Obama doesn’t threaten to veto a GOP bill — a first

Let history record that it took President Obama until the first week of March to find a Republican bill that he didn’t threaten to veto.

After issuing 12 consecutive veto threats against the new Republican Congress, the White House said late Monday that Mr. Obama supports passage of H.R. 749, a $7.2 billion passenger rail bill that would improve safety at railroad crossings.

Prior to this bill, Mr. Obama had set a record for issuing veto threats on everything from the Keystone XL pipeline to new restrictions on abortion to tougher sanctions against Iran. It was the most prolific veto stance by a president in 30 years.

The White House said the railroad legislation “aligns with the administration’s goals of driving improved performance at Amtrak through accountability and encouraging states’ participation in planning and funding improvements to passenger rail corridors.”

But the president’s budget advisers also said the bill doesn’t contain “adequate railroad safety provisions nor provide the level of resources, long-term certainty, and additional organizational reforms” that Mr. Obama has proposed in his budget. The president is pushing for a six-year, $478 billion highway and transit program.