New House Jobs Bill Dominated by Direct Aid to Cities
Soon after the Senate signed
off yesterday on a $150 billion package of tax extenders and
unemployment benefits that was promoted as a job-creation measure -- a
bill that lacked dedicated new funding for transportation -- Democrats
on the House education and labor committee were releasing their own jobs
legislation.
March 11, 2010
Goldman Sachs: Yes, Build America Bonds Are Good for Transport — And Us
Goldman Sachs today confirmed that the taxpayer-subsidized debt offering known as Build America Bonds (BABs), which have helped several urban transit agencies and state DOTs pay for new projects since last year, tend to result in higher underwriting fees for Wall Street banks than most tax-exempt municipal bonds. (Chart: WSJ) Responding to an inquiry from Sen. … Continued
March 10, 2010
Could Transport Bill Inaction Hurt the White House’s Sustainability Push?
The White House's lack of interest in passing a new long-term federal
transportation bill before next
spring at the earliest is common knowledge in Washington, but the
Obama administration has paid little political price so far for its
approach to the issue. That began to change today, thanks to two
lawmakers on the House panel that controls the U.S. DOT's purse strings.
March 10, 2010
U.S. Transit Trips Hit 10.2B in 2009, With Light Rail Up in Nine Cities
The nation's transit systems hosted 10.2
billion trips last year, the American Public Transportation Association
(APTA) reported
yesterday. While that figure represents a 3.8 percent decline from
2008, APTA's data showed light rail ridership rising in nine cities and
the long-term increase in transit use continuing to outpace growth in
population and vehicle miles traveled.
March 9, 2010
Study: Clean-Car Subsidies Alone Can’t Meet White House’s Climate Goals
Government subsidies for hybrid and electric cars, while "politically
seductive," will fail to achieve the Obama administration's national
pollution-reduction goals if they are not coupled with a significant
increase in fuel prices, according to a
new study by Harvard University researchers.
March 9, 2010
Dodd Vows to Pass Livability Bill Amid Skepticism From Rural Senators
Even as the Obama administration ramps up its work on a sustainability initiative that treats transportation, housing, and energy efficiency as interconnected aspects of development policy, the effort remains without an official congressional authorization — a situation that Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) vowed to fix yesterday. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd … Continued
March 9, 2010
House Set to Pass Jobs Bill With Changes, Prompting Another Senate Vote
The House has just begun voting on the Senate jobs bill, which includes a $20 billion reprieve for the nation's highway trust fund and an highway expansion of Build America Bonds -- but though the legislation is expected to pass, it won't be headed to the president's desk yet.
March 4, 2010
LaHood Faces Off With GOP Senator Over High-Speed Rail, Livability
When Cabinet secretaries appear in front of Congress' appropriations
committees, which control the annual budgets for each federal agency,
the proceedings tend to be dry affairs dominated by local concerns and
arcane fiscal debates.
March 4, 2010
Moody’s Gifts Fossil-Fuel States With Positive Credit Outlook
Comparing the falloff in state tax revenue to shifts in total unemployment. (Chart: Moody’s) Credit-rating agencies — particularly Moody’s and S&P, the nation’s two premier shops — wield significant influence over the financial health of private companies. But state and local officials are often equally dependent on good credit ratings to borrow money for transportation … Continued
March 4, 2010
Senate Starts Work on New Transport Bill, With House Version as a Guide
The Senate today took its first steps towards voting on a new
long-term federal transportation bill, with environment committee
chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) vowing to take up a successor to the 2005
infrastructure law before 2011 and indicating she would use the
House's already-introduced
version as a framework.
March 3, 2010