Senate Approves Stimulus Bill — On to Conference Committee
Transportation 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 willbe very difficult. But to speed the process, the leadership has optedfor 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 rankingRepublican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa; and Appropriations ChairmanDaniel 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.
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