A key Senate subcommittee has appeared to have eliminated funding for high speed rail while preserving funding for Amtrak, highway, and transit. However, the full committee may not adopt these mark-ups. And then there are the changes the House makes.
Tanya Snyder of Streetsblog Capitol Hill reports on the changes that the Senate sub-committee made on Sept. 20 to both the transportation funding and Housing and Urban Development appropriations bills that reduce funding to the embattled Partnership for Sustainable Communities program. Funding for the TIGER program is restored though it is eliminated in the House bill.
"Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) said he was " discouraged by the elimination of high-speed rail grants" in the budget. "It's a casualty of the cuts mandated in the debt-limit deal," he said.
"President Obama has been willing to sacrifice high-speed rail funding in tense budget fights with Republicans. The Senate seems to be following suit.
Funding for Amtrak is untouched in the Senate budget bill, foreshadowing a pitched battle once the Senate and House have to reconcile their two budget bills. The House made devastating cuts to Amtrak in its version."
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