Alternatives for Eliminating Amtrak's Debt to the Government

The Amtrak Reorganization Act of 1979 requires the Comptroller General to recommend appropriate means for eliminating certain obligations of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak). The Act specifies that the Comptroller General consider (1) the likelihood of obligation retirement from profits of the corporation; (2) the ability of the corporation to continue to carry its debt service within the context of operating subsidies, fairly and accurately reflecting current operating costs; (3) the extent to which debt incurred by the corporation prior to the effective date of the Act should be recognized as unrecoverable; and (4) the feasibility of converting such obligations into stock issued by the corporation.