Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Streetsblog Capitol Hill

Senate Panel Backs $1.2B for High Speed Rail, $1.4B Extra For Highways

The Senate panel in charge of transportation spending has just released its version of the budget bill that passed the House last week, giving less to high-speed rail and more to highways than the lower chamber of Congress.

The Senate's transportation bill, shepherded by senior appropriator Patty Murray (D-WA), provides $1.2 billion for the Obama administration's high-speed rail initiative -- $200 million more than the White House's budget request, but significantly less than the $4 billion that the House set aside for that purpose.

Highways, by contrast, got $41.1 billion from the House but $1.4 billion extra from the Senate, for a total of $43.5 billion in spending. Transit would get $480 million more than the White House requested, along with a $150 million infusion for the cash-strapped D.C. Metro system.

Senators matched their House counterparts on funding for the administration's inter-agency "livable communities" project, which is aimed at encouraging transit-oriented development. And the Senate outdid the House on rail safety, providing the $50 million in grants for technology upgrades that was sought by two senior Democrats after the D.C. Metro crashed  last month.

The Senate's total spending on both transportation and housing for 2010: $122 billion. The bill released today is expected to be merged with the House product sometime in the fall before heading to the president's desk.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday Video: Why Are America’s Roads and Bridges ‘Crumbling’?

Americas dangerous, crumbling roads are bridges didn't happen by accident — and it's not too late to fix them, the latest Streetcraft video says.

October 4, 2024

Friday’s Headlines Are For Local Control

It's playing out all over the country: A city wants to make a street safer for everyone, only for the state DOT to step in and say no. Learn more about the trend + more stories in today's headlines.

October 4, 2024

Talking Headways Podcast: Transit Themed Rock Music

Meet a band that writes exclusively about the car-free life on public transit. And it rocks!

October 3, 2024

Thursday’s Headlines Are Down on the Corner, Out in the Street

Bring a nickel, tap your feet as you avoid having to get into your car to drive out to the big-box strip mall.

October 3, 2024

Room for Improvement: What New York’s Subway System Can Learn from Cities Around the World

New York’s subway was once an international model of modernity. But it's not anymore.

October 3, 2024
See all posts