House Democrats unveil $500 billion transportation package with focus on buses, rail and the environ
Transportation
House Democrats unveil $500 billion transportation package with focus on buses, rail and the environment
By
Ian Duncan
June 3, 2020 at 4:27 p.m. EDT
House Democrats on Wednesday unveiled a $500 billion transportation bill that outlines a five-year plan for how Americans will get around, with a new emphasis on transit and railroads and seeking to blunt the environmental cost of travel.
The bill calls for across-the-board increases in spending on highways and public transportation. Roads would continue to see the lions share of the money some $300 billion. But the bill also provides $165 billion in support for buses, subways and rail, significantly more than the last transportation package passed in 2015.
Rep. Peter A. DeFazio (D-Ore.), chairman of the House transportation committee and the chief architect of the legislation, said the proposal would move the nations infrastructure beyond a blueprint from the 1950s and toward a more environmentally sustainable future.
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Ian Duncan
Ian Duncan is a reporter covering federal transportation agencies and the politics of transportation. He previously worked at the Baltimore Sun for seven years, covering city hall, the military and criminal justice. He was part of the Sun's team covering Freddie Gray's death in 2015 and then-Mayor Catherine Pugh's Healthy Holly books scandal. Follow
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