AMTRAK REAUTHORIZATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 1989 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:05 p.m., in room 2218, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Thomas A. Luken (chairman) presiding. Mr. LUKEN. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. The subcommittee is here today to consider reauthorization of the National Rail Passenger Corporation, or Amtrak. It was 18 years ago this month that Amtrak began. Today, Amtrak provides a nationwide system of rail passenger service over 24,000 miles of track in nearly every State of the continental United States. Last year, it carried over 21 million intercity passengers, as well as over 15 million commuters. Over the years, Amtrak has demonstrated sure and steady progress in reducing costs and increasing revenues. In 1981, its revenue-to-cost ratio was 48 percent. In each of the last 7 years, Amtrak improved its ability to generate revenues and hold the line on its costs. Last year-the year that Amtrak earned more than $1 billion in revenues-its revenue-to-cost ratio increased to almost 70 percent. In short, Amtrak is paying more and more of its own way. These accomplishments have not been attained without difficulty. During the Reagan administration, proposals to eliminate funding for Amtrak, or to sell it, were made year in and year out. Simply put, Congress had to fight President Reagan every step of the way to keep Amtrak on track. During the 100th Congress, our subcommittee held two hearings on Amtrak. The first on April 9, 1988, dealt with the administration's proposal to sell Amtrak. The second, on February 25, 1988, dealt with reauthorizing Amtrak. At both of those hearings, the administration's position to get rid of Amtrak was soundly ridiculed by members of this subcommittee, who called such ideas "Alice in Wonderland," "folly," and "quicksand." In fact, at our hearings, the former Federal Railroad Administrator admitted that it was not really feasible to consider selling Amtrak, even though that was apparently being seriously recommended. The simple fact of the matter is that some amount of government funding is required to have a national railroad passenger operation. Other countries, such as Germany, France, Great Britain, (1) and Japan, have made a much greater financial commitment to rail passenger service than we in the United States have. For example, the 12 members of the European Community have recently embarked upon a $50 billion capital program to provide improved rail passenger service in Europe. Comparatively, our investment in Amtrak is a drop in the bucket. Yesterday, I introduced H.R. 2364, the Amtrak Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 1989. This bill provides for modest increases in funding for Amtrak through fiscal year 1992. With the levels of funding in the bill, Amtrak will be able to continue to provide-and even enhance, safe, reasonable, and effective service to millions of passengers throughout the country. The Federal budget deficit is perhaps the most pressing problem that our country faces. But as this subcommittee's investigations have shown, hair-brained proposals-such as selling off Amtrakwill not do anything to help us reduce the budget, and overall, may in fact worsen our fiscal position. Instead, I think the members of this subcommittee will join me in stating that our primary mission in considering funding proposals for Amtrak is to assure that the taxpayers' dollars are used efficiently and wisely. We hope the new administration will join this subcommittee and Congress in trying to find the best way to keep Amtrak on track. The bill also seeks to protect the rights of nonsmokers who choose to travel on Amtrak. The bill requires Amtrak to provide separate nonsmoking cars for passengers who want to travel in a smoke-free environment. We need to assure those who travel on Amtrak that they will not be subjected to the adverse effects and annoyance from other passengers who do smoke. At present, Amtrak can adopt its own smoking policies and procedures. By making necessary changes in the law, we can better assure that consistent and rigid nonsmoking requirements, which are enforceable, are applied. We will hear from several witnesses today, including Graham Claytor, Jr., the Chairman and President of Amtrak, and a representative of the Department of Transportation, as well as representatives of railroad labor and railroad passengers. We look forward to hearing their testimony. [Testimony resumes on p. 27.] [The bill, background memorandum, letter to Mr. Claytor, and prepared statement and attachments of Congressman Al Swift, follow:] 1018T CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2364 To amend the Rail Passenger Service Act to authorize appropriations for the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 16, 1989 Mr. THOMAS A. LUKEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce I A BILL To amend the Rail Passenger Service Act to authorize appropriations for the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, and for other purposes. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 4 This Act may be cited as the "Amtrak Reauthorization 5 and Improvement Act of 1989". 6 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 7 Section 601(b)(2) of the Rail Passenger Service Act (45 8 U.S.C. 601(b)(2)) is amended (1) by striking "and" at the end of subparagraph 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 2 (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (E) and inserting in lieu thereof a semicolon; and (3) by adding at the end thereof the following: "(F) not to exceed $630,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1989; "(G) not to exceed $656,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1990; "(H) not to exceed $684,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1991; and "(I) not to exceed $712,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1992.". 12 SEC. 3. RESIDENCE OF EMPLOYEES. 13 (a) Section 11504(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 14 amended to read as follows: 15 "(a) No part of the compensation paid by a rail carrier 16 providing transportation subject to the jurisdiction of the 17 Commission under subchapter I of chapter 105 of this title to 18 an employee who performs regularly assigned duties on a 19 railroad in more than one State shall be subject to the income 20 tax laws of any State or subdivision of that State, other than 21 the State or subdivision thereof of the employee's 22 residence.". 23 (b) Section 11504(d) of title 49, United States Code, is 24 amended HR 2364 IH 1 2 3 4 5 (2); 3 (1) by designating the existing text as paragraph (2) by inserting before such paragraph (2) the following new paragraph: "(1) A rail, express, or sleeping car carrier withholding 6 pay from an employee under subsection (a) of this section 7 shall file income tax information returns and other reports 8 only with the State and subdivision of residence of the 9 employee."; and 10 11 1227 (3) in paragraph (2), as designated by paragraph (1) of this subsection (A) by striking "rail, express, sleeping car,”; (B) by striking "(a) or" both places it appears. 16 SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF NONSMOKERS. 17 Title VIII of the Rail Passenger Service Act (45 U.S.C. 18 642 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following 19 new section: 20 "SEC. 810. PROTECTION OF NONSMOKERS. 21 "The Corporation shall provide separate cars in which 22 smoking (including cigarettes, cigars, and pipes) is prohibited, 23 on each passenger train operated by the Corporation, for all 24 passengers who request a smoke free environment.". ●HR 2364 IH |