What are U.S. House Republicans Thinking?

Scaling back largest transportation funding in decades

By David C. Lester, Editor-in-Chief

When it comes to reporting news and writing opinions, I check my political views at the newsroom door. Solid reporting, and commentary, for that matter, should not re ect any bias or preconceived notions about any person or group. For example, if I see that Democrats are not getting behind an e ort or taking irresponsible action in the rail and transportation arena, I call them out just as I would Republicans, Independents, or those with no political a liation. And, when some person or group does something sensible, regardless of political a liation, I’m quick to point that out, too, as in my recent praise of Republican U.S. Representative Donalds Byron of Florida’s introduction of the Short Line Railroad Relief Act.

With that in mind, the news that the House GOP proposed a scal 2024 budget that slashes funding for transportation and other infrastructure, funding that many GOP members had previously approved, hit our doorstep just before press time. is is beyond the pale. While it’s certainly early in the process, it’s likely the House, with its Republican majority, will pass the bill, but these proposed cuts will likely fall at in the Senate. And in the unlikely event they make it to the president’s desk, they will surely be vetoed.

Nevertheless, the fact that such sentiment exists anywhere in Congress is cause for concern. It its’ July 18th digital edition, the Washington Post quotes Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) as saying “I guess no one reads newspapers. When big infrastructure issues are blowing up in our face[s], we’re doing the opposite [of what we should do].” Quigley is the leading Democrat on the appropriations panel that oversees major infrastructure programs, including transportation.

Amtrak would be hit particularly hard by these budget cuts, with its’ budget reduced by 64%. Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner had this reaction to the House proposal:

“ e funding levels proposed in the House FY24 transportation appropriations bill for Amtrak and FRA rail programs will stop the advancement of passenger rail in its tracks. If the proposed levels become law, Amtrak will have to radically reduce or suspend service on various routes across the nation, impacting our State Supported, Long Distance and Northeast Corridor services. e proposed amount – a 64% cut from Amtrak’s FY23 annual appropriation and 76% lower than the levels authorized by Congress – would dismantle vital transportation links across America and negatively impact jobs and the American economy. Additionally, with almost no funding for capital expenses, Amtrak would be forced to immediately reduce vital state of good repair work needed to reliably operate our network and defer many of the major modernization projects that were funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) just over a year and a half ago. Amtrak’s IIJA funds can primarily be used only for major infrastructure projects and equipment procurements, not the basic maintenance, operations, and routine day-to-day expenditures supported by our annual appropriations.

At a time when Amtrak has nearly returned to pre-pandemic ridership levels and is busy generating increased revenue, creating a historic number of jobs, and investing in the American economy, these proposed cuts would harm the country and take us in the wrong direction. We will work with Congress as the FY24 appropriations process continues to demonstrate the value of passenger rail to our customers and their constituents and articulate the negative consequences that this funding cut would have on the nation’s intercity passenger rail network.”

In addition to Amtrak, the budget cuts call for the elimination of the U.S. DOT’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program ($50 million) and the Federal Railroad Administration’s Railroad Crossing Elimination Program ($500 million). Another big blow would come to the short line railroad industry, a primary bene ciary of the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program, with a 50% cut in its’ current budget of approximately $260 million.

E orts of this kind will easily take the wind out of the sails of moving forward with transportation infrastructure repair, as well as non-rail infrastructure issues, such as, according to the Post, collapsing highway bridges, reduction of lead contamination in low-income communities and schools, as well as federal water infrastructure programs, to name just a few. e Republicans are decrying the size of our budget de cit – currently greater than $32 trillion –and the need to get spending under control. Well, if the GOP is so concerned about the budget de cit, who among them has stomach to touch the third rail of Republican politics – massive federal tax cuts over the past several decades? I doubt you’ll nd anyone stepping up to that plate.