Senate Refuses to Kill Amtrak
The Senate today refused to kill Amtrak, the federally subsidized national railroad passenger system which the Reagan administration has tried to abolish.
The Senate voted 71 to 25 to table, and thus effectively kill, a move to eliminate the $616-million subsidy proposed for Amtrak for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. President Reagan, saying the federal government should get out of the railroad business, had proposed eliminating the Amtrak subsidy, but the Senate Appropriations Committee’s transportation subcommittee restored it. Today’s vote came as the Senate considered a bill appropriating money for the Transportation Department for the current fiscal year.
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