This Week at Amtrak 2006-02-06
February 6th, 2006
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Volume 3 Number 7
- Can you feel the tingling in the air? Yes, it’s that time of year again, when all of the wards of the federal government line up and begin the annual begfest and budget requests for the 2007 fiscal year which begins October 31st.Reuters news service has already reported that the White House Office of Management and Budget is requesting $900 million for Amtrak next year, what inexplicitly in the past has been wrongly called a “shutdown” budget by those who don’t understand the true nature of Amtrak’s budget needs. Let’s understand the simple statement and fact of Amtrak life that repairs and upgrades on the Northeast Corridor have nothing to do with running the national system, and the capital needs are separate from operating needs. A figure of $900 million more than adequately covers all operating assistance needs nationwide and on the NEC and leaves plenty of room for reasonable capital improvements.
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