I think she will have to take the bus.
Funding for a California district railroad project that Republicans denounced as waste was removed Tuesday from President Biden’s $ 1.9 billion COVID-19 stimulus bill.
The Senate MP has ruled that the $ 140 million allocation is not allowed under the so-called Byrd rule that unrelated items are budgeted in budget reconciliation accounts.
Republicans singled out the rail project as an example of unrelated “pork” in the bill, which is being pushed through Congress without Republican support using special rules that allow a simple majority vote in the Senate.
On Tuesday, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) Mocked the project as Pelosi’s “tunnel of love” before an expected vote on the package later this week.
Representatives of Pelosi, which represents San Francisco, defended the project, saying the management of mass transportation declined during the pandemic, which made it reasonable to increase government spending.
‘The Senate MP has now ruled that the BART extension from San Jose to Santa Clara does not meet the requirements of the Byrd rule because it is part of a pilot project. That is why it will be removed from the reconciliation package, ”said Pelosi spokesperson Drew Hammill.
A separate $ 1.5 million grant for the Seaway International Bridge between Massena, New York and Canada will also be removed, he said.
Senate lawmaker previously barred Democrats from including a federal minimum wage increase of up to $ 15 an hour in the bill.
Hammill defended the original inclusion of the rail funds.
“COVID-19 has had an immediate and overwhelming effect on all of our transportation systems and on the millions of transportation and construction work associated with it,” he said.
“As part of the $ 30 billion support for public transportation, the House has included $ 1.425 billion to help with dozens of major transit railroad capital projects, including the BART expansion from San Jose to Santa Clara.”