Bush goes around Congress again on Amtrak board

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – For the second time, President
George W. Bush has circumvented Congress to seat two members of
the Amtrak board, the White House said on Wednesday.

Floyd Hall and Enrique Sosa were again placed on the panel
through recess appointments, a tactic used by presidents to
bypass lawmakers when Congress is out of session.

Both Hall and Sosa were nominated in 2004 and again in 2005
but the Senate failed to act on their appointments both times.
Neither has support among Amtrak backers on Capitol Hill, which
has resisted much of the administration’s plan to dismantle the
federally subsidized passenger rail service and open routes to
competition.

Their appointment maintains the four-member quorum needed
for the board to carry out Amtrak business. The other members
are David Laney, who was confirmed, and Jeffrey Rosen, the
Transportation Department’s general counsel who represents the
agency.

The board has three other vacancies that Bush has not
sought to fill.

Critics say Hall and Sosa complete a panel of Bush
loyalists who push the administration’s plan to reform the
money-losing national rail service.

The board was sharply criticized in November by Republicans
and Democrats in Congress for firing David Gunn, the Amtrak
president and a veteran railroad executive who had cut costs
and was skeptical of the administration’s reform agenda.

But Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said in a
statement that Hall and Sosa have “worked tirelessly” on Amtrak
issues, lending their business expertise. Hall is a former
Kmart chairman and Sosa, a former president of BP Amoco
Chemicals.