There's distressing news for transit supporters in the machinations over the stimulus bill now being prepared in Congress -- the money that was there for desperately needed transit infrastructure has been drastically cut, and no one seems to know why, or who did the cutting.
The proposal that emerged a couple of weeks ago from Rep. James Oberstar, the Minnesota Democrat who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, had $30 billion for roads and bridges and $17 billion for mass transit. The proposal now being discussed leaves the road funding intact, but guts the money for transit. In addition, Oberstar's figure of $5 billion for rail has been sliced to $1.1 billion.
This is no good. We have an unprecedented opportunity to get serious about weaning ourselves from foreign oil, which is crucial for both national security and environmental reasons. There ought to be major spending in the stimulus plan for repair of existing roads and highways, but not a dime for new ones. That's the thinking of the past, and we can no longer afford it.
The money for new transportation projects should go to transit and trains, including high-speed rail. Any other approach is just continuing an unsustainable status quo. It would also be a betrayal of President Obama's oft-repeated campaign pledges to move to cheaper and cleaner alternatives in transportation.
There's a chance the stimulus package could change for the better when it comes to transportation, but so far it's not looking good.
This isn't good. It looks like there's still plenty of the old-style, short-sighted, lobby-driven politics in Congress. I'd write to my Congressman, but since that's Devin Nunes, I doubt that it would do much good. On the positive side, though, there's no reason Congress should be limited to a single stimulus bill. Getting the economy going again is going to require a sustained effort, not just a "shot in the arm." But this doesn't portend well.
I'm optimistic. I think it'll come in time. There are a lot of projects that need attention. A lot of changes to be made. Some are immediately doable and others will take a few years to get off the drawing board and into action. We also still need to free up that 15 billion a month to Iraq.