Good news for rail supporters. Last Friday, Vice President Joe Biden and 12 members of Congress gathered at Union Station in Washington, D.C., to discuss prioritizing transit. Standing outside in front of an Amtrak passenger car (whose aesthetically displeasing exterior reinforced the message for much needed funding), a purposeful Biden made the case for his favorite mode of transportation:
Amtrak is a national treasure, For too long we haven’t made the investments we needed to make it as safe, as reliable, as secure as it can be. That ends now.
Under the previous administration, Amtrak's share of the federal budget dropped to only two-thirds of its Reagan-era level of funding. This has left much of Amtrak's infrastructure in a state of disrepair. However, as Biden announced, the aging rail icon is about to receive much needed funding in the form of $1.3 billion from the recently signed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This is equal to Amtrak's entire budgetary allotment for 2008. Among the targeted projects are:
Joining Biden in attendance were congressional representatives from regions heavily dependent upon rail transportation. Sen. Arlen Specter and Sen. John Kerry, who both represent an important swath of the Northeastern corridor, showed up to provide support. Rep. Rick Larsen from Washington state spoke as well, largely to remind people that Amtrak runs a coast-to-coast operation and has macroeconomic benefits for all Americans. The common message from each speaker inextricably linked quality rail services with the continued development of a green and globally competitive economy.
But not everyone is happy with these spending priorities. Congressional Republicans have set up straw men arguments in order to decry this investment as dangerously wasteful. But their alternative is, well, not really an alternative at all. GOP leaders have once again returned to the stale refrain of highways, highways, and more highways. Perhaps that stratagem would have been appropriate in the 1950s, but today such a policy will only exacerbate the much larger problems associated with U.S. transportation -- environmental hazards and economic inefficiencies. As Biden pointed out during the announcement, without Amtrak the government would need to add seven full lanes to I-95 just to accommodate the additional commuter traffic throughout the Northeast. That is simply not manageable.
Thankfully, most public officials now realize that the future direction of U.S. transportation policy will directly affect both our economic and environmental performance. And lest we forget, the two are increasingly interdependent. Biden's statement makes it clear that the current administration has not forgotten this symbiotic relationship, though alternative transportation advocates like Mariia Zimmerman from Transportation for America still see the need for greater funding. As Zimmerman notes, a wholehearted commitment to these alternative modes of transportation will reap benefits far beyond the immediacy of highway traffic reduction. "[Current] transportation is 95 percent oil dependant and contributes one-third of greenhouse gas emissions," Zimmerman says. "[Rail] has to be a part of our clean-energy solution." Joe Biden, a lifelong Amtrak buff, agrees.
--Josh Linden
