Save Our Trains Michigan
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Rep. John Olver, D-Mass., a supporter of federal funding for the passenger service, called Amtrak "a fishbone caught in our throat," a reference to the disproportionate debate over a relatively small budget item in the U.S. Department of Transportation's overall $59.5 billion request for next year.
Olver complained that the administration's budget "irresponsibly uses the word 'bankruptcy"' when talking about Amtrak.
"Do you know of any transit system or a rail passenger system anywhere else in the world that breaks even or makes money?" Olver repeatedly asked Mineta, who had referred to a 1997 law that required Amtrak to stand on its own.
The Bush administration's 2006 budget calls for eliminating the subsidies that have kept Amtrak running for 34 years.
This year, the government provided one-third of Amtrak's $3 billion operating budget and has provided $29 billion in subsidies since the National Rail Passenger Corp. was created in 1971 when freight railroads abandoned their financially troubled passenger service.
Story
Olver complained that the administration's budget "irresponsibly uses the word 'bankruptcy"' when talking about Amtrak.
"Do you know of any transit system or a rail passenger system anywhere else in the world that breaks even or makes money?" Olver repeatedly asked Mineta, who had referred to a 1997 law that required Amtrak to stand on its own.
The Bush administration's 2006 budget calls for eliminating the subsidies that have kept Amtrak running for 34 years.
This year, the government provided one-third of Amtrak's $3 billion operating budget and has provided $29 billion in subsidies since the National Rail Passenger Corp. was created in 1971 when freight railroads abandoned their financially troubled passenger service.
Story