Senate Approves Stimulus Bill — On to Conference Committee

hub_pedestrians.jpgTransportation 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:

Obama’s goal has been to complete negotiations before the Presidents’
Day recess that begins this weekend. Most observers believe that will
be very difficult. But to speed the process, the leadership has opted
for a very limited number of senators to be represented in the talks:
[Majority Leader Harry] Reid; Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont) and his ranking
Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa; and Appropriations Chairman
Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and his ranking Republican, [Thad] Cochran [of Mississippi].

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:

Both bills include billions for transportation infrastructure, but only the House bill includes funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects in the Transportation Enhancements program.

The House Bill includes approximately $1.35 billion for Transportation Enhancements of which 50-60% is traditionally spent on bicycle and pedestrian projects. The Senate Bill does not explicitly include Transportation Enhancements, so it’s unclear whether this funding will be in the final bill.

Conferees need to hear that Transportation Enhancements are important to stimulating the economy, creating green jobs, and moving us towards a sustainable future.

"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.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Wiki Wednesday: The Story of the Stimulus

|
Looks like the conference committee made quick work of the stimulus bill, with Harry Reid announcing that a deal has been reached much sooner than expected (perhaps a bit too prematurely). We’ll have the specifics on transportation funding later tonight or early tomorrow. For now, relive the stimulus saga with StreetsWiki. Contributor DianaD has added […]

Final Stimulus Bill Slaps Transit Riders in the Face

|
The final tally is in, and we now have a breakdown for transportation funding in the stimulus bill that President Obama will sign, barring some unforeseen turn of the screw. Via Transportation for America: $29 billion for highways and bridges $8.4 billion for transit $8 billion for high-speed rail $1.3 billion for Amtrak To compare […]

Transit Stimulus Bill Needs Co-Sponsors in Senate

|
Two weeks ago, Hillary Clinton introduced a bill in the Senate to provide emergency funds for local transit agencies. Since then, the rest of the delegation from New York and New Jersey appears to have lined up behind the legislation. "We believe that Senators Schumer, Lautenberg, and Menendez support it," says Larry Hanley of the […]

U.S. Senate Getting Serious About Transit Stimulus

|
The Wall Street Journal reports that momentum is building in the Senate for additional federal transit funding: The Senate banking committee will hold a hearing Tuesday to examine how the government can strengthen mass-transit options as a way to reduce dependence on imported oil. Meanwhile, House and Senate leaders debating a new energy bill are […]

Schumer Proposes $6.5B More for Transit in Senate Stim Bill

|
Senator Chuck Schumer has unveiled an amendment to the Senate stimulus bill that would increase transit funding by $6.5 billion — to $14.9 billion overall. This would direct $2.9 billion more to transit, in total, than the House stimulus bill that passed last week. For the wonks out there, transit funding would break down like […]

Senate Requires Environmental Approval For Stimulus Projects

|
NEPA oversight should prevent the Garden State Parkway from being widened using stimulus funds. The final draft of the Senate’s economic recovery bill will require all projects funded by the stimulus to have approval under the National Environmental Protection Act, or NEPA. Sponsored by Barbara Boxer, the NEPA amendment (full text after the jump) was […]