In his February budget, President Barack Obama had asked for $2.5 billion for Amtrak, citing the need for investments in infrastructure and improvements along the Northeast Corridor.
Rail advocates have been particularly concerned with the current set of cuts.
“We cannot prevent major infrastructure failure on the NEC and support important long distance rail service without greater federal investment on an annual basis,” said Robert Yaro, president of the NAR, according to The Hill
The last time that a major piece of legislation on Amtrak funding was passed in Congress was in the wake of a deadly train crash in California in 2008 that killed 25 people. 
The House passed a reauthorization of the bill in March that allows funding for vital repairs to infrastructure in the Northeast corridor, where Amtrak's traffic is heavy and where the crash occurred. 
But the White House and some Congressional Democrats have said that funding doesn't go far enough to ensure rail safety.