{"id":46225,"date":"2019-04-01T14:34:51","date_gmt":"2019-04-01T18:34:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/?p=46225"},"modified":"2019-04-01T14:34:51","modified_gmt":"2019-04-01T18:34:51","slug":"amtrak-budget-again-being-targeted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/amtrak-budget-again-being-targeted\/","title":{"rendered":"Amtrak budget again being targeted","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

Amtrak as we know it is in the budget crosshairs again, and if proposed cuts go through, it could have a lasting effect on not only our nation\u2019s communities, but Railroad Retirement benefits as well.
\nPresident Donald Trump\u2019s budget request proposes a $1.06 billion reduction in funding to Amtrak. Service to rural and mid-sized city destinations would be drastically affected with the adoption of this plan, and 15 routes classified as long distance could eventually lose federal funding due to a change in how funds are allocated.
\n\u201cWe hope that, like last year, this budget is a non-starter,\u201d said Jim Mathews, president and CEO of the Rail Passengers Association (RPA). \u201cBut we note with some concern that this time around, the administration appears to be getting a little smarter in its approach \u2014 and that approach could yet endanger our trains.\u201d
\nRather than cutting the routes outright, as has been proposed in previous Trump budgets, the 2020 plan would shift the money available to fund long-distance routes from Amtrak\u2019s annual outlay to a competitive process. Over a four-year period, the administration would choose the routes that received funds with states applying for funding through the Restoration & Enhancement grant program.
\n\u201cThe Trump Administration seems to be taking a page from anti-long-distance factions in Washington, looking to pit National Network services against the Northeast Corridor. And by moving it to a competitive grant program \u2014 controlled by the White House \u2014 the administration gets to choose the winners and losers,\u201d Mathews said.
\nThe plan doesn\u2019t sit well with the RPA\u2019s Mathews, and it shouldn\u2019t sit well with SMART Transportation Division rail members. Reducing Amtrak\u2019s long-distance service will result in fewer people at work for the carrier. Fewer people working for the carrier means fewer railroaders paying into Railroad Retirement \u2014 a Railroad Retirement Board analysis of Trump\u2019s 2018 budget proposal<\/a> that would have cut Amtrak’s long-distance routes said an estimated 10,000 rail jobs would go away with the routes’ elimination.
\nFor long-distance rail service to continue, the 2020 budget document suggests that the 23 states that the routes run through begin footing the bill rather than the federal government, which handed many corporations a major tax reduction at the end of 2017.
\n\u201cIn 2020, the Department of Transportation, Amtrak, states, and affected local Governments will collaborate to rationalize the Long Distance network to more efficiently serve modern market needs as a series of shorter-distance, high-performing corridor services where passenger rail as a transportation options (sic) makes sense,\u201d the 2020 budget proposal states on page 78.
\nThe budget goes on to say that \u201clow population areas along the routes will be better served by other modes of transportation, like intercity buses.
\n\u201cOver time, Federal support for Amtrak would be significantly reduced as Amtrak is able to right-size its network and States play a larger role, as they do now for State-supported and Northeast Corridor services,\u201d the budget proposal concludes.<\/p>\n

Hoosier State on the brink<\/h2>\n

But what happens to smaller places like Indiana, where routes are already in jeopardy?
\nMayor Dennis Buckley\u2019s city of Beech Grove is home to one of three Amtrak repair facilities nationwide. The Indianapolis-area shop employs approximately 525 workers and is served by Amtrak\u2019s Hoosier State line that transports passengers from Indianapolis to Chicago as well as Amtrak cars to the Beech Grove facility for repairs.
\n

\"\"
Beech Grove, Indiana, Mayor Dennis Buckley, left, holds a copy of Trains Magazine that featured his city’s Amtrak repair facility that was presented to him by SMART Transportation Division Indiana State Legislative Director Kenny Edwards, right.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nThe state\u2019s Legislature and the governor are looking to defund the route, Buckley said, and he finds himself having to fight for the jobs created by both Amtrak and by the businesses that have sprung up around the repair facility in his city of almost 15,000 people.
\nIn a letter to state legislators urging them to support the route, Buckley said that Amtrak brings $100 million to the economy of central Indiana and Beech Grove\u2019s Marion County.
\n\u201cAmtrak must also become more competitive in the business of local mass transit,\u201d Buckley said, but eliminating the four-stop, 196-mile route would be a severe blow to his community.
\n\u201cBudgets should be set up to continually fund the Hoosier State line for years to come,\u201d Buckley wrote to legislators, \u201cI certainly recommend that the State of Indiana invests in our future. Our livelihood depends on it.\u201d
\nAs part of his effort, Buckley has reached out to Indianapolis media outlets. He would welcome it if SMART TD members who are Indiana residents talk to their legislators and state Gov. Eric Holcomb about maintaining the route\u2019s funding.<\/p>\n

Repeat performance<\/h2>\n

The targeting of Amtrak’s long-distance routes is not new.
\nIn addition to the administration\u2019s yearly call to eliminate long-distance service, there was a battle waged last year over the Southwest Chief. Amtrak leadership had sought to replace portions of the route between Dodge City, Kan., to Albuquerque, N.M., with bus shuttles because of a lack of Positive Train Control (PTC) technology.
\nCommunities on the Chicago-to-Los Angeles daily route mobilized, and the activism of workers, passenger rail advocates, politicians and others preserved the route\u2019s funding and operation as-is through 2019<\/a>.
\nSimilar action might be needed yet again to prevent any proposed harmful cuts to Amtrak\u2019s long-distance routes as the federal budgeting process continues. SMART Transportation Division will keep members apprised.
\nTo find out who represents you in Congress, visit the SMART TD Legislative Action Center. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amtrak as we know it is in the budget crosshairs again, and if proposed cuts go through, it could have a lasting effect on not only our nation\u2019s communities, but Railroad Retirement benefits as well. President Donald Trump\u2019s budget request proposes a $1.06 billion reduction in funding to Amtrak. Service to rural and mid-sized city […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":7,"featured_media":380,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[44,31,45,9,18,25],"tags":[4270,574,3804,2238,2928,3603],"member_types":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAmtrak budget again being targeted - SMART Union<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/amtrak-budget-again-being-targeted\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Amtrak budget again being targeted - SMART Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Amtrak as we know it is in the budget crosshairs again, and if proposed cuts go through, it could have a lasting effect on not only our nation\u2019s communities, but Railroad Retirement benefits as well. President Donald Trump\u2019s budget request proposes a $1.06 billion reduction in funding to Amtrak. 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