WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Rob Andrews (D-Haddon Heights) today successfully passed his amendment to reverse efforts to destroy Amtrak, by cutting the Amtrak Reform Council budget by more than half and saving taxpayers $530,000.  The Andrews amendment , cosponsored by Ohio Republican Bob Ney passed as part of a spending bill which funds the Department of Transportation for the upcoming year. 

"The Amtrak Reform Council (ARC) is a prime example of wasteful government spending. Their only mission is to eliminate Amtrak," Andrews said.  "Governmental organizations are already in place which can independently evaluate and assess the feasibility of Amtrak. The only action the ARC has taken since its inception is to ask the Federal government for more money." 

Last year, the Council had originally requested $1.3 million in federal funding but was granted $450,000 in the House bill but received $750,000 after the bill left the House-Senate conference.  This year, the Council requested an increase to $980,000 but Andrews' amendment knocked the Council back to their 1998 funding level of $450,000. Andrews, an ardent supporter of Amtrak, passed an amendment in 1998 which limited the ARC's ability to use any taxpayer money to hire outside consultants.   

 "The ARC is out to bury Amtrak along with the collective bargaining agreements of thousands of hard-working men and women of labor," Andrews concluded. "Amtrak is an essential component of our nation's economy and transportation system and I am proud to continue to support it."  

Andrews' amendment passed today by voice vote in the House of Representatives.  The final bill will go before the House-Senate conference before being passed on to the President.  Andrews has pledged to make sure these funding cuts remain in the final version of the bill.

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