Rand Paul

The third time in recent months to eliminate or divert Transportation Enhancement funding failed to pass the Senate this morning.

Sixty Senators voted against Sen Rand Paul’s amendment, which would have diverted the TE money to bridge repair. Arizona’s John Kyl was one of the 38 Senators who voted for the measure, while Arizona’s Sen. John McCain was one of two that did not vote.

Check out the League of American Bicyclists’ report about the vote.

Thanks to all of you who contacted your Senators, Senator Rand Paul’s (R-KY) amendment that would have diverted Transportation Enhancement funds to bridge repairs, was soundly defeated. Transportation Enhancements are a key source of funding for bicycling and walking infrastructure.  The amendment would not have made a significant impact on the state of repair of bridges, but would have drastically impacted active transportation investments. Sixty Senators voted against the measure.

While Sen. Paul once again railed against “squirrel sanctuaries,” as a possible use of Enhancement funds, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) pointed out that Paul’s amendment would actually hinder bridge repair in certain instances. “The amendment prevents a bridge from being fixed if it is a historic bridge,” Boxer said. “There are thousands of those in this country, including the Brooklyn Bridge.”

Here’s an interesting AP story about the vote.

4 thoughts on “Transportation Enhancement amendment fails”
  1. Apparently McCain couldn’t muster the truthiness required to vote according to his, uhm, stated facts about transportation funding.

  2. Big surprise that neither of Arizona’s senators voted against Rand Paul’s amendment.   (Obviously, Senator McCain probably was too busy to vote..) 

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