Congress supports $16 billion aid plan for Amtrak, passenger rail projects

June 12, 2008

By: Herb Jackson - The Record (Hackensack N.J.)

Posted: 6/12/08

WASHINGTON _ Congress bucked President Bush on Wednesday and gave bipartisan support to spending more than $16 billion over the next five years on Amtrak and other passenger rail projects that Bush has repeatedly tried to wean from federal subsidies.

The House voted 311-104 _ a big enough margin to override a threatened veto _ to increase Amtrak's operating budget through 2013 by an average 28 percent. The bill also provides a 48 percent increase in funding for new equipment and facilities, and creates grant programs for states to improve service between big cities and for Amtrak to upgrade more routes for high-speed rail service.

All 13 members of New Jersey's House delegation voted for the bill.

Numerous speakers cited the high price of gas and said the nation needed a viable rail system as an alternative to driving and flying.

For the roughly 6,000 commuters from Bergen and Passaic counties who take NJ Transit trains into New York City every day, the bill promises improved reliability because Amtrak would be required to bring its Northeast Corridor tracks, tunnels and bridges up to a "state of good repair."

"New Jersey has a major interest in the success of the corridor," Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-Paterson, N.J., said during floor debate on the bill. "It's the spine for New Jersey's transit commuter system ... 80 percent of NJ Transit riders use the Northeast Corridor for nearly 200,000 daily trips."

There's no budget yet for how the money would be spent because the bill still faces several hurdles. But Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black said priorities would include upgraded switches, signals and electrical systems, which often cause delays.

"It is not fully in a state of good repair," Black said. Amtrak has been making improvements in recent years, including a new emergency exit system from the tunnels under the Hudson River, but "there's plenty of remaining projects that need to be accomplished, including replacement of some movable bridges."

One of them is the nearly 100-year-old Portal Bridge, which carries trains over the Hackensack River between Kearny, N.J., and Secaucus, N.J. The bridge has become a bottleneck, requiring lower speed limits and stoppages when the bridge swings open to let ships pass. In July 2006, NJ Transit had to cancel 22 trains when the bridge became stuck open at the start of an afternoon rush hour.

Bush has repeatedly tried to eliminate federal subsidies for Amtrak and advocated privatizing Northeast Corridor service. The House bill would allow private companies to bid to provide a new high-speed service that could take riders between New York and Washington in two hours, but opponents of privatization said it was unlikely such a proposal would be viable.

On Monday, the White House said Bush would veto the bill because it "authorizes an unprecedented level of funding but does not include basic measures to hold Amtrak accountable to taxpayers for its spending decisions."

The White House noted that the Senate version of the bill approved in October, sponsored by New Jersey Democrat Frank Lautenberg, included requirements that Amtrak implement management reforms to receive promised funding. That bill passed by a veto-proof margin of 70-22, and Lautenberg reacted angrily to the veto threat.

"It is absolutely outrageous that President Bush would continue his hostility to energy-efficient rail service in our country," Lautenberg said. "President Bush needs to wake up and realize people are sick and tired of paying too much for gas, sitting in traffic and being delayed on airline flights."

The last long-term funding bill supporting Amtrak was passed 11 years ago and expired in 2002. Since then, Amtrak has survived on year-to-year appropriations.

The total price tag for the House bill, $16.4 billion, is higher than the $12 billion in Lautenberg's bill. The two bills would have to be meshed by a conference committee, and then both houses would have to vote again.

The bill would provide an average of $840 million a year through 2013 for capital programs, up from $565 million this year. It also provides an average $606 million a year for operating expenses, up from $475 million this year. The House approved an amendment adding $1.5 billion over five years for the Washington-area subway and bus system.