(Reuters circulated the following article on July 20.)
WASHINGTON — A Senate appropriations subcommittee proposed a sharp boost in an annual subsidy for Amtrak on Tuesday, approving a record $1.4 billion for the cash-poor railroad.
The rail measure was cleared as part of an annual transportation spending bill for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. The legislation still must be considered by the Appropriations Committee and the full Senate after that.
One lawmaker said he was warned by a senior Bush administration official that a veto threat was possible over the Amtrak money.
Approval by the Senate subcommittee reflected widening congressional support for continued Amtrak subsidies despite opposition from the administration.
The White House proposed no subsidy for Amtrak next year beyond emergency funding, prompting critics to complain the executive branch wants to bankrupt the system and overhaul rail service with less federal support.
The House of Representatives approved more than $1.17 billion for Amtrak in June. Lawmakers also stripped a provision that would force Amtrak to halt its most unprofitable routes, many of which continue to exist because individual lawmakers want them.
Amtrak sought $1.8 billion for the next fiscal year. But David Gunn, Amtrak’s president and chief executive, said the Senate’s proposed $1.4 billion, or 16 percent increase over current funding, would ensure continuation of the rail line’s program to upgrade tracks, tunnels and other parts of its aging infrastructure.
Gunn said the railroad has “held the line” on certain costs and directed more money for capital improvements by cutting expenses, reducing the railroad’s headcount by 20 percent and running additional trains to generate more revenue. Amtrak is slowly returning its high-speed Acela trains to service in the Northeast after a brake disc problem.
But the Transportation Department wants bigger changes, including deeper cost cuts, potential privatization of routes and greater financial participation and oversight by states.
Some reforms were included in the Senate plan, including one that would ban the use of subsidies to cover losses on food and beverage services estimated at $100 million annually.
But Sen. Christopher Bond, a Missouri Republican and chairman of the appropriations subcommittee, said he had been warned by Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta that he would recommend a veto if Congress ignores the administration’s demand for Amtrak reforms.
A spokesman for Mineta, Robert Johnson, would not confirm Mineta’s purported veto threat and said transportation planners were reviewing the Senate bill.