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A vehicle for extending the short-line tax credit still had not been secured in the Senate before the August recess, according to an item in the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association’s (ASLRRA) latest newsletter.

Since December 2009, Congress has tried numerous times to extend the Section 45G tax credit — which expired at 2009’s end — via a tax extenders measure. The Senate tried four times in June and July to pass the most recent House-passed bill, which would extend the short-line tax credit through 2010. But each time, the Senate failed to get the 60 votes necessary to pass a measure, according to the ASLRRA.

The Senate likely won’t consider any new or pending legislation until after Labor Day. However, the last four comparable tax bills that included language on Section 45G didn’t pass both chambers in identical form before October, ASLRRA said. As of Aug. 1, measures including a short-line tax credit extension had garnered 261 House co-sponsors and 53 Senate co-sponsors.

Initially enacted in January 2005, the tax credit enables regionals and short lines to claim a tax credit of 50 cents for every dollar spent on infrastructure improvements, up to a cap of $3,500 per mile of owned or leased track.