House Advances Cuts to Amtrak, Senate Starts Deliberations

by Sean Jeans-Gail, Vice President of Government Affairs + Policy

A bill that would implement significant cuts to passenger rail and transit is headed for a vote before the full House after a party line vote in the House Appropriations Committee. Republican leaders were able to brush aside dissent from the Democratic minority during a Wednesday markup, advancing the Fiscal Year 2025 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD) budget, 31 - 26. However, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) acknowledged the final FY25 funding levels will likely depend on the outcome of this year’s general election in November.

Rail and Transit Bear the Brunt of Transportation Cuts

The Committee’s T-HUD bill cuts operational funding to Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor by $139 million compared to Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) levels, with a $163 million cut to the National Network account. It would also zero out discretionary funding for the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail, a popular program that is helping states upgrade and expand America’s intercity passenger rail network, while reducing funding for railroad safety research by $8 million.

“The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has provided a bipartisan framework for correcting decades of underinvestment in rail and transit, and it’s disappointing to see House appropriators reject that bipartisan approach with this budget proposal,” said Rail Passengers Association President Jim Mathews. “It’s particularly frustrating because, absent these cuts, work on upgrading and expanding the U.S. intercity rail network is poised to finally take off this summer. Amtrak is on pace to almost double the capital expenditures it’s making to upgrade and replace aging bridges, tunnels, stations, and railcars long past their useful lifespan. Congress should be supporting this work, not applying the brakes.”

“Business travelers and commuters—myself included—rely on this service to get to work,” said Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). “Thousands across the region are employed, directly and indirectly, by rail service and the commerce it drives… the national economy will suffer if we do not make vital investments in Amtrak.”

The draft bill also cuts funding to the Federal Transit Administration by $1.3 billion compared to FY24, with a 66 percent reduction to Capital Investment Grants—a critical program for building new rail transit and bus rapid transit routes.

However, not all transportation modes saw reductions in funding. The House’s FY25 T-HUD budget directs an extra $552 million towards highways, for a total of $63.5 billion. That includes $200 million to build new government-funded parking spaces for long-haul truckers. The Federal Aviation Administration, meanwhile, would see an increase of $1.6 billion, for a total of $21.7 billion.

Republicans rejected several Democratic amendments during the markup, including an amendment offered by Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) to remove language that would prohibit the use of funds in this bill going to support work on the California High-Speed Rail Project.

Senate Action Ramping Up

On the other side of Capitol Hill, the Senate Appropriations Committee agreed to top-line allocations for all 12 funding bills this week, signaling the start of budget action in that body. The Senate allocations conform to the bipartisan debt deal passed in 2023, and passenger advocates can expect better numbers on passenger rail and transit spending in the Senate’s T-HUD bill.

“We’ve seen millions of American passengers suffer through infrastructure failures over the past month, particularly on the Northeast Corridor,” continued Mathews. “We stand ready to work with Congress to accelerate modernization work, not cut the operations budget Amtrak needs to run America’s trains and manage critical construction projects.”

Cuts to rail and transit are being used to pay for increased spending on highways and aviation programs. Rail Passengers need your help in asking for continued investment in trains and transit ahead of the July 29th House floor vote! Use our advocacy platform to quickly and easily write your Members of Congress in support of investing in passenger rail!

Full Passage Will Wait Until After Election

While House Republicans have had success so far in advancing funding bills on a party line basis, leadership has publicly acknowledged that they won’t be able to meet the September 30 deadline to pass a full budget. That means Congress will have to enact a short-term budget extension to avoid a government shutdown heading into the homestretch of this year’s general election. And leaders from both parties predicted that many of the big spending decisions will be delayed until voters decide who will control the House, the Senate, and the White House.

Chairman Cole told reporters he hopes the House will advance individual budget bills as far as it can, pass a short-term budget extension, “and then whoever wins [the election] probably makes the big decision.”

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) agreed, saying that a FY2025 budget “will undoubtedly not be adopted until at least December of this year.”

[Editor’s Note: Rail Passengers is a non-partisan 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and is prohibited by law from participating in campaigns on behalf of any political candidate.]