T4America Blog

BREAKING: Threat to transit funding in Senate compromise?

UPDATED: (8:30 p.m. 2/7/09) The Senate agreement reached last night has no changes for transit, highways, intermodal competitive grants, or high-speed rail. We recommend halting calls on the proposed cuts to transit. See this newer post for more updated information.

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. How do they propose to get there?

In part, by cutting transit’s already paltry amount nearly in half, and raising the amount of highway spending by an undisclosed amount.

According to a Senate memo obtained by The Plum Line, there is a proposal to remove $3.4 billion from transit funding and raise the funds for highways above the $27 billion already earmarked for highway spending. If true, cutting $3.4 billion from public transportation (and increasing highway spending) would reduce the roads/transit split in this bill far below even the tepid 80/20 share that current federal spending reflects.

Tell your senator not to support any proposed change to the stimulus package that reduces funds for transit below those in the original Senate proposal, but rather to push for increasing the funds to meet the soaring demand for reliable, clean transportation. And tell them not to increase highway funding without increasing transit proportionally.

Call-in information removed in light of agreement reached in Senate.

For targeting purposes, the Senators reported to be in the room are Ben Nelson (D-NE), Mark Begich (D-AK), Tom Carper (D-DE), John Tester (D-MT), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Evan Bayh (D-IN), Jim Webb (D-VA), Mark Warner (D-VA), Michael Bennett (D-CO), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark Udall (D-CO), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Susan Collins (R-ME), Arlen Specter (R-PA), Mel Martinez (R-FL), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and George Voinovich (R-OH).

Leave us notes in the comments on your calls if you like.