(The Philadelphia Inquirer posted the following article on its website on July 5.)
PHILADELPHIA — Amtrak, the national railroad threatened with bankruptcy by the Bush administration, has gotten a welcome boost of support from the U.S. House. Now it’s the Senate’s turn to throw it a lifeline.
The House, in a voice vote Wednesday, supported a bare-bones funding level of $1.2 billion for fiscal year 2006. That reprieve came just two weeks after the House Appropriations Committee had followed White House orders to slash Amtrak’s funding in half to $550 million. Transit experts said such a huge cut could bankrupt the railroad, rather than simply limiting its operations to the successfully busy Northeast Corridor.
The House vote smartly follows the thinking of those Americans who understand that maintaining a viable national railroad is an important option in the 21st century.
Skyrocketing gasoline prices due to the growing world demand for oil has created a situation in which Americans whose travel budgets are being hit hard want more transportation options, not fewer.
For many, Amtrak’s interstate railroad system provides that option. It may need to shut down some of the cross-country routes whose passenger numbers make them too costly to continue. But the railroad should not be gutted.
To keep that from happening, voters should put pressure on their state’s senators to make sure enough federal funds are provided to keep Amtrak running. That will likely require at least $1.6 billion, not the $1.2 billion approved by the House.
Amtrak president David Gunn, who has run transit systems in New York, Toronto, Philadelphia and Washington, has implemented tough funding, management and labor consolidation policies. But after a decade of begging and receiving just enough to get by, Amtrak has starved its infrastructure and rolling stock.
Gunn is heartened by the House vote, which he says sends “a strong message” that many of America’s elected officials do believe the national rail system is needed, despite suggestions otherwise by the Bush administration.
Sen. Arlen Specter, (R., Pa.), while aboard an Amtrak train Friday, said he will help lead the effort in the Senate to at least fund Amtrak at the House-approved level of $1.2 billion. Specter said he believes Amtrak can also find more ways to save money without undermining its integrity.
The question for Pennsylvanians is whether their other Republican senator, Rick Santorum, will back up his verbal support for Amtrak with a tough vote against the administration position. Earlier this year, Santorum voted against a budget resolution to fund Amtrak at $1.4 billion.
Bush’s draconian plans to slice-and-dice Amtrak would endanger not only national rail travel but also regional transit systems, such as SEPTA, that depend on Amtrak’s infrastructure for coordinated rail and station connections. Congress should not let that happen.