The U.S. Senate continued work last week on its version of a major transportation funding bill (to replace 1998’s "TEA-21"). One contentious issue was resolved when Senators led by NY’s Chuck Schumer added mass transit funds to a committee bill that significantly boosted highway funding but left mass transit at an older, lesser level. The bill will still be problematic in this region, however, due to its inclusion of a "minimum guarantee" that returns 95% of a state’s U.S. gas tax receipts in the form of federal aid. States like CT and NY will lose heavily according to the formula.

The Senate believes it can find the money to finance a $311 billion six-year bill, but some of its increase over the 1998 law relies on catching tax cheats, and its transit funding on greater use of general funds. Transit advocates were working lately to build guarantees so that general funds allocated to mass transit are not lost in appropriations processes in later years.

However, it’s still far from clear that all the maneuvering will amount to legislation this year, since the House of Representatives is not actively working on its bill, and is riven by disagreements over how to pay for increased spending.  

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