A debate over Amtrak funding derailed the House of Representatives' fiscal 2024 transportation bill Tuesday as opponents, many of them Republicans from the northeast, criticized the bill's deep cuts to the train agency.
The House was set to vote Tuesday on the
Leaders pulled the legislation after a group of lawmakers remained opposed to the $1.6 billion, or 64%, reduction to Amtrak's 2023 enacted levels. Their slim majority means Republicans can afford to lose only a few votes without Democrats' support.
It is not clear when the bill will come back up for a vote. Congress has until Nov. 17 to avoid a partial government shutdown.
The debate follows the
Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner warned that the House bill would "severely reduce our service nationally and impact thousands of jobs."
The bill includes $90.2 billion in discretionary funds for transportation and HUD, which is 8.7% below President Biden's budget request, according to a
The cuts to Amtrak are "shortsighted, and cannot be ameliorated by advance appropriations from the IIJA: those funds are limited to specific categories of capital investments" said a bipartisan group of representatives in an Oct. 2
The bill also slashes all funding for the RAISE or Mega discretionary grant programs, deeply reduces funds for transit Capital Investment Grants, and includes no funding for the controversial California High Speed Rail project.
The Senate passed its THUD bill last week as part of a three-bill package of fiscal 2024 appropriations.
