House proposes slashing Amtrak budget

A proposed budget for Amtrak in the House Committee on Appropriations has raised some alarms, including the CEO of the national passenger rail service saying cut from the Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations will not work.

“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,” Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner said in a statment. “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.”

A release from the Rail Passengers’ Association urged Congress to reject the proposed appropration.

“This bill would cut Amtrak’s budget 64% from what was enacted last year and 76% below what Congress authorized in the Investment in Infrastructure and Jobs Act, threatening an essential transportation service that tens of millions of Americans depend upon and killing the passenger rail renaissance launched by the IIJA before it has a chance to get started,” the release said.

The president and CEO of the association gave some details on likely impacts.

“The funding levels outlined in this bill would require deep cuts to train service across the entire network — on the Northeast Corridor, state-supported and long-distance services — and threaten the complete elimination of some routes,” Rail Passengers Association President and CEO Jim Mathews, said in the release. “This proposed budget does not take the task of governing seriously, ignoring the needs of hundreds of Amtrak-served communities in favor of scoring cheap political points. We stand ready to work with House and Senate leadership to come up with a responsible budget that preserves essential transportation and economic services.”

Montana’s members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Republicans Matt Rosendale and Ryan Zinke, had not responded by Sunday to requests for comments submitted by Havre Daily News Thursday.

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who helped write the Investment in Infrastructure and Jobs Act, said in a statement sent to Havre Daily News that he will work to restore funding for the passenger rail service.

“Folks in Washington might not understand the challenges faced by Montanans, but these partisan games won’t fly on my watch,” Tester said in the statement. “Amtrak is critically important to keeping rural Montana and communities on the Hi-Line connected, which is why I successfully fought to increase Amtrak funding in my Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This reckless proposal would make significant cuts to Amtrak, and I stand ready to do everything in my power to stop it from advancing in the Senate.”

A spokesman for Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., said Daines will take a close look at what the House sends to the Senate on Amtrak.

“He is a longtime supporter of the services Amtrak provides,” the spokesman said. “He appreciates the importance of Amtrak to the Hi-Line and will always work to protect its long-distance routes.”

In his statement, Stephens said the appropriation would also require deferring many of the major modernization projects Amtrak funded by the bipartisan infrastructure bill and cut into Amtrak’s ability to do repair work needed to reliably run the passenger rail network. Funding from the infrastructure bill cannot be used for day-to-day operations, he said.

“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,” Stephens said. “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.”

The Passenger Rail Association release said the proposed budget comes as U.S. Department of Transportation is overseeing a massive investment through the bipartisan infrastructure bill in passenger rail infrastructure, multi-year funding for major capital projects such as the purchase of new equipment to replace Amtrak’s aging National Network fleet, rebuilding bridges and tunnels along the Northeast Corridor, bringing new services to cities without passenger rail connections, and adding additional frequencies to existing corridors. However, the funding for day-to-day operations, routine maintenance, and the administrative costs that come with running a national railroad must be provided through the annual budgeting process.

“These proposed cuts are all the more infuriating coming at the same time as we’re seeing unprecedented interest in adding and upgrading passenger rail service from cities and towns across America,” Mathews said. “When the Federal Railroad Administration asked for proposals as part of their Corridor Identification Program, there was a massive response from states across the nation — Red and Blue, North and South, Heartland and Coastal. We can’t afford to gut these exciting new programs before they even get started.”