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MCCAIN INTRODUCES AMTRAK RESTRUCTURING BILL
February 15, 2002
Washington, DC - Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Ranking Republican of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today introduced the Rail Passenger Service Improvement Act. The bill would enable the emergence of a new rail passenger system that would be operated by competing franchises, including Amtrak, and overseen by the Department of Transportation (DOT). It would require Amtrak's restructuring, financial stabilization and privatization through the creation of an Amtrak Control Board; and require states to play a bigger role with regard to routing decisions and financial responsibilities.
"Given Amtrak's extremely precarious financial situation, I strongly believe we must work together to pass legislation this year that will provide for a restructured, revitalized, and streamlined rail passenger network," McCain said. "While it might seem easier to simply throw more money at Amtrak instead of making tough policy decisions, we would be failing in our Congressional responsibilities."
Amtrak's debt has grown to over $3.3 billion. The DOT Inspector General (DOT-IG) issued a report in January which found that Amtrak experienced its largest losses in history in Fiscal Year 2002. Specifically, the DOT-IG found "Amtrak lost $1.1 billion last year" and "Amtrak is no closer to operating self-sufficiency now than it was in 1997."
The Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997 provided Amtrak with the statutory reforms Amtrak said were needed to enable it to address its financial and operational problems existing at the time. In turn, the Act directed Amtrak to reach operational self-sufficiency five years after enactment, which is December 2, 2002. The Act also established the Amtrak Reform Council (ARC) to oversee Amtrak and notify the Congress if it found Amtrak would not be able to meet its statutory obligations. ARC issued its recommendations last week for a restructuring plan. Many of those recommendations are included in the McCain bill.
"Despite the fact that Amtrak has received over $5 billion in federal assistance since the reform bill's enactment, and received the authority to implement management and structural changes, little if anything has been accomplished since the Reform Act's enactment," McCain said. "We must get to work now and determine how best to address Amtrak's financial and operational crisis."
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