A Common Thread in the Home Buyer’s Tax Credit and ‘Cash for Clunkers’
Back in the days of "cash for clunkers," which saw the Obama
administration send nearly $3 billion in taxpayer-funded rebates to
boost the sagging auto industry, our Ryan Avent and several other
economics wonks pointed out
an inconvenient fact: Many participants in the program would have
bought cars anyway, and the rebates only pulled their purchases forward
in time.
January 21, 2010
Dodd and DeLauro Vow to Get Infrastructure Bank Done This Year
Supporters from every corner of the transportation universe joined
Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), and Sen. Chris Dodd
(D-CT) today at a press event aimed at jumpstarting a National
Infrastructure Bank (NIB), which the two Connecticut lawmakers vowed to
steer to passage this year.
January 20, 2010
Obama Quietly Gets Federal Agencies Involved in Transport Planning
When President Obama signed an executive order in October requiring federal agencies to craft strategies for reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, he described the mandate as Washington "lead[ing] by example" on the pollution-reduction front.
January 19, 2010
CBO Echoes Obama’s Candor on the Pitfalls of ‘Shovel-Readiness’
During last month's White House jobs summit, President Obama carved out
some common ground with critics of his first stimulus law's $47 billion
in infrastructure spending -- which was distributed mainly by the book
through state DOTs. "The term "shovel-ready," let’s be honest here,
doesn’t always live up to its billing," he acknowledged.
January 19, 2010
Could a Green Bank Hitch a Ride on the Jobs Bill?
Fans of a National Infrastructure Bank (NIB) that would help leverage private-sector funding for transportation projects are still hoping
for Hill action after the House declined to add the idea to its $154
billion jobs bill. But the NIB isn't the only new financing strategy on
the table, as Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) reminded President Obama
yesterday.
January 15, 2010
Enviro Group Sees State DOTs’ Transport Predictions — and Raises Them
Just before New Year's, the American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the Washington voice for state DOTs
that's often dubbed the "road lobby," counted down 10 hot topics for 2010.
January 15, 2010
EPA Air Chief: We Need to Do More to Reduce VMT
Obama administration officials "need to align together" to work on
reducing the nation's total vehicle miles traveled -- work that should
go beyond a pending congressional climate bill -- the Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA) air-quality chief said today.
January 14, 2010
LaHood Wants More TIGER Aid in the Congressional Jobs Bill
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood made a splash yesterday
by announcing that the U.S. DOT would look at the environmental and
community-building benefits of transit projects, not just their
adherence to a government cost-effectiveness standard.
January 14, 2010
Big Transit News: Bush-Era Rule Tossed, Enviro Benefits on the Table
Transportation reformers and members of Congress have long clamored for changes
to the federal government's major transit grant program, otherwise
known as "New Starts," and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood answered today with an announcement of sweeping changes in the works.
January 13, 2010