Update: The Economic Incentive Package and Mass Transit

Just a quick note on the status of the Senate vs. the House versions of the package as it relates to mass transit. According to an analysis by the National Conference of State Legislatures (www.ncsl.org), the Senate version gives more money directly to Amtrak ($850 million vs. $800 million) but less in grants for intercity passenger rail ($250 million vs. $300 million). The Senate version has no money designated for Rail Modernization, while the House has $2 billion; however, the Senate version designates $2 billion for the High Speed Rail Corridor Program, so this may be just a terminology difference. Where the House breaks up its other grants between $6 billion in supplemental public transit grants, $2 billion in rail transit improvement grants, and $1 billion in New Starts grants, the Senate lumps them all together in $8.4 billion in supplemental grants for public transit. Assuming a final bill passes this week, I will post a quick snapshot of the final provisions and discuss what they might mean for Tennessee.

-Cliff