=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/chronicle/archive/2002/05= /09/MN6328.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday, May 9, 2002 (SF Chronicle) Money likely for Amtrak, highways/Bipartisan support in Congress could give= California millions Edward Epstein, Chronicle Washington Bureau Washington -- California's hopes for expanded Amtrak service, billions of dollars to build a high-speed rail system and the return of highway money slashed by President Bush are getting a boost in Congress. Talk of gutting Amtrak's budget or of breaking up the money-losing national rail service has faded in Congress and been replaced by multibillion-dollar plans to inject money into the system and help states like California sell bonds to build speedy passenger rail service. Huge bipartisan majorities in both houses also have lined up behind legislation that would restore $4.4 billion in highway financing nationwide. California would get back nearly $373 million, for a total of almost $2.2 billion in the coming fiscal year. The state estimates the restoration would save 20,000 jobs. But the fight over highway and rail financing has only just begun, as the congressional appropriations process gears up for its late summer climax. Relations between Congress' transportation committees and its powerful appropriations panels are traditionally prickly, and the appropriators have already said they will try to cut the increasingly generous spending plans. What's more, Bush -- faced with a growing budget deficit -- hasn't moved from his initial proposals. He said he had no choice but to slash the $27 billion envisioned for highway construction because of declining gas tax revenues. The administration has not taken a position on congressional proposals to spend $1.2 billion in the coming fiscal year for Amtrak or to create a $59 billion, 10-year plan to allow states to sell tax-free bonds to build high- speed rail such as the system envisioned between San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles. The money could also be used to improve freight lines. For Amtrak, the congressional support is a tonic. Earlier this year, the= n- Amtrak President George Warrington warned that the system was hemorrhaging money and would have to stop running long-distance trains, including the Oakland-to-Chicago California Zephyr. But as the prospect of more cash from Congress improved, those plans were shelved. LARGEST CONGRESSIONAL PANEL The popularity of transportation programs in Congress is on display at t= he House Transportation Committee. With 75 members, it is the largest committee in Congress and members depend on the good will generated by highway, rail and airport spending. As a result, the committee is still a bastion of bipartisanship -- a rarity on Capitol Hill. The $1.2 billion Amtrak financing bill and the $59 billion rail-bond bill sailed through the rail subcommittee Wednesday by voice vote. "This is an historic piece of legislation," said Rep. James Oberstar of Minnesota, the full committee's ranking Democrat, as the bond issue was passed. "It means the United States will take its rightful place among the world= 's nations that have high-speed rail, where we should have been 20 years ago." The House's rail largesse was prompted in part by a post-Sept. 11 feeling that improved rail service would help preserve economic activity if more aviation-related terrorism takes place. But the House's proposed boost is nothing compared to the vision of Sen. Ernest Hollings, D-S.C. Hollings, who heads the Senate Commerce, Science and Technology Committe= e, has pushed a $23 billion, five-year Amtrak financing plan through his committee. It calls for about nine times the $521 million Amtrak received this year and Bush has proposed again for next year. The president has said money for the long-troubled passenger system shouldn't be increased until management reforms are made and a long-term plan for national rail passenger service is devised. Realizing that many of his colleagues will limit their backing of increased spending to terrorism-related projects, Hollings has named his bill the "National Defense Rail Act." Showing the bipartisan strength behind rail, the $59 billion bond plan w= as originally proposed by conservative Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, who chairs the House Transportation Committee. Young has been a frequent critic of Amtrak, which has received about $25 billion in federal subsidies since it was created in 1970. The rail service has never come close to breaking even financially. CALIFORNIA IS TOP SPENDER Young wants the states to build passenger rail. California already spends more money than any other state on Amtrak service, paying the national corporation $63.1 million a year to operate trains such as the Capitol Corridor route between Sacramento, Oakland and San Jose. Amtrak's critics, many of whom assail it for poor management and inabili= ty to cut costs, said the sudden embrace of the transit agency won't change things. "At best, this is a Band Aid," warned Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., when the one- year Amtrak funding bill was approved Wednesday. "It will stave off the inevitable, but next year Amtrak will be even closer to bankruptcy. "If you think this is the end of a conflicted policy, that couldn't be further from reality," added Mica. E-mail Edward Epstein at eepstein@sfchronicle.com.=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2002 SF Chronicle