We're not sure what happened. Maybe President Bush stopped by the Tiger Mart for some Cheetos and a Coke and discovered gas is $3.57 a gallon. Maybe Dick Cheney freaked out when he saw what it costs to fill up his limo. Whatever it was, it must've been a big deal, because suddenly the Bush administration is willing to spend some money on rail.
Bush plans to sign legislation that will double Amtrak funding to $13 billion over five years. It's an about-face for an administration that's been committed to whittling down Amtrak's budget and replacing it with "private sector funding," W's answer to everything but defense spending and Wall Street bailouts. Democrats aren't fans of this idea, and the Senate passed the funding bill — which also requires Amtrak and other rail companies to adopt collision avoidance technology — by a 74-24 vote.
The legislation will "substantially change our federal policy toward passenger rail travel," Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey said during Senate debate this week, according to the Wall Street Journal.
There's never been a better time to spend on rail. Amtrak's ridership has jumped by record-setting margins recently, with the railroad reporting it carried 2,750,278 people in July, a 14-percent increase and the biggest jump in its 36-year history. So far this fiscal year, ridership stands at 23.7
million (up from 21.5 million) and revenue has reached $1.4 billion, also up 14 percent. Alex Kummant, Amtrak's president and CEO, says the company is building on that growth by improving on-time performance.
The Amtrak bill highlights the different attitudes of the presidential candidates. McCain voted against it, saying through a spokesperson that "with the financial decisions facing our nation, this multibillion-dollar commitment of taxpayer dollars could be dedicated to far more important national priorities."
Obama supported the bill, saying "American businesses and families deserve to have safe, reliable and efficient transportation options. For too long, our nation's lack of investment in too many aspects of our infrastructure has undermined that important goal."
These comments mirror the broader stance of each candidate on transportation. Obama, on paper at least, has been a long-time proponent of Amtrak, while McCain's policies focus almost exclusively on auto-related initiatives: tax credits for development of a zero-emissions car, strengthening CAFE standards and providing a fat prize for the first person to develop a next-generation battery.
Some think that the Amtrak bill might signal a broader shift in U.S. transportation funding. The federal government spends more than $40 billion annually on highways, roughly $10 billion on mass transit and about $1.4 billion on
Amtrak. Shifting those numbers around won't even come close to solving our transportation problems, but it would be a move in the right direction.
Photo by Flickr userandrew.deci
Post updated 11 a.m. PST.**
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