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NYC#25 wrote under another thread, "Its getting grimmer. Sen. Tom Coburn R-OK is holding up the Amtrak funding bill that we all thought was a "slam-dunk". He's blocking the appointment of the Senate conferees and that may make it impossible to pass it before Congress ends this session."  This post is probably a better fit for the discussion about the future of Amtrak.Holding up and reviewing the request for the incremental funding for Amtrak is a prudent step.  The federal deficit this year will be more than $400 billion.  The projected deficit for next year is more than $430 billion.  This will bring the federal debt to more than $10 trillion excluding the impact of the federal government assuming the debt of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.The funding problem could be resolved with two steps:  <blockquote>Discontinue the long distance trains, which bring in about 23 per cent of system revenues while chewing up more than 140 per cent of the operating expenses or 48 per cent of the federal payments required to cover Amtrak's deficits, would save more than $515 million per year.</blockquote><blockquote>Require the states to fund most of passenger rail expansion. The future for passenger rail service lies in relatively short regional corridors. The capital outlays and operating deficits should be worn by the states they serve. Unlike the federal government, most state governments are required to balance their budgets. Thus, by requiring the states to fund any expanded services, the outlays would be on a pay as you go basis as opposed to laying the burden on future generations. </blockquote>Some have argued that the $1.3 billion spent annually on Amtrak is a drop in the bucket.  True!  But one of the reasons that the U.S. has a large debt, much of which is lodged overseas, is because of the argument that another billion won't make much difference.  The federal deficit will never be fixed as long as this argument holds sway.
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