Amtrak supporters derail subsidy cutters

The House rejected moves by conservatives to cut taxpayer subsidies for Amtrak yesterday as backers of the money-losing passenger railroad cemented their position in the Democratic Congress.

By a 328-94 vote, House lawmakers emphatically rejected a move by Rep. Jeff Flake, Arizona Republican, to eliminate Amtrak’s operating subsidies. Mr. Flake argued that subsidies of more than $400 per passenger on the most inefficient money-losing routes demonstrate that cross-country train travel doesn’t make economic sense anymore.

Rep. John W. Olver, Massachusetts Democrat and the chief sponsor of the underlying $104 billion transportation appropriations bill, credited Amtrak for squeezing savings of almost $100 million a year from reforms such as more efficiently deploying sleeping-car service and curbing food service costs.

“There is not any passenger rail system anywhere in this world that operates without some operating subsidy,” Mr. Olver said.

But conservatives said that after 36 years in business, Amtrak should not cost taxpayers almost $1.5 billion for the budget year beginning Oct. 1.

“Rather than pouring money into this colossally losing investment, we should stop pouring good money after bad,” said Rep. Michele Bachmann, Minnesota Republican, who lost a 308-110 vote on a bid to transfer $106 million from Amtrak to grants to local governments and housing authorities to house the homeless.

The White House has sought big cuts in Amtrak subsidies in recent years, only to be rebuffed by the Republican-controlled Congress. So it was no surprise that with Democrats now in control, Amtrak’s subsidies survived.

Amtrak runs trains through almost every state, which gives it great support among lawmakers despite criticism from the Bush administration and some lawmakers over high labor costs and excessive subsidies on its cross-country trains.

House leaders hoped to pass the funding bill late yesterday.