Hotline #896 - September 22, 1995

The conference committee to reconcile the two versions of H.R.2002, the 1996 transportation appropriations bill, was delayed in meeting this week because Chairman Hatfield (R.-Ore.) of the Senate was sick. They were able to meet yesterday, but did not finish, and plan to finish on September 27. That will be the earliest we hear about final funding levels for Amtrak.

The Amtrak board meets in the coming week and was hoping to have some appropriations numbers to use for approving a budget for Amtrak for 1996. In any event, those numbers will be tight and there already have been credible reports that the Pioneer is in danger. Also, it is planned to have a new Viewliner sleeping car available for inspection by the board.

At long last, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee yesterday approved H.R.1788, the Amtrak reauthorization bill, on a unanimous voice vote. It is the substitute bill that was withdrawn suddenly on August 2. It provides an arbitration process for the labor issues and presidential involvement in the new board selection process. H.R.1788 may go to the House floor in October.

H.R.2274, the House National Highway System bill, was passed by the House on September 20. This clears the way for a House-Senate conference, whose adoption of the Senate-passed Roth-Biden amendment is vital to Amtrak. H.R.2274 restricts funding flexibility for new rail transit projects by requiring authorizations for their entire cost before any federal funds can be committed. Also, Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds could be used for projects that do not improve air quality.

H.R.2274 does not include language that would take transportation trust funds off-budget. Also not included is earlier language triggering an early rewriting of ISTEA.

At a conference last weekend in Portland, Ore., on transit and livable communities, Chairman Hatfield went out of his way to tell a pro-transit crowd how important Amtrak is, and that he endorses the half-cent language in the Senate Amtrak reauthorization bill.

An excellent editorial was in the September 16 New York Times, fully endorsing the half-cent language in the Senate Amtrak reauthorization bill. We have sent it to members of the Senate Finance Committee.

Work is progressing slowly on getting the Senate's Amtrak reauthorization bill reported to the full Senate.

The California Transportation Commission has rejected a budget request from the state DOT to fully fund the three Capitol route round-trips, plus add a fourth. The commission instead on September 19 approved only enough money for the trains to operate through December. They want to review the trains' cost recovery, which by state law must be 55%, but which is now only 38%. Also, the fourth San Joaquin frequency will be reviewed.

Amtrak West will move its headquarters from Union Station in Los Angeles to Jack London Square in Oakland, beginning October 31. The new location will be the Port of Oakland building, which is five blocks from the Amtrak station that opened earlier this year.

NARP has an electronic mail address as of today. It is <narp(at)worldweb.net>.