House bill cuts Amtrak funding 40 percent [View all]

[brooklynite]

Source: The Hill

The House is proposing a 40 percent funding cut for Amtrak in a new passenger rail bill that was unveiled on Thursday by the chamber’s Transportation Committee.

Amtrak has received about $1 billion per year from the federal government since its inception in 1971. But Republican leaders on the panel said the long-overdue rail funding measure would force the company to streamline its operations and survive mostly on the money that is generated by ticket sales.

The bill is unlikely to be approved by lawmakers before this year’s elections.

...snip...

Amtrak’s subsidies have been a source of contention for years in Congress. Republicans have pushed in the past to privatize service on its heavily traveled Northeastern U.S. routes, which are the most profitable in the company’s network.

Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/217411-house-rail-bill-cuts-amtrak-funding-40-percent

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Not going to pass the Senate.