Fed lawmakers demand answers after Post report on Amtrak exec’s six-figure bonusesBy Ben Feuerherd
November 3, 2022
Two House lawmakers are demanding answers from Amtrak’s board of directors after a Post report revealed the 10 highest-paid executives at the company were awarded six-figure bonuses — even as the rail network hemorrhaged money.
Republicans on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, in a letter to board chairman Anthony Coscia sent Wednesday, said the extravagant rewards –“paid largely from taxpayer funds” — were an affront to everyday Amtrak employees.
“Payment of lavish executive bonuses when Amtrak services and revenues remain below pre-pandemic levels, and financial losses appear permanent, seem inappropriate, wasteful, and disrespectful to Amtrak’s nonexecutive, front-line employees and taxpayers,” states the letter.
Republican Reps. Republicans Rick Crawford of Arkansas and Sam Graves of Missouri, who signed the letter, noted the bonuses were doled out at a time of turmoil at the rail line, which they said had adjusted operating earnings of negative $789 million in 2020 and negative $1.03 billion in 2021.
They requested the board provide them with answers to five questions, including the metrics on which performance bonuses are based; how those compare with similar firms heavily financed by the federal government; and the board’s role in determining bonuses.
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Source:
https://nypost.com/2022/11/03/lawmakers-seek-answers-from-amtrak-about-lavish-bonuses/
