Watson Coleman blasts bill that would gut Amtrak funding

At a meeting of the House Appropriations Committee today, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing) – the lone New Jerseyan on the committee – slammed a Republican-led bill that would dramatically reduce funding for Amtrak, especially its Northeast Corridor line.

“The Northeast Corridor serves approximately 2,200 Amtrak commuter and freight trains each day, making it one of the busiest transportation corridors in the world,” Watson Coleman said. “This cut is a slap in the face to the millions of Americans who rely on the corridor for its transportation and economic benefits.”

Under the proposal, Amtrak’s current funding level of $2.4 billion would be slashed down to $875 million, which would cause drastic service reductions. Funding for the Northeast Corridor line, which has multiple stops in Watson Coleman’s Central Jersey congressional district, would go from $1.3 billion to just $99 million.

The Amtrak cut is part of a larger appropriations bill funding the Transportation and Housing & Urban Development departments for Fiscal Year 2024. Watson Coleman objected to many other aspects of the bill as well, including those that cut support for a variety of affordable housing programs and transportation initiatives.

“We cannot back away from providing much-needed funding to our roads, bridges, rails, airports, homes, and communities when they are still in such terrible shape,” she said.

The debate over the substance of the bill itself, however, ended up getting overshadowed by a battle over funding for three LGBT-related projects in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Republicans adopted an amendment cutting the three projects’ funds, prompting heated objections from Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Connecticut), the committee’s ranking member, and other Democrats.