"The rail industry remains lukewarm at best to the bill. Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw said Wednesday at the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers Winter Meeting that "many of the provisions" in current legislation "make perfect sense and so we're an advocate for those positions." Association of American Railroads CEO Ian Jefferies, however, said the same day that current bill has "a whole host of completely unrelated items that have managed to find their way in there - things like doubling the interval of manual locomotive inspections, a crew-size mandate … And so what have should have been a targeted, sensible opportunity to put together some legislation that all parties can support, move forward, and feel like we've done some good things has unfortunately ground to a halt."

The report by The Hill, however, casts the bill's future as being largely about politics, rather than its merits or lack thereof. It is sponsored by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), considered vulnerable for reelection; its passage would likely help his prospects with Ohio voters - so Schumer wants to push it through. McConnell wants to stop it for exactly the same reason, given Republicans' desire to regain control of the Senate in November.

While Democrats currently have a 51-seat majority, under Senate rules they will need to be joined by nine Republicans to pass the legislation. The legislation has six Republican co-sponsors, including Ohio Republican Sen. JD Vance."

Spend less time at your keyboard and go take some points for a local non-profit...like on the pretty new equipment brought back from dead!