That's true about the board members non-standard appointment. But I must stand by my view that, whether it's a scandal or not, that we're stuck with the current board's decision to change Amtrak's culture and long term plan to eliminate long distance trains. As I've stated before, even if Amtrak gets all of the Congressional support and money needed to continue operating as in its current form, the "independent" design of Amtrak makes it free and clear from a lot of direct Congressional jurisdiction. In every debate that Congress has ever had regarding Amtrak operations (on-board service, routes, etc.) all were appropriations issues and how Amtrak can or can't use it. The company only has to answer to Congress because it receives federal subsidies. If Amtrak chooses not to accept federal funding (which I suspect maybe a board tactic), no more Congressional jurisdiction. Using Conrail of the past as a similar situation, it was chartered as a "for profit" government corporation. Unlike Amtrak, Conrail reached operational self sufficiency stopped accepting federal subsidies and went private with an IPO, and was out of Congress' hands. The same goes with Amtrak. Since the original, and current, corporate charter has the National Railroad Passenger Corporation as a "for profit" government corporation like the old government created Conrail, only if Congress changes the law that designed Amtrak is admended to make it a "public service" (Corporation for Public Broadcasting, as an example), it has no legal authority to make Amtrak do something operationally that requires it to continually seek federal subsidies to operate it. If Amtrak were rechartered as a "public service" like PBS, they could legislate "passenger railroad policy" that the Amtrak Board of Directors was bound to follow. The President would appoint whomever he wanted to the board, but they would be bound to certain principles and couldn't modify or change the Congressionally mandated "passenger railroad policy." The PBS board all the time gets called on the carpet for programming decisions that viewers dislike. Congress can force the PBS board to modify its decisions or face a recall. Unfortunately, Amtrak or its board isn't set up this way. Amtrak board members can be called to testify about their decisions, but aren't subject to direct oversight or recall. The board can, and most likely will (using rhetoric about self sufficiency), say they're out to kill the long distance trains and Congress can't stop them under the current charter of Amtrak. We have to change the rules for Amtrak or it's going to become the company that the Bush Adminstration wants it to be using its appointed board members. :unsure:
