By Matt Sepic, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – A legislative committee in Jefferson City has voted to ax state funding for Amtrak in Missouri.
The passenger rail service provides two trips a day between St. Louis and Kansas City.
But Representative Joe Smith says the state has other priorities. The St. Charles Republican is vice chair of the transportation and economic development appropriations committee.
"I don't want to stop Amtrak; I'm not the guy to do that," Smith said, "But it came down to a business sense, and what's best for the state, and the only solution we could come up with, with the money we had to deal with, is cut the funding of Amtrak for the state-funded lines."
Smith says his committee would have had to trim money from other programs if it did not cut passenger rail funding.
Amtrak Spokesman Marc Magliari says state funding for the service is important, given that President Bush wants to take it out of the federal budget.
"This coming weekend we are going to discontinue service that goes through Ohio and Indiana en route to Chicago," Magliari said. "Those states were unable to pick up any of the funding for that, so that service is going away."
The Missouri budget process is still in its early stages. The Amtrak cuts must still pass several more hurdles in the House before heading to the state Senate.
Republican Governor Matt Blunt supports Amtrak. He's recommending a $6.5 million subsidy for the rail service.