, R-Del., an organizer of the caucus.
Amtrak, formally called the National Rail Passenger Corp., was created by Congress in 1970 to replace the network of bankrupt, decaying passenger lines operated by freight railroads.
Amtrak has never succeeded in fulfilling the goal set by Congress that it become a self-sufficient company. Instead, the government has provided $29 billion in subsidies since regular Amtrak service began in May 1971.
Congress approved a $1.2 billion subsidy to keep Amtrak running in 2005, accounting for nearly one-third of its total budget. The rail company is asking the federal government for $1.8 billion in the 2006 fiscal year.
Instead, the Bush administration’s 2006 budget request to Congress eliminates all money for Amtrak, except for $360 million to help commuter rail systems maintain access to tracks now owned or maintained by Amtrak.
In another example of Amtrak’s shaky financial outlook, the Transportation Department’s inspector general said Thursday that Amtrak would run out of money within two weeks of the end of its fiscal year on Sept. 30 if Congress does not continue to fund the cash-strapped railroad.
The goal of the new Rail Passenger Caucus in the House is to create a coalition from both parties to ensure the long-term survivability of the national passenger rail network.
While the caucus does not have the power to shape legislation like a congressional committee, it can provide ideas and build consensus among lawmakers, Castle said.
“If you look at rail, we’re sadly lacking compared to a lot of the rest of the world,” said Castle, adding that the nation’s highway, air and sea transport network “is either pretty much either up there or ahead of the rest of the world.”
Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., another caucus organizer, said keeping a national passenger rail system is a national security issue and pointed out that in days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, Amtrak trains were running while all airplanes were grounded.
“It is an important part of the transportation network in this country,” Fitzpatrick said.
This is the first time that a specific House group was created to consider ways to keep Amtrak running.
Ross Capon, executive director of the National Association of Railroad Passengers and a critic of the Bush administration’s strategy for Amtrak, welcomed the formation of the Amtrak caucus.
“This is the first time this has happened in the House,” Capon said. “Having a bipartisan caucus is a good thing. It becomes another channel of communication between people who have a common purpose.”
Other founding members of the Amtrak caucus are Reps. Rob Andrews, D-N.J., and Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.
Twenty-three other House members have joined the caucus, including Reps. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, Jim McDermott, D-Wash., and Michael McNulty, D-N.Y.
Each lawmaker represents an area with a substantial interest in passenger rail.
Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington accounts for half of the railroad’s business and 60 percent of its ticket revenue, while the states of California, Oregon and Washington have provided significant subsidies for Amtrak.
Amtrak presents a perennial, but also unusual, funding challenge for Congress. Unlike the fuel taxes that motorists pay at the pump and the fees that airline passengers pay to help fund federal services, there are no such sources of revenue that pay for Amtrak.
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, who has called the annual federal operating subsidies “fundamentally irrational,” is leading the Bush administration’s charge to end those subsidies.
Castle scoffs at this approach.
“I can’t believe they were serious that there would really be zero-funding,” Castle said in a telephone interview from Wilmington, Del., adding that the White House plan “was not well thought out.”