House Passes Stimulus and Funds Transit

I'm happy to report that the House not only passed the stimulus, but it passed the amendment introduced by Rep. Nadler (D-NY) to increase transit funding by $3 billion. This means a total of $12 billion for transit in the stimulus.

Christopher Conkey at the WSJ reports on this, and Deron Lovaas, NRDC's federal transportation policy director, notes in his blog that "Congress is clearly catching up with public support for more and cleaner transportation choices."

It's exciting to see both Republicans and Democrats come forward in favor of transportation funding. To take a page out of President Obama's book, this isn't a red issue or a blue issue. Investing in public transportation is simply a smart investment with high returns. In fact, transit investments create 19 percent more jobs per dollar than building new roads or bridges.

Also, giving people more transportation options - particularly public transit options - is a surefire way to reduce our dependence on oil and cut back on global warming pollution. Public transportation saves nearly 2 billion gallons of fuel each year, and produces less than a third of the pollution of comparable passenger car travel. 

This is a good start to improving America's infrastructure and laying the groundwork for our nation's clean energy economy. The Senate is expected to pass its version of the economic recovery bill next week, and I'll keep you updated on transportation and other green developments...

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