Rep. DeFazio’s Amendment Required to Be Withdrawn

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

We received word this afternoon that Rep. DeFazio’s amendment that would have provided $2 billion in assistance to transit agencies was required to be withdrawn. We’ll post more as we learn it, but had something to do with parliamentary issues.

If you called Rep. Slaughter on the Rules Committee today, we thank you very much for your support and effort to get that crucial funding included in the economic recovery package. (And we point out that calls to her should no longer be made.)

Now the best hope for getting more funding for transit is Rep. Jerry Nadler’s amendment, which would add $3 billion for transit to the stimulus bill. T4A suggests calling the offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (202-225-0100) and House Appropriations Committee Chair David Obey (202-225-3365) to say Nadler’s amendment must make it to the House floor.

  • Nancy Pelosi: (202) 225-0100
    Dave Obey: (202) 225-3365

  • JK

    Unfortunately, Nadler’s amendement does not help bus and subway riders facing big service cuts and fare hikes. Obama and his fiscal czar Larry Summers should be pushing transit operating support over capital improvements, just as they are providing block grants to states to support Medicaid and local school systems. It is a travesty for Obama to say no to additional transit capital funding while also rejecting transit operating support.

  • rex

    Profoundly disappointing. The country is teetering on the verge of economic collapse and congress is choking transit systems so those who do have jobs will have no choice but to drive there. Brilliant! Transit is jobs. It is people working to provide a service. That service is getting people to their jobs. Not earnestly funding transit at a time of crisis is unconscionable.

    Progressives driving their Prius’ off the edge of the earth, and neo-cons arguing whether oxygen exists – send in the clowns, the fat lady is warming up.

  • The carbon-fuel industry has USD trillions invested in tankers, pipelines, and refineries. They will use their political power to build roads and fight wars until they are stopped by a mass movement or the biosphere is destroyed. Free public transit is their achilles heel and our best hope.

  • rootboy

    The staffer I spoke to at Rep. Obey’s office was dismissive – “there’s 9 billion for transit in there and you want more?”. Not promising.

  • J

    The staffer I just spoke to at Obey’s office seemed to be pretty receptive. I said we’d been gutting our transit systems for 50 years, and 3 billion dollars now was more than justified.

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