(The following editorial was posted on the Grand Rapids Press website on September 25)
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — In cutting Michigan’s support for Amtrak, the Legislature’s Republicans have put a needless blotch on what otherwise has been a good piece of work in writing the new state budget.
The Amtrak cut — part of a $3.4 billion transportation budget just sent to Gov. Granholm — drops the annual subsidy from $7.1 million to $6.1 million. The cut comes with a carrot. Lawmakers voted to restore the $1 million if Amtrak moves a big maintenance facility from Indiana to Michigan. That’s nothing but a strong-arm tactic, naive at that. The railroad says it won’t work and that it jeopardizes continued Amtrak service.
Also involved apparently is pique at the fact that many Michigan travelers use Amtrak as a Chicago connection. The attitude most notably is held by Sen. Shirley Johnson, R-suburban Detroit and chair of the panel overseeing the Amtrak funding. Unfortunately, nearly all other Senate Republicans joined her in supporting the $1 million cut in the subsidy for two Amtrak lines. The lone GOP exceptions in a key vote were from Portage and Algonac, cities located along Amtrak’s Chicago-to-Port Huron route.
Where have legislators from Grand Rapids and Holland been through all of this — in Lansing’s sleeper car? The effort put into the Pere Marquette West State communities deserves support from local legislators. The train is on an upward curve, with ridership up by 9 percent this year, 20 percent in 2004. Holland’s Padnos Transportation Center is a fine example of community commitment.
Ms. Granholm favored the $7.1 million, an amount that has been unchanged since 2003, but she has no power to restore it. Only the Legislature can do so, and clearly it should. Michigan needs to build its mass transit services, not tear them down. Backtracking on this budget cut will be a necessary part of that.