Judging by news of congressional appointments, the two different “Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act” versions passed in the Senate and House seem to be in the process of getting reconciled before a conference committee. This is the next step before the legislation goes to President Bush’s desk. Fortunately for America’s railways and rail passengers, the proposal passed both houses of Congress with a veto-proof majority, hopefully negating his stated intention of slowly strangling Amtrak in this critical hour.

You can check out Trains for America’s previous coverage of the bill, known as H.R. 6003 and S. 294 in the respective houses of Congress, read NARP’s letter to the committee members, or peruse general information about the the bill at Open Congress.