Defeating the Bush administration's request that Congress cut Amtrak off entirely, the House has voted to increase its subsidy for fiscal 2006 from $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion.

The public-private rail company must reform operations to cut its subsidy requirements under the transportation spending bill that is expected to pass the Senate after the Thanksgiving holiday.

The $140 billion spending bill covers the departments of Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development. The bill passed 392-31.