revenues and costs. Without this explanation, the $206.7 million represents excess funds or a contingency for those years. Amtrak officials point out that their planning ability has improved with each plan. Because of improved methods of forecasting and internal support, the plans submitted in 1976 and 1977 are quite different in content and generally more conservative than those submitted in 1973, 1974, and 1975. GAO believes the usefulness of future 5-year plans would be enhanced if they were changed to meet the criteria that were identified at the beginning of this summary. (5) Should Amtrak develop high speed corridor service outside the Northeast, April 5, 1978. Amtrak projects a number of significant benefits from an expansion of the high speed, Northeast Corridor concept to sixteen other potential corridors. They include improved services through greater train speed and better on time performance, increased ridership, lower air pollution, smaller deficits, safer intercity travel, and employment resulting from the labor intensive railroad operations. The General Accounting Office disagrees, and says that the anticipated benefits may not be available, or worth the cost. Many of them depend on Amtrak's attracting substantial increases in ridership. Greater speed and better on-time service could reasonably be expected to result from corridor development, but increased ridership and lowered deficits probably would not result. Since 1973 GAÖ has repeatedly suggested, and Amtrak has agreed, that cleaner, more reliable, more comfortable equipment; more congenial personal service; and better ontime performance are necessary to attract more passengers. Amtrak has made many improvements and three routes included in this study, Chicago-Detroit, Chicago-Milwaukee, and Los AngelesSan Diego, are among their best. Ridership has increased mainly because more trains were available. Load factors (the percentage of available seats that are filled on each train) have not increased and losses continue. GAO believes Amtrak cannot expect substantial increases in ridership on the routes studied unless one of the other transportation modes is disrupted. COSTS ARE CONSIDERABLE Amtrak officials believe implementing the corridor concept outside the Northeast would be very costly. GAO agrees and believes that Amtrak's prospects for improving its finances by either increasing its revenues or reducing its costs are bleak. MAY 4 (legislative day, APRIL 24), 1978.-Ordered to be printed Mr. PELL, from the Committee on Rules and Administration. submitted the following REPORT [To accompany S. 1029] The Committee on Rules and Administration, to which was referred the bill (S. 1029) to authorize the Smithsonian Institution to construct museum support facilities, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do pass. PURPOSE The bill as referred would amend Public Law 94-98, approved September 19, 1975, by (1) providing the Regents of the Smithsonian. Institution with authority to construct museum support facilities and (2) authorizing appropriations totaling $21.5 million. BACKGROUND Increasingly, over the years, the Smithsonian Institution has faced a critical problem of storage and preservation of its treasures and artifacts. This problem has grown as its complex of museums increased and as its collections multiplied. There has also been a corresponding increase in the needs for research in connection with the different collections. As the country has become more and more aware of the problems of environment, so have the curators and other museum officials become aware of the impact of environment on stone and metal and fabric and painting and other artifacts and treasures; and of the critical need for adequate storage under proper temperature and humidity control; and, more important, of conservation and preservation. It has been said that "many museum directors are presiding over the gradual disintegration of their holdings." |