Contact: Ostrander 202.224.7627 Shana Stribling 202.224.0309
Thursday, March 16, 2006

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Kit Bond, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation-Treasury-HUD, today held a hearing on the fiscal year 2007 federal Department of Transportation budget, where Bond expressed disappointment in proposed funding for transportation programs and pushed the Administration to reform Amtrak.

“I expected the Administration to have a vision for reform and be prepared to implement this vision. Instead, nothing has happened. Reducing the budget for Amtrak makes no sense unless the Administration is prepared to implement a reform strategy which can be supported by the budget request,” said Bond.

Bond heard testimony from Norman Mineta, Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary, Amtrak representatives and other federal transportation officials. Bond touched upon the few bright spots in this year’s DOT budget -- sufficient funding for the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration -- but stressed that the good news ended there.

The Administration’s budget leaves Amtrak with significant funding shortfalls this year. The proposed Amtrak funding of $900 million is clearly not enough to support Amtrak’s funding needs, said Bond. In addition to the budget shortfalls, the Administration has offered no plan to reform Amtrak.

Last year, at the Administration’s insistence, Congress provided the Administration with sole authority to approve or disapprove Amtrak’s request for funds to cover capital needs and operating losses. Bond expressed concern that the Administration has yet to use this authority, despite Amtrak’s troubles.

DOT and Amtrak must be able to account for its expenditures and budget submissions with long term plans for individual capital improvements, said Bond.

The Administration’s lack of a reform plan does not give Amtrak a free pass, said Bond. Until a reform bill is enacted, Bond expects the Amtrak Board to “step up to the plate and make such reforms that are needed and necessary, consistent with the current budget and budget requests.”

While noting that his subcommittee will hold a separate hearing on the Federal Aviation Administration, Bond still took the Administration to task for failing to fund the federal government’s responsibilities to our nation’s airports, in particular the Airport Improvement Program (AIP).

“We need to protect the future of commercial aviation and I consider the proposed funding level a failure of leadership. I need to understand the justification for this funding and how the Administration intends to maintain a world-class commercial aviation industry,” said Bond.