When Will Oberstar’s Transportation Bill Drop? Place Your Bets Now
At first it was slated to emerge by June 1.
Then its release was said to slip to this week. House Transportation
and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) now plans to
release his version of the six-year federal transportation bill by the end of the month, with a full House vote unlikely to come before Congress leaves for its annual August recess.
June 10, 2009
Lawmakers Push for Federal Help With Transit Operating: Read the Letter
The House and Senate are racing to reach agreement on a $90 billion bill to keep the Iraq and Afghanistan wars funded, but the legislation also could mark a pivotal victory for transit.
June 9, 2009
GOP-ers and Dems Agree: Feds Need to Get Their Transpo Act Together
Reports on federal transportation policy -- like campaign
fundraisers and lobbying groups -- seem to proliferate in Washington,
most of them drawing a few days' worth of news coverage before fading
from memory. (Remember the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission and the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Commission?)
June 9, 2009
House to Vote This Week on Weak ‘Cash for Clunkers’ Plan
The House is poised this week to take up the so-called "cash for
clunkers" bill, which aims to boost the slumping U.S. auto market by
giving out tax credits of $3,500 and up to anyone who trades in a
gas-guzzling car for a more efficient model.
June 8, 2009
LaHood Vows to Avert Federal Transpo Bankruptcy and Pay For It
The Obama administration is working on a plan to fill the shortfall
in the nation's highway trust fund by August without adding to the
federal deficit, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told Congress
today.
June 4, 2009
Transit Planners to Congress: Please Figure Out How to Fund Us
To all but the most ardent transit wonks, the phrase "New Starts"
sounds like a motivational tape sold on late-night TV. But those two
words actually represent Washington's predominant mechanism to pay for
major transit expansions -- everything from expanding an existing rail
station to building a new bus line.
June 4, 2009
LaHood, Biden Meet with Governors on High-Speed Rail
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Vice President Biden met at the
White House this afternoon with officials from 20 states in contention
for funding as part of the Obama administration's high-speed rail program.
June 3, 2009
Obama’s Highway Chief: Wishy-Washy on Emissions?
Victor Mendez, nominated by the White House to lead the Federal
Highway Administration (FHWA), spent more than an hour this morning
with the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee -- but the most
illuminating moment in the hearing came as the clock was running down.
June 2, 2009
Bush Transpo Secretary’s Biggest Disappointment: Bush
DC Velocity magazine has just released a lengthy interview with Norman Mineta, the Bush-era transportation secretary and former Bay Area Democratic member of Congress.
June 2, 2009
Solve the Congestion Crisis And Win $50,000
Have you ever idled in traffic or waited for a late bus while thinking: "The city government should put me in charge of fixing this mess"?
June 1, 2009