Cutting funds isn't a fix

0 Comments | USA TODAY, April, 2005 | by Tom Carper

Today's debate: Rail service

Opposing view: Bush should help establish national policy for vital rail system.

With our highways and airports clogged, the need to invest in passenger rail has never been greater. Yet, instead of a creative plan to establish a much-needed national rail strategy, the Bush administration has given us more of what we don't need -- a proposal that takes us backward, not forward.

Citing the railroad's troubles, the White House asked Congress this year to eliminate a federal payment that annually goes to Amtrak's budget. But you can't solve Amtrak's problems in a bankruptcy court.

The president has justified his latest salvo as a way to force Congress to consider broad-scale changes to Amtrak. Instead of offering a proposal...