The Democrat-controlled Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, which usually marches in lockstep with the White House, has disallowed all of the Obama administration's fiscal 2013 request for high-speed rail.

Transportation analyst Ken Orski reports that instead of spending $4 billion more on HSR, the panel voted to allocate $1.45 billion for Amtrak and $100 million for the High Performance Passenger Rail grant program to assist with the improvement of existing intercity services and multistate planning initiatives.  

"The House appropriators, of course, have never intended to vote any money for HSR in FY 2013, but the Senate action puts an end to any hopes that a House-Senate conference might provide even a token amount for high-speed rail in the FY 2013 federal budget," Orski noted.

With HSR grinding to a halt, it makes Gov. Rick Scott's refusal to take the federal bait look pretty prescient, no?