AARP Sends Its Transportation Priorities to Congress
AARP, the Washington mega-force that lays claim to a membership base of 40 million older Americans, today threw its weight behind three transportation policy changes in a letter to House members. The group asked Reps. Jim Oberstar (D-MN) and John Mica (R-FL), the chairman and senior Republican on the House transportation committee, to include “complete … Continued
June 15, 2009
Congress Agrees to Keep Transit Operating Aid in War Bill
House
and Senate negotiators struck a deal last night on a $106 billion war
spending bill that also gives cash-strapped transit agencies the
ability to use 10 percent of their economic stimulus grants to pay operating costs.
June 12, 2009
Carnahan Steps Up Push For Federal Help With Transit Operating
While lawmakers maneuver to fill
local transit agencies' operating budget gaps with economic stimulus
cash, Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO) is taking it a step further with a
proposal that would make federal operating aid permanent -- and use it
as an incentive to spur more state-level funding as well as emissions
reductions.
June 11, 2009
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
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
Cycling in National Cemetery: Yea or Nay?
Local D.C. issues aren't the stock in trade of Streetsblog Capitol
Hill, but the Washington Post lately has been refereeing a debate that
resonates on the national level: Is Arlington National Cemetery inhospitable to cyclists?
June 3, 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 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"? (editor's note: Ubrayj, put your hand down.)
June 1, 2009