Senate OK of Amtrak Bailout Expected

After a day of negotiating stops and starts, a group of U.S. senators on Thursday said they are finally ready to pass an Amtrak bill that will save the federally subsidized passenger railway from bankruptcy.

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said he expected to bring the Amtrak overhaul bill to the floor today and that, barring further complications in a precarious compromise to get it there, the legislation should pass.

The measure would provide $3.4 billion in operating expenses for the railway through 2000 while mandating management and labor changes aimed at making Amtrak profitable and eventually ending its dependence on government subsidies.

Passage of the bill would also free up $2.3 billion for capital investment set aside in the balanced-budget agreement reached earlier this year.

The House last month gave up efforts to pass a similar bill because of disputes over provisions that reduce some labor protections, so Congress is unlikely to finish work on the legislation at least until early next year.

In the meantime, Amtrak can keep going on $202 million in operating funds and $449 million in capital funds provided in the fiscal 1998 Transportation Department spending bill.

But Amtrak spokesman John Wolf said passage of the reform bill is crucial for the railway as it tries to plot its future and seek credit to stay financially afloat. “Getting the $2.3 billion shows that Amtrak has the full faith of the government behind it, and that’s very important,” Wolf said.

Senate negotiators thought they had reached a compromise deal on remaining issues Wednesday night, but plans to bring the bill to the floor Thursday fell through as haggling continued over the final details.

Republicans won one victory with the agreement to eliminate six-year severance payments for some Amtrak workers who are laid off. Labor and management would have six months to negotiate a new severance system, after which the old system would expire.

The parties also agreed to phase out after 2000 current rules that prohibit Amtrak from contracting out jobs.

Democrats succeeded in changing language in the bill that would have set individual caps for punitive damage awards for passengers hurt in accidents. Instead they agreed on a “global cap” of $200 million for all plaintiffs in accident cases.