House Dems to Offer Jobs Bill; Full Chamber OKs Appropriations

WASHINGTON — House Democrats plan to introduce and vote next week on a jobs bill, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said yesterday as the chamber voted 221 to 202 to approve a nearly half-trillion dollar appropriations bill with funding for high-speed rail.

“I don’t know that we can get to all of them right away,” Pelosi, a California Democrat, said of programs that lawmakers and lobbying groups want included in such a bill.

But there is a sense of urgency, she said, adding that with state legislatures and governors making their 2010 budget and spending decisions in the next few months, “it’s important for them to have some idea of if or when we would be doing something.”

Pelosi added that legislation providing aid to states including extensions of unemployment and health insurance for the unemployed, “at the very least,” are likely to be introduced by next week.

Meanwhile, the House voted to approve a $446.8 billion appropriations act that was put together by a Senate and House conference committee earlier this week. The act, which still needs Senate approval, is a sort of mini-omnibus bill that would fund federal programs in six different budget areas including transportation and housing.

It would provide $2.5 billion for high-speed rail, more than double the amount that the Obama administration requested for high-speed rail earlier this year. It also would give states $41.1 billion for highway infrastructure projects and $600 million for highway, bridge, transit, rail, or port infrastructure projects.

Additionally, the bill would not provide funding for a national infrastructure bank in 2010. Instead, the lawmakers who sponsored the bill said a national infrastructure bank should be set up by congressional authorizing committees.

Bond-related community development block grants would receive $4.45 billion from the bill.

Any funding for infrastructure that is included in the jobs bill would be in addition to the regular 2010 appropriations.

House transportation leaders said earlier this month they would like to see at least $69 billion for transportation included in any jobs bill, and potentially $100 billion that would be considered front-loaded funding for the first two years of a six-year transportation authorization bill.

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