OK, that headline might be a tiny bit out of context, but Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) gave a strong defense of transit on the floor of the Senate:

The transportation sector is responsible for 30% of our country’s CO2 emissions. That is why Congress passed legislation that I coauthored with a number of my colleagues last year to increase auto fuel economy from an average 25mpg to 35 mpg in 2020. …

The [Warner-Lieberman climate change bill] also includes a low carbon fuel standard and funding for developing alternative fuels.

However, most of the benefits from making cars and fuels cleaner would be lost if we don’t address how far people drive. …

Since 1970, overall energy consumption has grown by 41 percent, in spite of the establishment of the first fuel efficiency standards in cars in 1975. This is mostly because people are driving 148 percent more. In other words, Americans are spending 24 more hours in traffic a year, since 1982.

Living in sprawling areas without transit can double a family’s greenhouse gas emissions. The negative consequences go beyond impacting the environment. With gas approaching $4 a gallon longer commutes and increased distances required for errands costs money.

Public transportation has saved Americans from an additional 286 million hours of sitting in traffic.

Carper made his statement in support of an amendment by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) to devote some of the revenue from the pollution permits to transit. Via Smart Growth America.

The bill failed to pass a filibuster today, but this is only the start of this debate in Congress.

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.