Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In

The House's transportation and housing spending bill for 2010 is slated for a vote in the full chamber this week, setting the stage for possible showdowns over the measure's $4 billion for high-speed rail and $150 million for the Washington D.C. Metro system. 

A copy of the bill can be downloaded on the website of House Rules Committee, which will meet on Wednesday to consider proposed amendments.

During Friday's committee debate on the $123 billion measure, Republicans mounted an unsuccessful bid to move all but $1 billion of its high-speed rail money to the cash-strapped highway trust fund, but that failure doesn't necessarily mean the GOP effort is over for good.

The bill also gives Amtrak a healthy $1.5 billion in funding, which could become a target for Republican amendments during the House debate later this week. Stay tuned.

Late Update: Readers may be asking how this bill relates to the six-year, $450 billion measure that's pending in the House. The six-year bill is an authorization, setting out priorities that are formally funded by annual spending bills such as the one that will get a vote this week.

Ordinarily, the 2010 spending bill would include a concrete level of annual funding -- this time, the bill's authors had to assume that the highway trust fund would be saved from insolvency by the time the next fiscal year begins.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

How To End Your City’s Fight Over Scooter Parking Once and For All

Micromobility riders need a good place to end their ride just like everyone else — and cities can accomplish several goals at once by giving them one.

May 14, 2025

Blue State AGs Sue Trump Over ‘Strong-Arm’ Tactic of Tying DOT Funds to Immigration Crackdown

The U.S. Department of Transportation is illegally threatening to withhold billions in transportation funding to states that don't "cooperate" with the administration's immigration crackdown, a new suit argues.

May 14, 2025

Let Wednesday’s Headlines Clear Our Throat

Congestion pricing is doing what its supporters promised it would do.

May 14, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines Are Blocked In

Cities and regional governments could do a better job of spending federal transportation money than states, argues the Brookings Institute.

May 13, 2025

Check out Seattle’s New Subway!*

*...but only for stormwater runoff, not people. And considering that cars, trucks, roads and parking lots for cars are responsible for half of stormwater volumes — and contribute most to toxic runoff — why are households that don't even drive paying to keep other's waste from polluting sensitive waterways?

May 13, 2025
See all posts