Amtrak Funding

[Tom]

What are the chances of Bush's plan getting approved? I've read that there was a similar plan in 2003 but it didn't go anywhere in Congress. But what would happen to passenger rail in America if it did get approved? Would there be more corridors popping up around the country? Would there still be the current level of long-distance trains?

 

[AlanB]

Odds are not in favor that Congress will approve the Bush plan. Most likely they will provide Amtrak with just enough funding to keep it limping along.

However, if they did approve the Presidents request, then you can pretty much say goodbye to all services provided by Amtrak. It will be tough enough to save the NEC. Perhaps California will be able to save a few of their services too, but beyond that don't expect anything else.

All Amtrak trains out of Chicago will cease, all Empire service will cease, Talgo service in Washington/Oregon will most likely cease to run, and if by some miracle it does continue it will be sharply curtailed as half of the trainsets will be sold.

Long Distance service will vanish and probably forever.

New corridors would be years away from poping up, as most states don't have the funding to do anything and the Bush plan will only help if the state first coughes up some money.

 

[saxman]

i don't think the Presidents budget is ever approved just how he writes it. It still takes "an act of Congress" to approve it, and it Congress who is in direct contact with the Americans. I like to think that the presidents budget proposal is just that...a proposal, and will go through lots of mending and changing before it happens.

 

[AlanB]

i don't think the Presidents budget is ever approved just how he writes it. It still takes "an act of Congress" to approve it, and it Congress who is in direct contact with the Americans. I like to think that the presidents budget proposal is just that...a proposal, and will go through lots of mending and changing before it happens.

That's correct, the President's budget is just a recommendation or a starting point. Congress actually decides what the budget will be.

Of course if Congress goes way off course the President could veto the budget, but I'd be shocked if he vetoed over Amtrak getting money. In fact there are many who think that he did this just to please the severe conservatives of the Republican party to make them happy, knowing full well that Congress will restore Amtrak's funding.

 

[AmtrakWPK]

Just convince congress to put one additional sentence into his military Iraq funding bills. If Amtrak's funding is vetoed, his Iraq allocation disappears.

 

[GG-1]

i don't think the Presidents budget is ever approved just how he writes it. It still takes "an act of Congress" to approve it, and it Congress who is in direct contact with the Americans.

Aloha

I don't want to start a political debate. We know the president does not "write" the budget. Does anyone know who is on the committee? And who on that committee, is opposed to a national passenger rail system?

Maybe we could "enlighten" these committie members. My one "political statement" is way too often to much goverment action is behind closed doors with no public knowlege about the princible participants.

 

[jccollins]

Just convince congress to put one additional sentence into his military Iraq funding bills. If Amtrak's funding is vetoed, his Iraq allocation disappears.

:lol: I love it! That would do it for sure!

 

[saxman]

I really don't think Bush himself is totally opposed to Amtrak. I don't think he supports it either. I say this because, back in 1997, when he was governor of Texas, he signed a loan to keep the Texas Eagle running. I don't he even knows much about Amtrak even. They just showed him the budget, and he said, "looks good to me." I mean the Texas Eagle runs smack through his ranch town of Crawford, TX, although its not a station stop. Its between Cleburne and McGregor.

 

[battalion51]

Maybe he was sleeping one day when the Eagle came through, airhorn went off and woke him up, and he's been pissed ever since then. :lol:

 

[BerkeleyBear]

I have a question. I seem to recall that President Reagan proposed cutting funding to Amtrak at various points in the 1980s. Did this actually make it into his administration's budget proposals, and if so how serious was it treated in Congressional discussions at the time?

 

[WICT106]

I have a question.  I seem to recall that President Reagan proposed cutting funding to Amtrak at various points in the 1980s.  Did this actually make it into his administration's budget proposals, and if so how serious was it treated in Congressional discussions at the time?

this original proposal was proposed by Reagan's director of OMB, Dave Stockman. It was deafeted by the members of Congress during that era, too. It's just that that time the Congress had Democrats in the Majority, and this time the Republicans are in the majority. It was given serious treatment, alright, even though it was rejected by the Congress. Back then, I certainly didn't think that I'd consider that time as kind of the "Glory Days" of Amtrak, with Mr. Claytor as the Amtrak president. :huh: