It's only $100 million - the President wants $8 billion - but it acts as a 'placeholder'. In any case, 4 Senators: Feinstein (CA), Durbin (IL), Lautenberg (NJ) and Landrieu (LA), all Dems', restored the funding after the sub-committee zeroed it.
Restoration of some high speed rail funding was critical after the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development had eliminated it.
"I offered this amendment because we can't turn our backs on a project that will invest in the future and put Californians back to work," Feinstein said in a statement.
"These numbers are by no means final. They vary widely from the FY2012 budget the House passed two weeks ago. At some point, the two chambers will have to find a compromise between two significantly different funding proposals, but for now, they're just trying to figure out an extension (or "continuing resolution") of the current year's budget in order to keep government programs funded past September 30."
The extension of the transportation budget at current spending levels has been approved for an additional six months.
Robert Cruickshank writes in his CA HSR blog: "So yeah, $100 million isn't very much. But it's a political victory nonetheless, showing that support for HSR remains in Congress, and that HSR supporters and advocates haven't given up in the face of Republican opposition".
Thanks to Streetsblog New York City
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