(The following appeared at CQpolitics.com on September 29.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Senate voted Monday to move ahead with Amtrak legislation, setting up a vote to clear the bill Wednesday.
The chamber voted 69-17 to overcome a procedural hurdle on the bill, which combines a reauthorization of Amtrak with rail safety provisions.
An aide for Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., said the measure would face a final Senate vote Wednesday. Senate passage is the last step before the bill would be sent to the White House.
GOP dissenters said they would block any attempt at a quick voice vote of the bill. There were no more roll call votes scheduled in the Senate for Monday.
The bill was rejected by some Senate Republicans, including Jim DeMint of South Carolina, who urged colleagues to vote against the measure. The GOP members said other pressing measures — such as the economic bailout — need to take precedence.
“I would just encourage my colleagues to put this off until later,” DeMint said. “Whether you support it or whether you don’t, this is not the time to tell the American people one thing and to proceed as business as usual here.”
Despite DeMint’s entreaty, it will be difficult for some senators to dismiss a bill with rail safety projects in the aftermath of the deadly train collision in Los Angeles on Sept. 12.
The bill combines rail safety measures with a $13 billion Amtrak authorization. If the president signs the bill, it would be Amtrak’s first new authorization since 1997.