Discretionary Spending
Function 400 - Transportation
Eliminate Subsidies for Amtrak
CBO periodically issues a compendium of policy options (called Options for Reducing the Deficit) covering a broad range of issues, as well as separate reports that include options for changing federal tax and spending policies in particular areas. This option appears in one of those publications. The options are derived from many sources and reflect a range of possibilities. For each option, CBO presents an estimate of its effects on the budget but makes no recommendations. Inclusion or exclusion of any particular option does not imply an endorsement or rejection by CBO.
| Billions of dollars | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2015-2019 | 2015-2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Change in Spending | |||||||||||||
| Budget authority | 0 | -1.4 | -1.5 | -1.5 | -1.5 | -1.6 | -1.6 | -1.6 | -1.6 | -1.7 | -7.5 | -14.0 | |
| Outlays | 0 | -1.1 | -1.3 | -1.5 | -1.5 | -1.5 | -1.6 | -1.6 | -1.6 | -1.7 | -7.0 | -13.5 | |
Note: This option would take effect in October 2015. Estimates are relative to CBO’s August 2014 baseline projections.
The government covers almost all of the capital costs for passenger rail services provided by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (or Amtrak) as well as more than 10 percent of its operating costs. This option would eliminate those subsidies.