New Poll: Support For Transit Expansion Transcends Rural-Urban Divide
Despite the frequent reluctance
of rural lawmakers to support more federal investment in transit, a
majority of rural and urban voters alike believe their home towns would
gain from a local transit expansion, according to a new poll released
today by the infrastructure reform group Transportation for America
(T4A) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
March 30, 2010
‘A Dozen or So’ Senators Delay Passage of Oberstar’s Highway Funding Fix
A contentious congressional dispute over
$932 million in transportation funding remains unresolved this week
after the Senate approved a one-month extension of federal aviation law
rather than a three-month version of the bill that included a fix to
the provision at issue.
March 29, 2010
Transport and the Tea Party: How Conservatives Talk About the Gas Tax
The passage of health care legislation this week, while elating
Democrats, has proven an equally potent motivator for conservatives
advocates of states' rights. Appearing on Sean Hannity's Fox News show
last night, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) was asked about the viability of the
legal challenge to the health bill filed by 14 mostly conservative attorneys general.
March 26, 2010
Boxer Aims to Put TIGER-Type Program in Next Federal Transport Bill
During an otherwise-abbreviated
hearing yesterday, Senate environment committee chairman Barbara
Boxer (D-CA) joined the chorus of praise for the stimulus law's TIGER
program, declaring her intention to add a version of the
competitive infrastructure grants to the next long-term federal
transportation bill.
March 26, 2010
EPA Drops Data Before GOP Forces Shutdown of Transportation Hearing
The Senate environment panel today was forced to prematurely shutter
its latest hearing on the next long-term federal transportation bill
after Republicans invoked a rarely-used right to close down committee
work as part of their broader protest against the majority party's health care legislation.
March 25, 2010
Feds Begin Redefining ‘Affordable Housing’ to Include Transport Costs
The
process of expanding the federal government's definition of "affordable
housing," a stated goal of the Obama administration's sustainable communities effort, began in earnest yesterday with the introduction of a new index that integrates transportation prices into the cost of living for hundreds of metro areas.
March 24, 2010
Bids For Federal Streetcar Aid Top Available Money by Nearly Tenfold
After announcing $130 million in new streetcar grants in December, the Obama administration received more than $1.1 billion in applications, Federal Transit Administration (FTA) chief Peter Rogoff told lawmakers today — offering more evidence of the growing local enthusiasm for competitive transportation funding that began with the stimulus law’s TIGER grant program. New Orleans, above, … Continued
March 23, 2010
Transit Operating Aid Bill Doesn’t Fly With Major D.C. Transit Group
A burgeoning congressional push
to let urban transit agencies tap federal funds for operating their
systems is not sitting well with the transit industry's largest D.C.
lobbying group, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).
March 23, 2010
Senate Health Bill Approved: What it Means for Transportation
After 14 months of drama, deal-making, and declarations of its demise, the health care legislation envisioned by President Obama and congressional Democrats finally cleared its biggest hurdle last night, with the House approving the Senate-passed measure on a 219-212 vote.
March 22, 2010
Transit Industry Group Adds a Caveat to Its Stance on Operating Aid
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA), which has represented the transit industry in Washington for more than 120 years, has openly welcomed the year-long push
for Congress to relax longstanding rules that prevent large urban
agencies to spend federal grant money on their operating costs.
March 19, 2010