Hotline #262 - September 27, 2002

The House Appropriations Committee voted 35-25 (on party lines) against an amendment to fund Amtrak as its requested level of $1.2 billion. Instead, the pending 2002 transportation appropriations bill will have an unworkable $762 million for Amtrak, plus an also unworkable $150 million cap on operating grants for long-distance trains.

Because Congress is extremely late in passing appropriations bills this year -- none of the 13 bills have been passed, just days before fiscal 2003 begins (October 1) -- the step of passing the bill through the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee was bypassed, and the bill went straight to full committee. The committee did not finish the bill yesterday, and will resume consideration October 1.

An amendment to raise Amtrak's proposed funding to $1.2 billion (the same level already approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee) was introduced by Subcommittee Ranking Democrat Martin Olav Sabo (D.-Minn.). Sabo said failure of his amendment would mean Amtrak will be back asking for more money in a few months, at which point "we would be just as much at fault." Rep. Sam Farr (D.-Cal.), whose district includes Salinas and Santa Cruz, said the committee could spend three hours debating Amtrak because "we know more about this subsidy than any other subsidy we provide," and suggested that if more was known about other programs, Congress might consider suggesting that highways be ripped up, port dredging terminated, and airports closed, unless communities spend more money.

Rep. Anne Northrup (R.-Ky.) said, "You can have my train ... spend the money on something more people will use." Subcommittee Chairman Harold Rogers (R.-Ky.) praised Amtrak's new president, David Gunn, but said he was not ready to give him $1.2 billion. He also said that would be rewarding "Amtrak for their poor management and poor performance."

In the end, all 35 Republicans on the committee voted against the Sabo amendment.

Rogers was working with $4 billion less for transportation than his Senate counterparts, so he may be right when he says giving Amtrak $1.2 billion would have stretched other transportation programs too thin and cause the House to vote the bill down. Nonetheless, Amtrak cannot survive on $762 million (and probably could not even be liquidated for that amount) and cutting routes offers no short-term savings. The Senate Appropriations Committee report on transportation funding said in July that "eliminating [the 18 long-distance trains] ... would yield effectively zero savings in the first year ... Only after 5 years would the elimination of these services yield annual operating savings exceeding $200 million -- an amount that will not even cover Amtrak's anticipated debt service payments for that year. And such savings does not represent even 5% of the identified capital backlog in the Northeast Corridor. This analysis prompts the Committee to reject the notion that Amtrak can shrink its way to financial health."

The House committee's bill may never reach the floor. It is part of a broad disagreement that pits conservative House leaders and the Bush Administration against the Senate and the rest of the House. Most appropriations disputes may end up being resolved by the four senior appropriators, who have a reputation for getting things done without major ideological hang-ups -- Senators Byrd (D-W.Va.) and Stevens (R.-Alaska) and Reps. Bill Young (R.-Fla.) and David Obey (D.-Wis.).

To get the right outcome for Amtrak, however, your Representatives (and Senators) still need to hear that you are angered by the Committee's vote -- that such an approach is short-sighted and wrong; that it ignores the wishes of the majority of Americans who favor federal funding of passenger rail; and that it would destroy nationwide passenger-rail service just a year after the 2001 terror attacks, when a need for a stronger service was clearly demonstrated. Click here for ways to contact your legislators. The House Appropriations Committee web site lists committee members, but you ought to write to your representative whether or not he or she is on the committee.

The $150-million cap on long-distance train operating funding was inserted into the bill during debate yesterday, replacing a provision that would have ended (by July 1, 2003) service on six routes where a per-passenger loss over $200 is claimed. This had the effect of targeting six trains -- Sunset Limited, Texas Eagle, Kentucky Cardinal, Three Rivers, Pennsylvanian, and Southwest Chief -- which the General Accounting Office claims experienced such losses in 2001.

The $200 provision was reported September 25 in the Washington Post and elsewhere. Reaction, particularly in Texas, was so strong that the provision was shelved in favor of the less specific -- but equally devastating -- $150 million cap on long-distance train operating grants. The Post said the six trains run through the districts of "several key Republicans who face tight races for reelection," such as Northrup. Total funding, however, remains the most important part of the bill. NARP wrote to the committee September 25 underling our support for $1.2 billion and pointing out that "subsidy per passenger" is not a measure of economic efficiency. Click here to read that letter.

In reality, a per-passenger loss -- a standard not used for any other form of intercity passenger travel -- inordinately punishes routes that have passengers traveling long distances, or significant mail and/or express traffic. NARP has argued that more appropriate measures, such as loss-per-passenger-mile or operating ratio (total costs divided by total revenues) would come closer to measuring a service's true economic performance. In particular, the Southwest Chief performs much better than some corridor services when measured by operating ratio. Back at the time of the "Carter cuts" of 1979, the measures used were a combination of "avoidable loss" per passenger-mile and passenger-miles per train-mile.

An Associated Press story noted that Chairman Rogers said that "every long-distance train could continue if ridership and revenues increase, and if states and cities help fund them." [That is the story's paraphrasing, not a direct quote.] Given the fact that Amtrak as a whole is woefully underfunded -- getting about half of what was authorized 1997-2002, and getting barely half what it got 20 years ago (adjusted for inflation) -- and given the fact that Amtrak serves so few intercity markets with so little equipment; and given the utterly unrealistic goal -- shared by the Administration -- of getting "states and cities" to fund the operations of interstate services (including long-distance trains); Rogers' comment implies an upbeat, "painless" scenario that is completely unrealistic.

Since no appropriations bills have been passed, Congress yesterday approved a continuing resolution to fund federal programs after September 30. The resolution has four days' duration -- good through October 5, when an extension to October 11 is expected. October 11 is the target for adjournment and it is not yet clear whether the continuing resolution approved then will run until sometime in November -- after the election, but before the 107th Congress dissolves -- or into 2003, after the new 108th Congress convenes. The continuing resolution is adequate to keep Amtrak running.

The new rail station at Albany-Rensselaer opened September 22, with a ribbon-cutting the following morning. The first-day crowds gave the new station great reviews, especially from those who had just used the old station days before, according to a September 23 article in the Albany Times-Union. Amtrak is still using the old station for crew quarters until that can be moved to the new building in October. After that, the old station will be razed, with some of that space being used for additional tracks.

New Orleans largely shut down on September 25-26 as Tropical Storm Isidore passed through. This had an impact on surface transportation, with both Amtrak and Greyhound suspending operations to the city. The City of New Orleans was turned at Hammond on September 25, and McComb on September 26. The Crescent got as far as Hattiesburg on September 25, but ran from Meridian on September 26 and today. The Sunset Limited may not run through New Orleans again until September 29.

A man who allegedly made a bomb threat on the westbound Capitol Limited on September 22 is being held in the Allegheny County Jail, in Pittsburgh, on a drug-possession warrant from Georgia. The train, which happened to have Amtrak President David Gunn aboard, was stopped for over two hours 10 miles east of Pittsburgh and evacuated so it could be searched. The man who allegedly made the threat was another passenger, and the U.S. Attorney's office was deciding whether to press charges.

A ceremony was held at the Oakland Amtrak station this afternoon to mark the start of an $88-million track and station project. In attendance were local politicians, transportation officials, and Amtrak President David Gunn. The project involves upgrades that will allow additional Capitol Corridor service between Oakland and San Jose. It includes additional track capacity and a station at Oakland Coliseum. Funding comes from the state and localities.

The Amtrak station at Meridian, Miss., regained daily agent service today, including checked-baggage service.