Funding for Amtrak has been a hotly contested issue since the rail line began operating in 1971. But if history is any indicator, a bad crash — such as Tuesday night’s deadly derailment in Philadelphia — may be the catalyst for lawmakers to boost funding.
The publicly funded railroad service operates as a for-profit corporation, yet doesn’t turn a profit, according to
The Washington Post.
A
September 2008 commuter passenger rail crash that killed 25 people and injured dozens more motivated a divided Congress at an impasse over Amtrak funding to pass a bill reauthorizing funding for the rail line and attached a rail safety measure to it. That bill expired in 2013.
Washington historically has allocated about $1 billion per year for Amtrak operations and construction projects,
The Hill reported in March, the same month the House voted 316-101 to approve legislation authorizing nearly $8 billion in Amtrak funding. All of the no votes came from the GOP, which is sharply divided over the issue.
The House’s reauthorization of the 2008 bill did not include a large funding increase like it did in 2008, according to the Post.
The measure still needs Senate approval before it gets to President Barack Obama, who supports it.
A contingent of Republicans who believe that privatizing the rail line’s service on its popular Northeast routes would be more efficient and cost-effective voted against the measure. The Northeast corridor tracks are the only ones Amtrak owns and operates directly.
"If lawmakers want to provide quality, reliable service without burdening taxpayers, they should seek to privatize Amtrak, ending federal subsidies altogether," the conservative group Heritage Action wrote.
The bill, which would expire in 2019, authorizes some $982 million annually for Amtrak's national network and $470 million per year for its Northeast routes, for which ridership reached an all-time high in 2014.
The
National Journal reported that Amtrak accounted for 77 percent of all rail and air travel between Washington and New York.
Amtrak officials counter that the bulk of the money it takes in from passengers on its popular Northeast routes is spent maintaining "money-losing, long-distance routes in parts of the country that have little air service," according to The Hill.
The bill also appropriates $300 million per year for construction on Amtrak routes throughout the country, and about $24 million per year for the company's inspector general.
"The rail service's last authorization bill in 2008 provided about $1.3 billion to the company for a combination of operations, construction and debt service," according to The Hill.
The House Appropriations Committee has a meeting Wednesday morning, previously scheduled, to discuss a transportation bill that deals in part with Amtrak funding,
CNN reports.
Budget hawks, according to the network, want to see funding slashed while Amtrak supporters cite antiquated infrastructure as a reason to increased spending.
"There is clearly more that can be done when we're talking about a railway infrastructure that is decades-old," White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday during an appearance on CNN’s "New Day" following Tuesday night’s horrific derailment in Philadelphia that killed at least six people and injured hundreds of others.
"If there's an opportunity for us to make further investments in our infrastructure that would better safeguard the traveling public, then those are investments that we should make."
Republicans want a provision in the funding bill to require that revenue generated by the Northeast corridor be used only for improvements on those lines, something that "could force Amtrak to streamline its longer routes elsewhere in the country," according to The Hill.
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