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Rail Union Leaders Criticize Amtrak Reform Council, 3/20 |
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Report by Amtrak “Reform” Council Invest in Amtrak, Reject Radical Restructuring Washington, D.C. . . . ,The following statement was issued today by Edward Dubroski, Chair of the Rail Labor Division of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) in response to today’s release of the Second Annual Report of the Amtrak Reform Council. “Today, the congressionally-created Amtrak Reform Council (ARC) issued yet another disappointing report about the future of Amtrak and national passenger rail service in this country. The ARC had a chance to make a clear, bold show of support for Amtrak, but instead offered up a complicated series of recommendations that further underscore the ARC’s anti-Amtrak bias. “The ARC could have issued a rallying cry for making our national passenger rail service a long-term success but instead missed another opportunity to convince the American people that it performs a worthy function. After reviewing the ARC’s latest report, we deeply regret that American taxpayer dollars were wasted on the work of this misguided panel and vow to continue our effort to zero out federal funding for this unnecessary oversight panel. “The ARC has rolled out a murky series of options and rationales for its ideological agenda, when it should have called on Congress and the President to fully fund Amtrak and give it a real chance to be viable. Then – and only then – can responsible policy leaders examine options for Amtrak into the future. The restructuring proposals put forth in the report are radical, unnecessary and could cause more harm than good to the cause of intercity rail passenger service. It’s time to stop the globetrotting and reports and give Amtrak a genuine chance to be a world class passenger rail operation by providing a real, sustained federal financial commitment to our national passenger railroad. “One investment measure that has wide bipartisan support is the High Speed Rail Investment Act. We had hoped that the ARC would have realized the innovation behind this legislation and believe the Council missed an opportunity by failing to join in support of this bill. “For all the global jet-setting ARC members did at taxpayers’ expense, you would think they would have noticed that no nation in the world allows its intercity passenger rail service to wither on the vine. Every nation subsidizes passenger rail to ensure it can deliver first class transportation services. From their globe-trotting journeys, we would have hoped that ARC members understand that other countries, particularly England, are reeling from the dire consequences of privatization including the degradation of safety and service. Instead, the ARC majority would steer America down that road as well. “Clearly, Amtrak and its 20,000 employees are at a crossroads. Long-term and sustainable financing, not ideologically driven proposals to break up Amtrak, will ensure a strong and viable national passenger rail system. The ARC should heed that call or cease to exist.” |
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