Senate Approves Stimulus Bill — On to Conference Committee

Transportation Enhancements funding helped to expand Roberto Clemente Plaza at the Bronx Hub. The League of American Bicyclists has issued an action alert to keep that program in the stimulus bill.

The Senate approved its version of the stimulus bill this afternoon by a 61-37 vote. Attention now turns to conference committee negotiations, where differences between the House and Senate bills will get ironed out. Politico has the scoop on who will be negotiating on the Senate side, and they're not exactly an urban bunch:

From a green transportation perspective, the Senate version is worse than the House version in almost every respect. One of major differences is the lack of a dedicated funding stream for bike and pedestrian projects in the Senate bill. The League of American Bicyclists has put out an action alert to help guarantee those funds in the bill that Obama signs:

"We've always said that we need people to stand up and say the word 'bicycle,' now we need people to contact the conferees and say the word 'bicycle'," said League director Andy Clarke, adding that the best way to reach the negotiators is to contact your own representatives in Congress. For some phone call ammo, check out Earl Blumenauer's piece in the Huffington Post countering Senator Jim DeMint's bike-hostile amendment to the Senate stim bill.

The two bills are also $3.6 billion apart on transit funding. (Head over to the Transport Politic for a handy summary of the differences.) We'll keep you posted on everything that's on the line in the next few days.