FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Train Riders Association of California
1008 10th Street #276
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 557-1667
SEC. MINETA: IF YOU BREAK AMTRAK, YOU OWN THE PROBLEM
November 16, 2005 Sacramento, CA
As if the Bush Administration did not have enough problems already, its actions in the past week to undermine Amtrak have made yet another segment of the public hopping mad. TRAC’s Sacramento office has been deluged by calls from angry members expressing outrage over the Amtrak Board’s abrupt firing of Amtrak President and CEO David Gunn. The firing occurred just six days after the U.S. Senate gave Gunn’s management of Amtrak a solid endorsement, with the 93-6 passage of the bipartisan Lott Lautenberg bill to authorize a consistent level of continued Amtrak funding.
“Anyone who has paid attention to Amtrak is aware that Mr. Gunn has been one of the most energetic and effective Presidents Amtrak has ever had,” said TRAC President Gerald Cauthen. “In just three years of effort, Mr. Gunn obtained major improvements in Amtrak operations. His tenure has been marked by a pronounced and steady increase in passenger rail ridership in many parts of the country. We salute Mr. Gunn and the service that he has performed on behalf of the country and its passenger rail system,” said Cauthen. “We profoundly regret his departure.”
TRAC President Cauthen observed that Amtrak is now operating without a permanent Chief Executive Officer at a critical time in its history, while three critical Amtrak problems need immediate attention:
“First, the traveling public deserves more qualified appointees to the Amtrak Board,” said Cauthen. “Compared to Gunn’s more than 40 years of railroad and transit experience, the Bush-appointed Amtrak Board is underequipped to make decisions.” Cauthen cited the fact there will be five vacancies on the seven-member board when the Administration’s two recess appointments end in December.
“As Congressmen from both parties pointed out at the Railroad Subcommittee hearing yesterday, you can’t legally do business with a two person board.” TRAC strongly agrees with the congressional view that these vacancies should be filled with individuals subject to the normal confirmation procedures of the United States Senate. “Recess appointments and unfilled vacancies are bad for Amtrak and cause a leadership vacuum,” said Cauthen. “Moreover, the American public is poorly served when the Bush Administration appoints Board members who lack appropriate experience or who do not believe in preservation and enhancement of America’s national intercity passenger rail system.”
³Second, it is widely known that Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta has demonstrated little interest in Amtrak or in the need for a national passenger rail system in the United States. This must change,” said Cauthen. “If Mineta is to have any credibility on the issue,” said Cauthen, “he has to become an active champion of intercity rail travel, including interstate links and new tracks for the West. As things stand, it appears he is little more than an advocate for selling off the Northeast Corridor and handing the problem off to the states.”
“Third, it is essential that once a competent Board is established, that it select a highly qualified and experienced leader as the next President of Amtrak,” said Cauthen, “and that this leader be dedicated to the rejuvenation of the national passenger rail network.”
“The Bush Administration’s removal of Gunn means they must replace him with someone who is just as competent,” said Cauthen. “Otherwise, the public view of the legacy of Mineta and the Bush Administration will be that they broke Amtrak.”
