White House role in slashing stimulus bill transit funding questioned

Who’s responsible for allocations in the stimulus package? Who decided that roads would get $30 billion, transit would get $9 billion, and that the “smart grid” would get $11 billion? According to transit advocates who’ve talked with House transportation committee chair James Oberstar, D-Minn., it was Lawrence Summers, director of the White House’s National Economic Council.


So far, Summers’ hand has been largely hidden, with House leaders simply attributing input to “the Obama team.” But as details of the stimulus bill have emerged, it’s become clear that Summers’ own skepticism about what can be spent when has shaped some of its smallest details.

Transit advocates say Oberstar