Letter with 19 Governors’ Signatures - July 9-22, 2004

This letter supporting Amtrak's full $1.798 billion appropriation for Fiscal 2005 (text below), was sent to Senators Stevens (R-AK) and Byrd (D-WV) and Representatives Young (R-AK) and Obey (D-WI), the chairmen and ranking members of the full appropriations committees in Congress, on July 24, 2004

Connecticut	Rell
Delaware	Minner
Illinois	Blagojevich
Indiana	Kernan
Iowa	Vilsack (co-author)
Maine	Baldacci
Missouri	Holden
Montana	Martz
New Jersey	McGreevey
New Mexico	Richardson
North Carolina	Easley
North Dakota	Hoven (co-author)
Ohio	Taft
Oregon	Kulongoski
Pennsylvania	Rendell
Virginia	Mark Warner
Washington	Locke
West Virginia	Wise
Wisconsin	Doyle

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Text of 2004 Governors' letter to House and Senate Appropriators

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Dear Senators Stevens and Byrd and Representatives Young and Obey:

We urge you to fund Amtrak at $1.8 billion in FY 2005. We understand that budgets are tight this year, but continued and improved Amtrak service is a vital component of the transportation systems in our states.

Amtrak President David Gunn has instituted significant reforms over the past two years that have streamlined management and improved the productivity of the labor force while reducing the payroll by over 3,000 employees. He also established tight financial controls, opened the financial books, and initiated a major capital program designed to get Amtrak’s equipment and infrastructure into a state of good repair.

There is no doubt that Amtrak has been the subject of intense scrutiny and debate. However, under David Gunn the railroad appears to be back on track and we urge you to give Amtrak the funding needed to continue its progress and, more importantly, provide a valued transportation alternative to millions of people across the country. Regrettably, rail is often the forgotten piece of our transportation network, but with increased congestion on our roads and in our airports, combined with a need to reduce oil consumption for national security and environmental reasons, it is more important than ever to ensure that this nation has a strong passenger rail infrastructure.

Residents in our states have diverse levels of Amtrak service. Some have fast, frequent, and popular service. Other states have low levels of service currently, but hope to develop higher-speed corridors that will make rail a more competitive alternative to highway and air travel. Finally, some states have basic one train a day long-distance service to communities that often are far away from airports and interstate highways. Faced with limited transportation options, the people who live in these communities depend on passenger rail service.

Until Congress develops a comprehensive, national passenger rail policy along with a secure source of federal funding to implement that policy, Amtrak will have to rely on funding through the annual appropriations process. While some of us may disagree as to what the best long-term solution may be, we all believe that rail must be an essential component of our intermodal transportation system.

Regardless of the final decision on Amtrak’s future, it is essential for Amtrak to address its backlog of deferred maintenance and continue to make the capital improvements that are necessary to ensure safe and reliable train service. To this end, we urge you to fully fund Amtrak’s $1.8 billion funding request for FY 2005, so that Amtrak can continue to make progress improving the quality and reliability of passenger rail service throughout the nation.

Thank you for your consideration of this request