Amtrak Crash Sparks Further Debate About Infrastructure Funding Shortfall

Emile Wamsteker- Bloomberg News

This story appears in the May 25 print edition of Transport Topics.

WASHINGTON — President Obama and congressional Democrats said the deadly derailment of an Amtrak train in Philadelphia is a reminder that Congress should focus on restoring the country’s aging infrastructure.

“Until we know for certain what caused this tragedy, I want to reiterate what I have already said, that we are a growing country with a growing economy. We need to invest in infrastructure that keeps us that way and not just when something bad happens like a bridge collapse or a train derailment,” Obama said May 14, two days after the crash that killed eight passengers and paralyzed rail service between New York and Philadelphia for nearly a week.

New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker said on Meet the Press: “The United States of America is falling behind dramatically. . . . We are losing economic competitiveness, we are losing out on growth, so let’s leave that partisan argument aside for a second.”

Booker and other Democrats called for additional spending for transportation projects and were critical of Republican leaders who quickly divorced the accident from concerns about infrastructure funding.

“What are you prepared to do? Make believe you’re doing something? Hide under the desk in your office?” Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), a member of the Ways and Means panel, told opponents of increased spending during floor debate on a two-month highway funding extension.

Away from the floor action, Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) noted that legislation he is sponsoring that would establish a $50 billion infrastructure fund is “a bipartisan solution right in front of us that can pay for new infrastructure in a fiscally responsible, pro-growth way that creates jobs, rebuilds America and improves the lives of our constituents.”

For fiscal 2016, the White House requested $1.25 billion for the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, TIGER, grant program. House Republicans opted to reduce the program to $400 million less than this year’s enacted level of $500 million. Republicans also rejected efforts from Democrats to increase funding for rail safety systems and transit infrastructure projects.

GOP leaders did not view the train derailment the same way Democrats did.

Speaking to reporters May 14, House Speaker John Boehner(R-Ohio) dismissed the premise that underinvestments in infrastructure played a role in the crash: “Obviously, it’s not about funding. The train was going twice the speed limit. Adequate funds were there. No funding has been cut from rail safety.”

On the House floor, before voting on his two-month funding measure, Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure panel, said Amtrak’s budget and concerns about infrastructure need to be addressed in other legislation. Shuster announced he will hold a hearing about Amtrak after the Memorial Day recess.

Republicans leaders will await the National Transportation Safety Board’s final report to determine the cause of the accident.