Hotline #973 - March 14, 1997

Senators William Roth (R.-Del.) and Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D.-N.Y.) yesterday introduced a bill to create a half-cent trust fund for Amtrak. Its bill number is S.436.

The Clinton Administration released its proposals for ISTEA renewal on March 12, which it is calling "NEXTEA." The Clinton proposal would authorize $175 billion for transportation programs from 1998 through 2003, an 11% increase over current ISTEA.

The good news for us in the proposal is that it would give states the same choice to spend some federal money on intercity passenger rail projects -- "flexibility" -- that the states already have for highways, transit, commuter trains, bike trails, etc. It also provides for funding Amtrak out of the Highway Trust Fund, which is good news in the sense that only a couple of weeks ago, the Administration was leaning strongly towards not doing that. Failure to do that would have meant a back-handed zero-funding proposal for Amtrak, since the Administration's 1998 budget, released in February, proposed funding Amtrak from the Highway Trust Fund.

The Administration's proposal has problems, however. First, it would provide $1.3 billion less in capital funding over the next five years than the $3.8-billion half cent would provide. Second, by funding all Amtrak-related expenses -- including operations and excess Railroad Retirement -- from the Highway Trust Fund, the proposals makes Amtrak the target of the powerful highway lobby in a way that the capital-oriented half-cent bill does not.

For example, American Trucking Association President Tom Donohue yesterday told a Senate Environment and Public Works subcommittee that he could support a permanent half cent for Amtrak capital investment. But Donohue ridiculed the use of Highway Trust Funds for Railroad Retirement, and of course was opposed to using it for rail freight, as the American Short Line Railroad Association wants. The Administration's view is that there are already too many segregated categories within the Highway Trust Fund and that their plan is good because it proposes three-quarters of the capital the half cent would provide.

To NARP, that last point sounds like telling a bleeding patient not to worry if his body has nine pints of blood in it, even if he really needs 12.

Three Amtrak-related hearings were held this week. The House Transportation an Infrastructure Railroads Subcommittee met March 12, and the Senate Commerce Committee and Senate Environment and Public Works Transportation Subcommittee both met yesterday. There were many expressions of concern for Amtrak and the condition of passenger rail in general -- especially an impassioned speech by Sen. Joe Biden (D.-Del.) yesterday. Conditional expressions of support for the Amtrak half cent came from Chairman Shuster (R.-Pa.) in the House and Senator Warner (R.-Va.) of the Environment and Public Works Committee. Their conditions are enactment of Amtrak legislative reforms and transfer of the rest of the 4.3 cents in deficit reduction gasoline taxes to the Highway Trust Fund.

There will be another House Railroads Subcommittee hearing on March 18, this time on rail and ISTEA. On March 20, Amtrak will appear before the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee.

NARP Region 4 meets in Baltimore on March 15 at 12:30 pm at the Streetcar Museum. Region 5 meets at 10:00 am at the Hotel Radisson in High Point, N.C. Region 6 meets at 10:00 am at the Holiday Inn in Sidney, O. Region 1 meets March 22 at 10:30 am at the Portland Club in Portland, Me. Region 7 meets at 10:00 am at the Harbor Cove Hotel in Lake Geneva, Wis. Region 8 meets at 11:30 am at Freighthouse Square in Tacoma, Wash.

NARP President Jack Martin will be at the Tacoma meeting. NARP Executive Director Ross Capon will be at the meetings in Baltimore and Portland.