House “Fix” to Jobs Bill Takes $192 Million from California
Fixing a disputed provision in the jobs bill that President Obama signed into law yesterday
-- as Senate Democratic leaders promised House transportation committee
chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) following complaints by several members of
his panel -- would involve the redistribution of $932 million in
funding for two major federal road and rail programs.
March 19, 2010
Inhofe Questions Transit and Bike-Ped Investments in House Transport Bill
The senior Republican on the Senate environment panel today criticized the House's six-year transportation bill,
lamenting that the measure "focus[es] very heavily on transit, bike
paths, and sidewalks" and carves out a strong federal role in
"decisions historically left to the state level."
March 18, 2010
Dem. Senator Asks LaHood to ‘Put an End to’ Transportation Earmarks
When House leaders agreed last week to ban earmarks to for-profit entities, tax and transportation projects got a notable exemption.
But that doesn't mean Congress has no appetite to curb transport
earmarks, as Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) showed in a letter sent this
week to U.S. DOT chief Ray LaHood.
March 18, 2010
Villaraigosa Steps Up Case for “30 in 10” in D.C.
Days after pitching the Senate environment committee for federal help with expediting his ambitious "30/10" package
of new transit projects, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was
back on the Hill yesterday meeting with lawmakers as part of a broad
campaign for more investment in California infrastructure.
March 17, 2010
House and Senate Split on Approach to Obama’s Transit Safety Plan
After a year marked by discord between the House and Senate
over the timing of the next federal transportation bill, another split
emerged yesterday over the timetable for taking up the Obama
administration's plan for federal involvement in transit safety oversight.
March 16, 2010
Environmental Group Offers Congress a Map to Cleaner Freight
The federal government can reap significant pollution-reduction
benefits by focusing on a national freight plan that replaces older
diesel equipment with newer, cleaner-burning train cars while building
out regional networks more efficiently, the Environmental Defense Fund
(EDF) said yesterday in a new report [PDF].
March 16, 2010
Is 2010 the Year for Federal Bike Aid? The Answer: A Big ‘Maybe’
This week's National Bike Summit culminated in an ambitious new campaign to recruit a million bike advocates and the unveiling
of a new Google Maps bike feature. But in a Wednesday session dedicated
to the outlook for federal bike investments, cycling advocates
hesitated to declare that they could secure new commitments from
Washington.
March 15, 2010
LaHood Reaches Out to Transit Industry, Lamenting ‘Lousy Economy’
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood sought to commiserate with the
cash-strapped transit industry today, declaring the Obama
administration an ally of local rail and bus agencies even as the
"lousy economy" clouds prospects for passage of a new long-term federal
transportation bill.
March 15, 2010
Mr. Villaraigosa Goes to Washington to Pitch 30 in 10
Senators began searching today for new strategies to connect local
planners with an ever-dwindling pot of federal infrastructure dollars,
even as a senior U.S. DOT aide declined to say whether the White
House's upcoming principles for the next long-term transportation bill would include funding specifics.
March 12, 2010