SESSIONS INTRODUCES RAIL ACT

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SESSIONS INTRODUCES RAIL ACT
Legislation will save taxpayer dollars by requiring Amtrak to eliminate
money-losing routes and services

Washington, Nov 3 - U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions (R-Dallas) today
announced that he introduced the Reforming Amtrak's Inefficient Lines
Act (the RAIL Act, H.R. 4214), a bill designed to cut Amtrak's operating
costs by eliminating money-losing routes and services.

Sessions, a Member of the House Budget Committee and Chairman of the
Results Caucus, introduced the RAIL Actas part of his effort to trim the
nation's fiscal burden by eliminating or significantly reducing wasteful
and inefficient government programs that burden American taxpayers.

"Congress has a duty to be responsible with taxpayer money," said
Sessions. "If we continue to spend it to subsidize services that do not
operate efficiently, we are giving the taxpayers a raw deal.

"Instead, we should lessen the burden on taxpayers by reducing or
eliminating wasteful and inefficient government spending," Sessions
continued. "One way we can do this is by eliminating routes and services
on which Amtrak consistently loses money."

In 1997, Congress passed and the President signed the Amtrak Reform and
Accountability Act. The bill required Amtrak to operate without federal
subsidies beginning in January 2003. Over the past 35 years, Amtrak has
cost taxpayers approximately $29 billion. Today, Amtrak still relies on
taxpayer subsidies to stay afloat.

In October 2004, Amtrak's Monthly Performance Report named Amtrak's five
most money-losing trains, the Southwest Chief, the California Zephyr,
the Empire Builder, the Coast Starlight, and the Silver Star. During
just fiscal year (FY) 2004, these five routes accounted for losses of
over $274 million.

In addition, the Department of Transportation's Inspector General has
indicated that eliminating sleeper cars, dining cars, onboard
entertainment, lounge seating, checked baggage service, and food and
beverage service on long distance routes could save taxpayers as much as
$790 million in operating costs and $395 million in capital expenditures
over five years.

Taking these findings into account, the RAIL Act will require Amtrak to
lessen its dependence on American taxpayers by:

· Discontinuing service on the Southwest Chief, the California Zephyr,
the Empire Builder, the Coast Starlight, and the Silver Star.
· Discontinuing food and beverage service unless revenues from the
service exceed its cost, including labor.
· Eliminating sleeper cars, dining cars, lounge seating, checked baggage
service, and onboard entertainment.

Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
joined Sessions as original co-sponsors of H.R. 4214.

Sessions has fought to trim waste at Amtrak since 2003, when he offered
an amendment to FY 2004 Transportation Appropriations legislation that
would have prohibited funds appropriated in the bill from being used to
operate any Amtrak route that failed to generate at least 50 cents in
revenue for every one dollar in cost. The House failed to agree to the
amendment.