The Wonk Room

Schumer To Introduce Mass Transit Boost To Stimulus

According to TPMDC, “the fight to add mass transit money to the stimulus bill is far from over“:

Senate Democratic Vice Chairman Chuck Schumer (NY) just mentioned on a conference call with reporters that he’ll be introducing a version of Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s (D-NY) amendment to add $3 billion in public transportation cash to the economic recovery pot.

While this would be a solid addition to the stimulus — bringing the total amount dedicated to transit to more than $15 billion — there would still be only “half as much money for mass transit as for highways.” This is a terrible ratio, as we’ve noted at The Wonk Room before.

The stimulus needs to provide a boost to the economy, but not at the expense of creating urban sprawl and encouraging more gas-guzzling driving habits. A concurrent goal to economic stimulus is working towards a green economy, and thus, as Matthew Yglesias wrote, “insofar as some of the highway projects envisioned in the bill can’t fit within the two-year stimulus window, we ought to drop the projects.”