Jobs Bill May Lead To Rail Extension

The jobs bill may be missing Medicaid aid to the states and an unemployment benefit extension, but thanks to a deal cut by Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) it may lead to more transportation jobs:

... [Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH)], who is retiring at the end of 2010, said he agreed to back the bill after getting a commitment from Reid "that he will bring the reauthorization of a multi-year surface transportation bill to the floor for a vote this year." ...

Last year, the transportation bill was DOA and Congress just passed an extension of the old one. While the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's bill kept the standard 80-20 between highways and transit, it would fix serious flaws in spending policy that have prevented old transit systems being upgraded. And if a planned overall increase in transportation funding were part of the final package, there could still be more money for transit than there was previously.

As things stand, the transit funding from the stimulus last year has already created steel industry jobs making rail (pdf). The funding is sure to be insufficient, with a fully built out rail system likely to have a price tag around $100 billion, and a high speed system costing five times that, but a down payment on expanding existing rail and transit systems that can build capacity for the future.

Now, about making those new infrastructure jobs union jobs, with living wages and good benefits ...

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