How GOP tarred BART funding for San Jose extension
WASHINGTON — Once BART’s extension to downtown San Jose was rebranded by Republicans as “Nancy Pelosi’s Silicon Valley subway,” its chances of being funded by Congress’ coronavirus stimulus package were all but doomed.
The $140 million for the planned extension was axed Tuesday, after Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and other Republicans objected to its inclusion in the $1.9 trillion bill. Its demise is a lesson in Washington politics and how half a sentence in a 600page bill can cause a firestorm.
Toomey took credit for getting the project removed, declaring that the Senate parliamentarian’s ruling that the money couldn’t be included in the bill was a victory for taxpayers.
“Expanding Silicon Valley’s subway has nothing to do with COVID19 relief and should not have been included in the House bill,” Toomey said in a statement. “While I am pleased the Senate parliamentarian agreed with us that this earmark is impermissible, this bill remains a partisan, liberal grab bag masquerading as a COVID relief bill.”
What jeopardized the BART extension’s funding, in a roundabout way, was the project’s strength.
At issue is the way the extension is being funded by the federal government. It falls under the Federal Transit Administration’s capital investment grant program, which is getting nearly $2 billion under the bill for existing projects.
Within that broader grant program, there are four categories under which transit agencies can apply for money. The Silicon Valley extension is funded under a pilot program created by a Republicancontrolled Congress in 2015, which requires a higher share of local money than the others and caps federal funding at 25% of a project.
To date, however, the BART extension is the only project nationally that has been approved under that category. That allowed Republicans to portray it as a sweetheart deal in the stimulus bill, linking it to Pelosi even though the project is 50 miles south of the House speaker’s San Francisco district.
And because the Silicon Valley extension is the lone project under that grant category, it was vulnerable to the Senate parliamentarian after Toomey called her attention to it.
Democrats are using a procedure called budget reconciliation to advance the stimulus without the usual 60vote threshold in the Senate required to move legislation forward. In general, only measures that affect the federal deficit are allowed in such bills. Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled Tuesday that because the extension is the only recipient of a pilot grant program, it did not qualify.
Other transit projects remain eligible for money under the Democrats’ bill, including three in the Bay Area — BART’s Transbay Tube capacity expansion, Caltrain electrification and Muni’s Central Subway.
A bus rapid transit project in Pittsburgh, in Toomey’s state, is one of dozens nationwide that would be up for funding. Toomey’s spokesperson, Steve Kelly, said the senator does not support a coronavirus bill funding any transit construction projects, including that one.
Democrats say the money is necessary, as the pandemic has decimated transit agencies’ budgets thanks to plunging ridership and increased safety requirements.
The Senate is set to vote on the bill and a number of amendments to it this week, after which the House will have to reapprove the legislation before sending it to President Biden for signature.