Did Pelosi Just Side With Oberstar on the Transpo Bill?

That’s the implication of a Roll Call story today that states: "Momentum Builds for Transportation Bill."

nancy_pelosi.jpgHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) (Photo: moniquemonicat.wordpress.com)

Here’s how the exchange in question played out at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) weekly briefing. Pelosi was asked for her position on a possible second stimulus bill, and she replied:

I am committed to the first stimulus. I don’t think it has been given all
the time to work. … The
question is always open as to what the Administration may recommend to us,
but right now, I believe that we have much more to gain from seeing through
the first stimulus. 

I
am a proponent for bringing up a full transportation bill, which is a great
jobs bill.  At some point, we may have to do something on the extension
of unemployment benefits. But in terms of the investments that were
made in the first package, I want to play that out.

We
have to be very careful about the spending on this. … [R]ight now I think that we have big issues with health care and how we fund
that, and if we do go someplace, I’d like to see us do the transportation
bill.

So is Pelosi backing her transportation committee chairman, Jim Oberstar (D-MN), whose push to pass a transportation bill this year has faced opposition from the Senate and the Obama administration?

A House Democratic leadership aide told Streetsblog Capitol Hill that no decisions on a timeframe for the transportation bill have been made, but discussions are ongoing and all parties agree that a short-term problem exists.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Is Transit a Priority for Nancy Pelosi?

|
Pelosi helps cut the ribbon at the grand opening of Muni’s T-line. Photo: kitetoa/Flickr House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco claims she is committed to public transit and reducing motor vehicle congestion. In a speech to the Regional Plan Association (RPA) last April she said her flagship issues as speaker are energy independence and […]

Dissenting Voices on Stimulus, on the Network and in Congress

|
The Streetsblog Network is continuing to digest the draft of stimulus legislation that came out of the House Appropriations Committee yesterday. We’re featuring a post from Design New Haven that offers a pretty tough evaluation: Despite all the evidence that transit-oriented development creates jobs by dramatically saving large numbers of people time and commuting expenses, […]

Pelosi: Passing a Wall Street Transport Tax Would Require Overseas Buy-in

|
Any proposal to fund new U.S. infrastructure investment by taxing financial transactions — such as Rep. Pete DeFazio’s (D-OR) bill taxing Wall Street oil speculators — would require international participation to prevent the trades in question from migrating overseas, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said today. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Photo: MoniqueMonicat) As House Democrats […]

A Make-or-Break Week for Transportation Begins on the Hill

|
After weeks of uncertainty and tension, the congressional impasse over long-term transportation funding is headed for resolution this week — but the reprieve may be temporary. A decisive week lies ahead for House transport chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN). (Photo: Capitol Chatter) When we last left House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN), he was calling […]