According to the Washington Post, January 17, 2007, (www.washingtonpost.com) Senators Lautenberg and Lott reintroduced their bill to fund Amtrak at $3.2 billion per year for 6 years in exchange for reforms such as reducing its operating costs by 40% over six years and the states sharing the costs of providing passenger services.
How the bill will fare in the House - even with its Democratic majority - remains to be seen since the House proposes pay-as-you-go budget rules. The bill faces other hurdles such as conservatives questioning the wisdom of large investments in Amtrak and the Administration’s views on funding Amtrak.
I think this bill raises many questions. First and most important, will this legislation really stabilize Amtrak’s funding? How can operating costs be reduced? If the states are required to share the costs of the long distance trains passing through their state what if a state refuses to share the cost of the train running through it?