Letter with 35 Senate Signatures - February 14, 2005

Please note: this letter was completed in a short timeframe. If you do not see your Senator's name on this list, do not automatically assume that your Senator is anti-Amtrak. Contact your Senator and inquire as to why they did not sign. Many were not able to get in under the tight deadline. If they express concern about not being able to sign, suggest that they issue a pro-Amtrak press release.

Please note: The letter is addressed to Senators Judd Gregg (R-NH) and Kent Conrad (D-ND). They will not sign the letter as it is addressed to them.

Text of 2005 letter to Senate Budget Leaders

Dear Senators Gregg and Conrad:

We are writing to express our deep concern regarding the President's proposed elimination of funding Amtrak in his 2006 Budget proposal. At a time when Amtrak is setting ridership records and congestion at our airports and on the highways continues to increase, we believe it would be a grave mistake to cut the essential federal funds that keep Amtrak operating. Without such funds or other intervening action, Amtrak would quickly enter bankruptcy and shutdown of all Amtrak services, leaving millions of riders and thousands of communities without access to the essential and convenient transportation that Amtrak provides.

Therefore, we ask that you provide sufficient funding in the Fiscal Year 2006 Budget Resolution to sustain Amtrak's national network of passenger rail service. Amtrak's 5-year Strategic Plan, which was approved by Amtrak's Board of Directors on June 10, 2004, specifies that approximately $1.8 billion will be required for fiscal year 2006 to provide safe and efficient operation of the railroad. In addition, the most recent reauthorization proposal from the Administration would require a funding level of at least $1.5 billion for fiscal year 2006, according to the Department of Transportation Inspector General.

Where Amtrak service is available, Americans ride the train and are doing so in record numbers. Despite a sluggish domestic travel industry, Amtrak carried more than 25 million passengers nationwide.

If Amtrak had the same opportunity to receive Federal infrastructure investments as highway and aviation interests, with a federal match comparable to funds available to those modes of transportation, many more communities would avail themselves of passenger rail service.

Amtrak has made real progress reforming itself over the last few years by reducing its operating costs to help fund needed capital improvements. Over the last 30 months, Amtrak CEO and President David Gunn has cut operating costs, reduced the employee headcount from slightly less than 25,000 to just under 20,000 employees, has increased the number of trains it operates by 20%, and implemented internal reforms designed to control costs and improve efficiencies. Amtrak's core operating expenses are now less than they were in 2000.

There is an enormous amount of work needed on the infrastructure, fleet and equipment Amtrak owns and operates. Amtrak cannot continue to defer this important work without jeopardizing safety and reliability of its operations or putting at risk service that is relied on by hundreds of thousands of commuter and intercity passengers each day. Please consider our request for adequate funding for Amtrak in preparing the FY 2006 Budget Resolution.