(The following article by Ana Radelat was posted on the Jackson Clarion-Ledger website on July 29.)
WASHINGTON — It may be late in the congressional year, but a bill sponsored by Sen. Trent Lott that’s aimed at keeping Amtrak from losing most of its federal subsidies appears to be moving quickly through the Senate.
The bill was approved by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Thursday, the day after Lott and co-sponsor Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., introduced it.
The proposal would cut Amtrak’s operating subsidies, but would increase the amount the federal government gives Amtrak to keep up its rails, cars and other machinery.
The Bush administration wants to cut all subsidies for the passenger rail service because it has operated mostly in the red.
But Lott and other lawmakers say it would be hard for Amtrak to attract enough private financing to make up for all the subsidies. He’s also said it would be very difficult to win private investment in the company’s long-distance routes.
Three of those long-distance routes cut across Mississippi. The City of New Orleans comes from Chicago and cuts through Jackson, the Crescent runs from the Northeast to New Orleans, stopping in Meridian, and the Sunset Limited runs along the state’s Gulf Coast as it goes from California to Florida.
Lott’s bill would restructure Amtrak’s debt, now about $1.7 billion. It also would require the company to provide periodic performance reports on some of its long-distance lines.
“Amtrak as an organization must change culturally to think and run more like a business,” Lott said. “That is why our bill requires Amtrak to develop much better financial systems and be held accountable for its use of federal funding.”
Amtrak President and CEO David Gunn said the company has made progress in the last few years toward operating more efficiently. But he welcomed the legislation.