Today, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Treasury will initiate Senate debate on Amtrak funding for FY 2004.

On July 23, the House Appropriations Committee funded Amtrak at $900 million for FY 2004, which is what the President had asked for in his budget request. There was much controversy after the House Appropriations Subcommittee drafted a spending bill for the Transportation and Treasury Departments, which only included $580 million for Amtrak. Representative Ernest Istook (R-Oklahoma), who chairs the subcommittee, was forced to increase Amtrak funding to $900 million before the full committee markup to allay the concerns of wavering committee members. The bill is expected to be brought before the full House on Thursday. House Democrats are expected to introduce an amendment that will increase Amtrak funding to $1.4 billion. A similar amendment failed to garner enough votes in full committee.

Amtrak supporters in the Senate favor providing Amtrak the full $1.8 billion the railroad requested earlier this year. Conservative Republicans in the House generally support structural overhaul for intercity passenger rail and feel that Amtrak should receive less funding. However, many Senate Republicans including Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-Texas) feel that increased funding for Amtrak should be contemporaneous with modest reform for the railroad. Hutchinson recently co-sponsored legislation that would reauthorize Amtrak at $60 billion over 6 years, which is more than Amtrak had originally requested.

Hutchinson feels the full Senate Appropriations Committee could support a funding level of $1.4 billion for Amtrak. The general consensus among rail lobbyists is that the full committee will provide $1.2 billion for Amtrak. Once both chambers complete work on the transportation and treasury spending bill, the legislation will head to a conference committee, in which conservatives are likely to vigorously oppose additional Amtrak funding. However, Amtrak has maintained that they need $1.8 billion to remain fully operational throughout the next fiscal year.

Please continue to check back with us for updates on this matter.