The House’s original stimulus bill, as we’ve reported for several weeks, gave mass transit the short end of the stick in favor of $30 billion for highways with no requirement that repairs be prioritized over new road-building.
But according to a confidential summary of the final stimulus deal that we’ve just been passed (view it here), mass transit got some more attention in the end. Amtrak and high-speed rail programs got $9.3 billion, an increase of about $6 billion from the Senate’s version of the stimulus.
Still, environmentally sustainable transportation didn’t completely win the day. A $5.5 billion transit-modernizing grant program eagerly anticipated by environmental advocates, which senators at first wanted to open up to highways, was removed entirely from the final stimulus deal.
Congress did agree on $8.4 billion for general public transportation grants, however. Vice President Biden (D-Amtrak), if you had any role in this: thanks.
Late Update: N.B. Until legislative language is formally filed on the bill today, there’s always the possibility that these numbers could change. What we’re bringing you are the freshest details.
Late Late Update: The sun has set in Washington, but the town is still on pins and needles over the actual text of the stimulus deal. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) has issued a statement promising that the language “will be filed this evening, giving members enough time to review the [stimulus] conference report before voting on it tomorrow afternoon.”
That means most rank-and-file lawmakers in both parties will have about 12 hours — including slumber time — to digest the bill, which is likely to run past the 300-page mark, before debate begins at 9am tomorrow.
We’ll let you know first thing about the fate of executive pay limits and other remaining unknowns in the final stimulus, which is likely to be signed into law by President Obama before Monday. In the meantime, check out the details of the tax and health care provisions that made it in.
