A new $1.9 trillion stimulus plan out from the Biden administration tonight is pitching $20 billion to “the hardest hit public transit agencies” so they can avoid cutting routes and laying off workers.

The package would need to pass the Democrat-controlled Congress. But the announcement comes just hours after the Metro board discussed how it planned to handle deep cuts starting in January.

It’s unclear how much WMATA would get if this latest proposal passes.

In recent days, Metro said it would receive $610 million of the $14 billion set aside for public transit from the last stimulus package passed in December. That will help Metro largely avoid massive service cuts in 2021. The transit agency will even add more bus service in May, extending nighttime service by two hours on 34 routes.

But that money is predicted to stretch only until the end of this year. Metro’s board spent Thursday morning tussling with how to bridge a $171 million gap while trying to avoid 2,500 layoffs and severe service cuts from January 2022 to July 2022. Though that conversation may be moot now.

If more funding doesn’t pass, Metro says it would have to close Metrorail at 9 p.m., shutter 22 stations, have trains run every 30 minutes and institute “turnbacks,” which reduce service to the suburbs on the Red and Yellow lines. Metrobus service would be consolidated down to about 45 lines, which represents about 50% of pre-pandemic service levels.

Michael Goldman, the board member from Maryland, said the proposal makes no sense at all.

“Let’s face it, that’s the time when we would expect the economy to recover and we would expect the vaccination program… to be successful,” said Goldman. “(This is when) we could anticipate people beginning to come back to work, leave their homes, come to D.C. to visit the area, come downtown to celebrate and to enjoy a meal.

“But in order to do that, we need to have a service pattern that contributes to and promotes that kind of recovery.”

Stephanie Gidigbi-Jenkins, a board member from D.C., said any decision the board makes now will influence the decisions riders make about how they move around.

“‘I have to figure out another job,’ is really the conversation that people are having when we talk about not having night services,” she said. “I hope that we use the budget… as a space to reflect both our values, in addition to the regional priorities that we need for those who are most dependent on the system.”

Some board members, like Virginia’s Matt Letourneau, questioned whether to spread out the federal funding from December more evenly throughout the Fiscal Year 2022 and have consistent, smaller cuts throughout the fiscal year.

Goldman argued that Metro should defer purchasing 50 new buses to save $125 million, sell $40 million worth of surplus property and save $18 million by delaying the opening of the second phase of the Silver Line to January 2022.

General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said that opening the Silver Line in July is “extremely important to the region,” and he disagreed with the tactic of deferring maintenance to pay for operational costs.

“I think that’s created some of the issues we have (had in the past),” said Wiedefeld. By putting off maintenance, he said, “you’re just creating problems for the future.”

Board Chair Paul Smedberg agreed.

“We are committed to… making sure that we have a safe and reliable system,” he said. “State of good repair and preventative maintenance is an important piece to that.

“I fear that if we move away from that and use those funds, capital funds, for operating, we’re going to get criticized for that.”

Thursday’s meeting felt like deja vu since the board has had similar conversations for months. Riders will have a chance to weigh in on the budget for July 2021-June 2022 in February and March before the board finalizes the budget in April.