(The following editorial was posted on the Charleston Gazette website on November 25.)
CHARLESTON, WVa. — Much of what’s wrong with the Bush administration can be found in its handling of Amtrak, the nation’s passenger system.
Amtrak embodies a number of things the White House dislikes. It’s federally subsidized and, unlike the airlines, it takes its subsidy up front rather than running aground every couple of years and then begging for federal bailouts.
It has the potential to help Americans decrease their dependence on oil while cutting air pollution. Millions of passengers in the northeast corridor ride its trains rather than clog highways with their cars.
It’s egalitarian, a perfect example of what can be done when public money is used to provide a service that benefits all citizens.
Three years ago, David Gunn took over the faltering service and, much to the administration’s surprise, began turning it around. He made it more efficient, upgraded equipment and straightened out its finances. Passengers came back.
For Amtrak’s board of Bush appointees, bent on privatizing and breaking up the rail service, this was bad news. Their rationale — that Amtrak was a failing enterprise — was being disproved before their eyes.
What to do? Why, fire Gunn, of course. His success was getting in the way of their plans, which included a fire sale to break off the profitable northeastern part of the system and junk the rest.
His dismissal had repercussions. Congress began looking at the board’s actions, exploring whether it acted legally in firing Gunn. A number of positions on the board are unfilled and the action may have been taken without a quorum. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote to the White House asking that Gunn be reinstated until the legality of his firing can be decided. That’s the least the administration can do.
Also, in a bipartisan show of support, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., and Trent Lott, R-Miss., sponsored a bill to provide $11.6 billion for the service over the next six years.
Americans have the worst rail system of any developed country, and Republicans are not the only ones to blame for this. Democratic administrations and majorities in Congress have been complicit in gradually starving the service of funding. But it seems the current administration was intent on dealing the final blow to Amtrak. Gunn was all too successful in beginning to turn it around. He had to go.
Amtrak provides a valuable service to West Virginia. We hope the state’s delegation will join with others in Congress to reinstate Gunn and support his efforts.