Given the need for haste in crafting the bill, congressional and Administration negotiators were handcuffed by backward-looking, existing programs even as they tried to shape investments for a future of reduced oil dependency, greater opportunity for Americans to join the middle class and cleaner transportation choices. Despite some shortcomings resulting from current transportation law, Congress has adopted a bill that if properly enacted by state and local authorities, could be a down payment on a new direction for America’s infrastructure.

With the stimulus successfully passed through the Senate, it moves into conference with the House, where the two chambers will try to hammer out the version to be voted on again by each house before heading to the President’s desk if it passes. Here is our side-by-side comparison on the transportation spending in the two versions.

It appears the Senate compromise on the stimulus package keeps transit and highway funding unchanged. We’re suspending our appeal to make calls for now. The Senate will move to vote on the overall stimulus package Monday or Tuesday. Then it moves to a conference committee with the House to determine the balance between the two bills that will ultimately be voted on by both Chambers and sent to the President’s desk.

The so-called “compromise” plan about to be put forth by Senators Nelson and Collins would cut somewhere between $80-100 billion from the Senate stimulus package. In part, by cutting transit’s already paltry amount nearly in half, and raising the amount of highway spending by an undisclosed amount. Call your Senator now!

UPDATE: Look for a list of amendments on the docket at the bottom. Obviously, things are moving very fast in the Senate today. Here is a summary of a mix of rumor and fact as of 1 p.m. EST if you’d like to follow more closely: The Inhofe amendment — to take unspent stimulus funds [...]

Sen. Kit Bond has offered two amendments to the Senate’s stimulus legislation that would raid other funds and direct them to the highway funds. The highway funding is already at $27 billion, with most of coming via a blank check to state DOT’s with zero accountability for prioritizing backlogged repair or outlining what it should accomplish. More highway funding is not what we need right now.

Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Jerrold Nadler released a statement on Senator Schumer’s amendment to increase funding for transit in the Senate economic recovery package. Sen. Schumer’s planned amendment would boost transit funding from $8.4 billion up to $14.9 billion, with additions to the vital program (New Starts) that would provide funds for new, ready-to-go transit projects across the country. Currently, the House version has $2.5 billion for New Starts, where the Senate version has zero.

“The passage of the Economy Recovery and Revitalization Act in the House of Representatives this evening marks a significant achievement for the new Congress. Transportation for America applauds the House’s efforts to bolster and stimulate America’s struggling economy, in part by shoring up our transportation system to meet our nation’s 21st Century needs.

Rep. Nadler’s amendment passed, adding $3 billion to the transit funding in the House stimulus package this afternoon. Thank you to everyone who called and weighed in on this amendment with your Reps. From everything that we heard from sources on the Hill and with leadership, our broad base of support and the many calls and meetings made a difference in getting this amendment to the floor and garnering the support of House leadership.

The amendment offered by Rep. Nadler to add $3 billion to the transit funding in the House Economy Recovery and Revitalization Act will reach the floor for a vote, possibly as early as Wednesday at noon. Now, we need votes! We are asking all of you to call your Representatives and urge them to support this amendment that will add desperately needed funds to the transit portion of the House recovery package.