I think she’ll have to take the bus.
Funding for a railroad project near the California district of mayor Nancy Pelosi, which Republicans denounced as a waste, was removed on Tuesday from President Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus project.
The Senate congressman decided that $ 140 million appropriation was not allowed under the so-called Byrd rule, which police unrelated items in budgetary reconciliation projects.
Republicans pointed to the rail project as an example of “pig” unrelated to the bill, which is being forced into Congress without the support of Republicans, using special rules that allow simple majority voting in the Senate.
On Tuesday, Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) Ridiculed the project as Pelosi’s “love tunnel” before an early vote on the package later this week.
Representatives of Pelosi, who represents San Francisco, defended the project, saying that the number of passengers for public transport plummeted during the pandemic, making it reasonable to increase government spending.
“The Senate congressman decided that the extension of the BART from San Jose to Santa Clara does not meet the requirements of the Byrd rule because it is part of a pilot project. Therefore, it will be removed from the reconciliation package, ”said Pelosi’s spokesman, Drew Hammill.
A separate $ 1.5 million allocation for the Seaway International Bridge between Massena, New York and Canada will also be removed, he said.
The Senate congressman previously prevented Democrats from including an increase in the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour in the bill.
Hammill defended the original inclusion of the railway funds.
“COVID-19 had an immediate and overwhelming effect on all of our transport systems and the millions of transport and construction jobs associated with them,” he said.
“As part of the $ 30 billion in support of public transport, the Chamber included $ 1.425 billion to help dozens of major transit capital projects, including the extension of the BART from San Jose to Santa Clara.”