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WASHINGTON – Congress on Feb. 13 passed legislation granting Amtrak a $1.05 billion operating and capital grant for the 2003 fiscal year. Additionally, repayment of a June 28, 2002, $100 million from the U.S. DOT loan from has been deferred. “We have no plans to shut down,” Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Van Veen told Gannett News Service. Amtrak’s $1.2 billion request for the fiscal year was predicated upon projected revenue levels and tight controls on spending. Despite the appropriation, Amtrak still believes sustaining operations will be an ongoing challenge. “Though the budget will be extremely tight, this funding level should be

Can Amtrak operate without government funding? “Earlier today I met with Senator Patty Murray of the Appropriations Committee concerning Amtrak funding for FY ’03,” Amtrak President David L. Gunn said on Jan. 15, 2003. “I updated Senator Murray on the progress being made to stabilize Amtrak’s operations and finances and to bring tight new fiscal controls to bear on the company. I also repeated my concern that federal funding substantially less than $1.2 billion in FY ‘03 will take us right back to the near-shutdown we experienced last summer.” Murray, D-Washington, along with several Senate Republicans, on Jan. 16 ensured