Murray/Feinstein Amendment to Invest in Transportation and Water Projects Nationwide

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Patty Murray, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing and Senator Dianne Feinstein, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and the Environment, today offered details of their amendment to the Senate version of the economic recovery package.   The Murray/Feinstein amendment directs $25 billion to immediately support nearly 700,000 American jobs through highway, mass transit and water infrastructure investments.

“Construction projects across the country have been put on hold because states simply don’t have the money to move forward.  It’s time to stop hitting snooze on modernizing our communities and wake up to the fact that construction projects get Americans working today,” Senator Murray said.  “This amendment invests in tried and true projects that get laid-off workers back on the job and pave the way for future economic strength.  These are the investments mayors and governors across the country are asking for and this amendment answers the call.”

Murray and Feinstein are joined in offering the amendment by Senators Mark Begich, Barbara Boxer, Sherrod Brown, Benjamin Cardin, Christopher Dodd, Richard Durbin, Frank Lautenberg, Patrick Leahy, Joe Lieberman, Barbara Mikulski, Harry Reid, Bernie Sanders and Debbie Stabenow.

A Breakdown of the Murray/Feinstein Infrastructure Amendment

Highways

• Increases highway investments by $13 billion, supporting an additional 362,000 jobs
• Increases the total highway investment from $27 billion to $40 billion
• Funding would be provided as grants to state and local entities and distributed by formula

Public Transportation

• Increases public transportation investments by $5 billion, supporting an additional 139,000 jobs

  • $2 billion for transit grants distributed by formula to states, local entities
  • $1 billion for new transit through the New Starts and Small Starts programs
  • $2 billion for rail transit systems, distributed by formula to local entities through the Fixed Guideway Modernization program

• Increases the total public transportation investment from $8.4 billion to $13.4 billion

EPA Water and Sewer Grants

• Increases investment in water/sewer infrastructure by $7 billion, supporting an additional 154,000 jobs
• Supports an additional 1,935 sewer projects and an additional 385 drinking water projects
• Increases the total funding for water/sewer grants from $6 billion to $13 billion