Metro Bill Gets Senate Vote Tomorrow

The long-delayed bill which includes a potential $1.5 billion in funding for Metrorail will finally be voted on in the Senate tomorrow, and it is expected to pass. Debate on the floor was officially closed by a 69-17 vote yesterday, and it would appear that the legislation has more than enough votes to make it's way to President Bush's desk. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) is probably finding the bill more difficult to roadblock these days, since the law's main purpose - improving rail safety across the country, with the recent Los Angeles commuter rail accident which killed 25 people fresh in the collective memory - is being credited for the bill's sudden resurgence. Of course, that didn't stop Coburn from trying.

For clarity, this is the same bill which Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA) has been pushing for quite some time now. The bill does require matching funding from all three involved jurisdictions - last week, the D.C. council agreed to match the $50 million requirement by allocating one-half of one percent of the District's sales tax to Metro funding. The bill would also require two federal appointees to Metro's Board of Directors.

Photo by gfitzp