Transportation Policy

Last night Jerrold Nadler's stimulus bill amendment, which would add $3 billion for transit, cleared the House Rules Committee. The full House may vote on the amendment by noon today, so the sooner you call your representative the better.

A spokesman for Jerrold Nadler confirms that the amendment to boost transit funding in the stimulus package has cleared the House Rules Committee. That means the full House will decide whether to add $3 billion in transit investment to the economic recovery bill -- a vote that could take place as soon as noon tomorrow. The most important House member to call now is the one who represents you.

We're at a critical moment for green transportation in the stimulus package. The key piece on the table now is Jerrold Nadler's amendment to boost transit investment by $3 billion. A decision could be reached as soon as today, so now is the time to make those phone calls. The people to reach are the House leadership and the Appropriations Committee, who must be persuaded to allow more transit investment into the bill.

Last night's news about the denial of Rep. DeFazio's amendment to fund transit operations left us wondering whether parliamentary issues were really the deciding factor. In general, it appears, the Democratic leadership is coming down hard against any add-ons to the recovery package. "There's a desire to keep the bill at the size it is currently," said one House staffer involved in the negotiations who wished to remain anonymous. "Pelosi's office and the Appropriations Committee are resistant to amendments that increase the size of the bill."

This news came in late in the day from Transportation from America:

On Friday, the Senate Appropriations Committee released its version of an economic recovery package [PDF]. The major line items for transportation don't differ much from the draft now circulating in the House:

Last week the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held its first hearing on the draft stimulus bill. In a welcome development, several committee members called for restoring funds for transit and rail -- including transit operations.

It's stimulus package logic: Lay off a bus driver now and hire a construction worker in a couple of months or a year.

Gary Toth is director of Project for Public Spaces' transportation program and an influential voice for transportation as a tool for making communities more livable. In this piece he tells us how state DOTs are taking cues from Washington as the stimulus bill takes shape. It's going to be more of the same unless Congress starts sending different signals -- immediately. The names of DOTs have been altered (State DOT A, State DOT B) to protect the identity of sources. Check out PPS's social network site for more from Gary.