California State Rail Plan 2005-06 to 2015-16

Chapter XI – Amtrak
AMTRAK REFORM AND BUDGET
For a number of years Amtrak’s future and budget levels have been hotly debated
in Washington D.C. According to the Congressional Budget Office September
2003 study The Past and Future of U.S. Passenger Rail Service “more than three
decades after the Congress and the President created the National Railroad
Passenger Corporation, Federal policies toward intercity passenger rail service
remain unsettled. Policymakers have not been able to agree about whether the
company should be a private, for-profit enterprise (like airlines and intercity bus
companies) or a public service (like urban mass transit) that would use
government subsidies to achieve social objectives.” This conclusion remains true
today in 2005, two years later.
FFY 2003 BUDGET AND LEGISLATIVE REFORM PROPOSALS
The Administration in June 2002 released its five principles for Amtrak reform.
These principles are to: create a system driven by sound economics; require that
Amtrak transition to a pure operating company; introduce carefully managed
competition to provide quality rail services at reasonable prices; establish a longterm
partnership between the states and the Federal Government to support
intercity passenger rail service; and create an effective public partnership, after a
reasonable transition, to manage the capital assets of the Northeast Corridor.
These principles have essentially guided the Administration’s budget deliberations
between FFY 2003 and FFY 2006.
For FFY 2003, Congress approved $1.05 billion in Amtrak appropriations and
deferred repayment of its $100 million FFY 2002 loan. While this amount was
less than Amtrak’s original $1.2 billion request for FFY 2003, it was significantly
more than the Administration’s initial budget proposal of $521 million.
FFY 2004 BUDGET AND LEGISLATIVE REFORM PROPOSALS
In July 2003, the Administration submitted the “Passenger Rail Investment
Reform Act of 2003” (S. 1501) to Congress that embodied the five principles
listed above. In August 2003, four Republican Senators, led by Kay Bailey
Hutchison of Texas, introduced the “American Rail Equity Act of 2003” (S. 1505)
as an alternative proposal to the Administration’s bill. S. 1505 significantly
increased Federal operating and capital support for Amtrak. However, neither
legislative proposal moved forward as Congress focused on Amtrak’s
appropriation level for FFY 2004. The FFY04 final appropriations bill included
$1.2 billion for Amtrak, below the $1.8 billion requested by Amtrak but enough to
continue to operate the national system.
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