6 replies to this topic

[CNJRoss]

Insider, 7/20/23

 

Republicans want to shred Amtrak funding as the railroad plans a historic Sunbelt and Western expansion

 

• House Republicans are proposing slashing funding for Amtrak and other infrastructure in the 2024 budget.
• Amtrak says the cuts would force it to dramatically reduce or even suspend some of its service. 
• This comes as the railroad is planning its biggest-ever expansion following an influx of federal funding.

 

Republicans in Congress are proposing slashing funding for Amtrak and other infrastructure priorities in the 2024 budget. At the same time, the passenger railroad is proposing its largest-ever expansion after Congress sent tens of billions in funding as part of the 2021 infrastructure law. 

 

The recent GOP proposal from the House Transit, Housing, and Urban Development subcommittee on appropriations includes cutting Amtrak funding by $1.577 billion in 2024, which would reduce the rail system's yearly federal funding by almost two-thirds. The funding cuts are in large part aimed at the Northeast Corridor that ranges from Washington, DC to Boston, with more than $1 billion in cuts to that region.

 

The spending cuts, which would put Amtrak funding below 2003 levels, would also undermine the railroad's major plans to expand its routes and improve infrastructure in the Sunbelt and West. 

 

 

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[CNJRoss]

Amtrak news release

 

July 11, 2023

Statement from Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner on the House FY24 Transportation Appropriations Bill

“The funding levels proposed in the House FY24 transportation appropriations bill for Amtrak and FRA rail programs will stop the advancement of passenger rail in its tracks. If the proposed levels become law, Amtrak will have to radically reduce or suspend service on various routes across the nation, impacting our State Supported, Long Distance and Northeast Corridor services. The proposed amount – a 64% cut from Amtrak’s FY23 annual appropriation and 76% lower than the levels authorized by Congress – would dismantle vital transportation links across America and negatively impact jobs and the American economy. Additionally, with almost no funding for capital expenses, Amtrak would be forced to immediately reduce vital state of good repair work needed to reliably operate our network and defer many of the major modernization projects that were funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) just over a year and a half ago. Amtrak’s IIJA funds can primarily be used only for major infrastructure projects and equipment procurements, not the basic maintenance, operations, and routine day-to-day expenditures supported by our annual appropriations.

 

At a time when Amtrak has nearly returned to pre-pandemic ridership levels and is busy generating increased revenue, creating a historic number of jobs, and investing in the American economy, these proposed cuts would harm the country and take us in the wrong direction. We will work with Congress as the FY24 appropriations process continues to demonstrate the value of passenger rail to our customers and their constituents and articulate the negative consequences that this funding cut would have on the nation’s intercity passenger rail network.”

 

– Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner

 

 

[CNJRoss]

Trains News Wire

 

Senate appropriations bill seeks to maintain funding for Amtrak, grant programs

 

July 21, 2023

 

Senate proposal is in stark contrast to bill passed by House committee

 

WASHINGTON — Amtrak and funding for rail-related grant programs fared far better with Senate appropriators on Thursday than they did last week with those in the House of Representatives.

 

Transportation spending for fiscal 2024 in a bill approved by the Senate Committee on Appropriations includes some $2.45 billion for Amtrak operations and state-of-good repair funding, maintaining 2023 funding levels. It also preserves the RAISE grant program for transportation infrastructure projects, according to the committee’s bill summary.

 

 

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[CNJRoss]

Chicago Sun-Times, 7/22/23

Editorial

 

Amtrak improvements stay on track after Senate steps in to save funding   

 

Chicago projects would have lost money because of House Republican cuts that threatened to wipe away $1.57 billion in Amtrak funds for 2024.

 

Amtrak is now experiencing its best years since its 1971 formation, with plans to expand and improve routes while building new train stations and infrastructure.

 

But leave it to House Republicans — a surly bunch on an apparent mission to slash and burn anything that truly benefits the public good — to propose a 64% cut in federal Amtrak funding in next year’s transportation bill.

 

SNIP

 

But luckily, the Democratic-controlled Senate Appropriations Committee voted 29-0 last Thursday to recommend giving Amtrak a $2.45 billion slice of $3.4 billion targeted for the Federal Railroad Administration, effectively promising to restore what the House seeks to take away, if the GOP’s bill somehow becomes law.

 

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[CNJRoss]

The Hill, Washington, DC 11/7/23

 

House GOP yanks vote on funding bill amid NY Republicans’ Amtrak concerns 

 

House Republicans on Tuesday punted plans to vote on a housing and transportation government funding bill over concerns from some in the party about a proposed drop in dollars for Amtrak.

 

The House was expected to vote on legislation — which lays out billions of dollars in funding for programs within the Department of Transportation and Department of Housing and Urban Development for most of next year — on Tuesday. But those plans were scrapped at the last minute after members’ concerns brought into question its chances of passage. 

 

Ahead of the vote on Tuesday, Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) told The Hill he wouldn’t be voting for the measure, citing concerns over Amtrak funding.

 

Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.), who had also expressed concerns last week about what the bill would mean for Amtrak funding, similarly said hours before the vote that his concerns remained. 

 

 

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[CNJRoss]

AlterNet, 11/6/23

 

'A non-starter': NY Republicans break with House GOP over proposed cut to Amtrak budget

 

Even though House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) was elected with unanimous support from House Republicans, that support could be flagging as his caucus debates a transportation spending bill.

 

NY1 reports that Republican members of Congress from New York are coming out against steep proposed cuts to Amtrak in the latest budget proposal from the House Transportation Committee. The new transportation budget would not only reduce Amtrak's budget by nearly two-thirds, but it would reportedly cut $1 billion from the service's Northeast corridor — one of its most highly traveled routes. Congressman Anthony D'Esposito (R-New York) said a "65% cut to Amtrak is a non-starter." Other Republicans representing New York and New Jersey also voiced their opposition.

 

 

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[CNJRoss]

Amtrak news release

March 4, 2024

 

Amtrak Statement on FY24 Appropriations Bill

 

Amtrak Statement:

The funding levels proposed by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees will enable Amtrak to continue connecting America with safe, reliable, and efficient train service in Fiscal Year 2024. Throughout the Northeast Corridor and across the national network – from Maine to Oklahoma, Mississippi to California and along the Pacific Northwest to our Chicago Hub – this spending bill will help Amtrak passengers get where they need to go. We thank Congress and the Administration for their strong support of Amtrak, especially given the challenging fiscal environment, and we, in collaboration with our many partners across the network, look forward to continuing to work with them in the future to usher in a new era of intercity passenger rail for America.