Great news from the House floor, where members are debating the $825 billion stimulus bill. An amendment from Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), and Keith Ellison (D-MN) — restoring $3 billion in mass transit funding to an initial $10 billion pot that looked distressingly low to many urban-planning folks — just passed by voice vote.
This brings the infrastructure portion of the stimulus a large step closer to the level of investment that has a genuine chance of expanding the nation’s green transportation options. Amtrak, Metro, and subway riders, rejoice.
Late Victory Lap Update: Nadler just noted that hundreds of millions of dollars of this newly approved cash would go to often under-funded priorities in the crowded urban areas of New York and California. From his statement:
This amendment is crucial for fair distribution of transportation spending between urban and non-urban parts of the county. … Investment in transit is a major step toward putting Americans to work right away in green jobs, reducing emissions and improving our transit systems.
