The US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly yesterday to give new life to Amtrak by authorizing $14.4 billion toward the development of a high-speed train between New York City and Washington DC. The bill also includes a $2.5 billion grant program that could be used to fund local projects, such as Moynihan Station.

"With a combination of Republicans and Democrats looking to the future, we have been able to just keep Amtrak's nose above water over these intervening years," Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James L. Oberstar, D-Minn., said. "Today we change that model." 

The $14.4 billion authorized is far more money than Congress has ever authorized before. Republicans agreed to that amount in exchange for reviewing proposals by private companies bidding on the construction of the high-speed line on the Northeast Corridor. Private companies would also allow private companies to take over some of Amtrak's less successful lines. The Senate passed its version of an Amtrak reauthorization last year, which would authorize $10 billion in spending, but did not include privatization language.

The White House is threatening to veto any Amtrak legislation that doesn't make the agency more accountable, but both the House and Senate bills have passed by veto-proof margins. Backers of the bill have argued that supporting the national passenger railroad is the best way to address soaring gas prices.

See full articles in the New York Sun and the Observer.