From SMART the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers:
While Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) dollars are being allocated by the U.S. Department of Transportation to distribute to commuter and passenger rail projects as well as to transit agencies recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. House Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and related agencies (THUD) subcommittee decided to pull $6.6 billion from the whole operation.
Among the lowlights: the proposed 2024 budget spending bill passed by the subcommittee slashes funding for Amtrak by 64%, effectively blowing a hole in a plan to help passenger rail service in the country expand.
If enacted, this bill would not only nullify the progress being made, but it would also lead to large-scale furloughs throughout the industry. Amtrak, among other commuter and passenger rail agencies, would see the funds available to them rolled back to levels of a decade ago. Obviously, the cut in staffing levels in passenger and commuter rail is devastating to our transit members, but it also will tear a significant hole in the solvency of the Railroad Retirement Board reserves, so freight railroaders have a vested interest in this development that might not be obvious as the direct peril our brothers and sisters in passenger service face.
emphasis added
There’s more at the link.
This may be of particular interest — the House Republicans who voted in full committee to gut Amtrak:
Mr. Robert Aderholt R- Alabama 04 |
Ms. Kay Granger R-Texas 12 |
Mr. Mark Amodei R-Nevada 02 |
Mr. Michael Guest R-Mississippi 03 |
Mrs. Stephanie Bice R-Oklahoma 05 |
Dr. Andy Harris R-Maryland 01 |
Mr. Ken Calvert R-California 41 |
Mrs. Ashley Hinson R-Iowa 02 |
Mr. Jerry Carl R-Alabama 01 |
Mr. David Joyce R-Ohio 14 |
Mr. John Carter R-Texas 31 |
Mr. Jake Laturner R-Kansas 02 |
Mr. Juan Ciscomani R-Arizona 06 |
Ms. Julia Letlow R-Louisiana 05 |
Mr. Ben Cline R-Virginia 06 |
Mr. John Moolenaar R-Michigan 02 |
Mr. Michael Cloud R-Texas 27 |
Mr. Dan Newhouse R-Washington 04 |
Mr. Andrew Clyde R-Georgia 09 |
Mr. Gary Reschenthaler R-Pennsylvania 14 |
Mr. Tom Cole R-Oklahoma 04 |
Mr. Harold Rogers R-Kentucky 05 |
Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart R-Florida 26 |
Mr. John Rutherford R-Florida 05 |
Mr. Jake Ellzey R-Texas 06 |
Mr. Michael Simpson R-Idaho 02 |
Mr. Chuck Fleischmann R-Tennessee 03 |
Mr. Chris Stewart R-Utah 02 |
Mr. Scott Franklin R-Florida 18 |
Mr. David Valado R-California 22 |
Mr. Mike Garcia R-California 27 |
Mr. Steve Womack R-Arkansas 03 |
Mr. Tony Gonzales R-Texas 23 |
Mr. Ryan Zinke R-Montana 01 |
TRAINS Magazine has more on the story here:
...Under the “cuts to wasteful spending” category in the House GOP’s summary are elimination of $560 million from the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail program, although passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) has guaranteed $7.2 billion for state-of-good repair projects.
The Republican appropriators also seek to zero out two competitive grant programs likely to primarily benefit rural communities — the Federal Railroad Administration’s Railroad Crossing Elimination Program, for which $500 million is authorized, and the Department of Transportation’s RAISE (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) program, for which $50 million is authorized.
In addition, the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program — which has played a particularly significant role for short line railroads — is slated for a cut of more than 50% from current-year levels to $258.5 million.
The GOP summary says pretty much flat out that this is all about reversing Democratic accomplishments and budget requests.
The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies bill provides a discretionary total of $90.243 billion, which is $8.633 billion (8.7%) below the President’s Budget Request. While the Subcommittee’s spending level is $2.91 billion above the Fiscal Year 2023 allocation, $7.6 billion in new funding is required to offset plummeting housing receipts, $3.6 billion is required to unravel the emergency spending Democrats used to pay for FY23 housing inflation, and another $1.8 billion is required to ensure eligible recipients of housing assistance do not lose their assistance due to inflation. In order to address these shortfalls and fund Republican priorities, the bill eliminates several programs and makes deep cuts to others, especially those that received large amounts in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
The Subcommittee’s total allocation—the real cost to the taxpayer—is $65.208 billion, with $25.035 billion offset through preventing the Democrats’ wasteful spending on IRS enforcement. This is 25% below the FY23 enacted level and 34% below the President’s Budget Request. The bill provides a non-defense discretionary total of $89.855 billion and a defense discretionary total of $388 million. This bill prioritizes highway, railway, and aviation safety while maintaining housing assistance for our nation’s most vulnerable.
emphasis added
Nothing in there about rolling back wasteful GOP tax cuts for the rich or ending subsidies for the fossil fuel industry, of course. Climate change? Never heard of it.
What’s at stake:
Business Insider covers some of the things these draconian cuts put in jeopardy above and beyond the concerns noted by SMART.
Amtrak currently serves just 27 of the 50 largest US cities. The expansion plan — which calls for a $75 billion investment over 15 years — would allow it to reach almost every major city, especially focusing on currently-underserved but fast-growing areas in the West and South.
Amtrak and passenger rail proponents argue that there are a slew of major cities that could be ideal places for intercity rail. Amtrak is proposing 39 new routes and upgrades to 25 current routes, boosting daily trains between Seattle and Portland, and offering new service between Houston and San Antonio, Cleveland and Detroit, and Nashville and Savannah, among other places in the Sunbelt, Midwest, and West.
In other words, Republicans are screwing their own voters — as usual. Plus, they hate cities — dens of Democratic power.
The climate case for expanding passenger rail is stark, even without figuring the benefits of moving more freight by rail:
Expanding the US rail system is also a key part of reducing carbon emissions from cars, trucks, and planes. Traveling on an Amtrak train is 46% more energy efficient than driving and 34% more efficient than flying, the Department of Energy has found. More modern, electrified rail routes have even less environmental impact.
The Rail Passengers Association reports the Senate has rejected the cuts to Amtrak.
The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced its Fiscal Year 2024 Transportation-Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD) bill by a unanimous vote yesterday. Thankfully, the Senate’s bipartisan budget proposal rejected the radical cuts to rail and transit included in the House’s T-HUD proposal, which advanced out of the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday along a party-line vote earlier this week.
“On behalf of America’s passengers, we want to thank Chair Murray, Vice Chair Collins, Chair Schatz, Ranking Member Hyde-Smith, and the entire Committee for their bipartisan support of these essential transportation connections,” said Jim Mathews, President & CEO of the Rail Passengers Association. “This bill does more than keep the trains running; it allows States and Amtrak to advance key upgrades to existing infrastructure, bring service to new cities and towns, and move forward with the purchase of new traincars and locomotives for corridors across the U.S.”
An earlier July 18 statement from a bipartisan rail coalition in the Senate was quite clear on their support for rail and warned against the House cuts. An excerpt:
The Need for a Growing Network:
There has been a tremendous amount of enthusiasm from local governments in response to the Corridor Identification Program established by the IIJA. States such as Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Montana, Ohio and the Commonwealth of Virginia have all submitted applications for this IIJA passenger rail development program. Congress should act in good faith towards the local governments that have committed their time and resources to passenger rail programs created by the IIJA.
The return on this infrastructure investment will benefit Americans of all stripes. A study by the Rail Passengers Association quantified the economic benefits of introducing daily train service on the route of the Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle between California and Illinois (up from the current three-times-per-week). This simple step is among several Amtrak is proposing in the first round of IIJA-enabled service improvements, and economic-benefits modeling suggests introducing daily service could generate as much as $2.4 billion over 10 years in visitor spending in hotels, restaurants, and retail, avoided road maintenance, and supported jobs — $144 million each year in Texas alone, and some $239 million each year to the eight states served. That’s at least four times as much the annual cost of operating this service.
The August recess coming up for Congress means the negotiations on these budget proposals between the House and Senate will likely not happen until Congress returns — assuming Speaker McCarthy doesn’t immediately choose to drop all normal business to begin impeaching President Biden.
Reach Out and Touch Your Congress People
The time for action is now. SMART has set up a web page to send a message to Congress. Even if — especially if — your Representative voted to gut Amtrak spending, let them know that you don’t approve. Let your Senators know you support Amtrak and the Senate budget. If your Congress people support Amtrak, give them a thank you. Positive reinforcement!
We are feeling the heat from the Climate Crisis this summer — this is no time to be blocking action that can reduce emissions from transportation, give us more resilient infrastructure, create good jobs, and boost the economy.
The summer recess is when people from Congress return to their districts to supposedly get back in touch with their constituents. If there’s a local opportunity to meet and greet, show up and give rail a boost.