Federal Transportation Bill

Amidst all of the negative news about the federal transportation bill recently agreed to by members of the House of Representatives and Senate agreed to, there is a silver lining.  The "America Fast Forward" provisions, a group of changes and funding increases that will help cities expand their rail transit systems, survived the conference committee.  Thus, instead of angry headlines such as those that have crowded the pages of Streetsblog Capitol Hill, the Los Angeles Times proclaims, "Congress Set to O.K. Bill That Would Help Fund L.A. Transit Projects."

In recent weeks, two competing pieces of legislation are moving in Washington, D.C.  The first, is moving through the House of Representatives on a series of highly partisan votes and is reviled by advocates for transit, walking, bicycling and complete streets for it's over-the-top support for highway construction.  The other is moving through the Senate with unanimous bi-partisan support and funds a more balanced vision for transportation funding.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was in Washington, D.C. today to support the dramatic increase in the TIFIA loan program to $1  billion that is proposed in both the House and Senate draft reauthorization bills and is the center plank of the America Fast Forward plan to accelerate transit construction.  By the time he flew out of town, he also through his hat in the ring to be the most popular man about town.  This is Villaraigosa's 7th trip to the Capital to lobby for and promote portions of the America Fast Forward program.

At times in this whole reauthorization process, it’s been hard to see the way forward. House Republicans refuse to deficit-spend their way out of the funding conundrum, and Democrats haven’t gotten behind a coherent plan to come up with more revenues, though they’re still arguing for a bigger bill. Still, I’ve been reporting on the bill as if it’s bound to happen, one way or another. Secretary Ray LaHood has been unflinching in his optimism that a bill will pass this year. But the more I talk to experts, I realize: this thing probably isn't going to happen.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told reporters today that the administration sent its draft bill to Capitol Hill two weeks ago. “It’s with the people that it needs to be with,” LaHood said, “the staff that’s working on a bill.”

President Obama's stimulus bill is one of a small handful of pieces of legislation that have come to define his presidency. Whether you think it was a smashing success or a dismal failure seems to depend on whether there's an R or a D next to your name.

A draft of the president’s full transportation bill [PDF], obtained by the semi-underground Transportation Weekly, has started floating around Beltway policy circles. This draft is more informative than the partial bill that started making the rounds last week, but it’s still undated and it’s not necessarily the final proposal.

As we reported yesterday, the buzz around a two year transportation bill seems to be growing, and there are sound reasons to set our sights on a shorter-term bill, despite the obvious pitfalls.

Like everyone else, Safe Routes to School advocates are scaling back. Last year, a bill introduced in the Senate asked for $600 million to enhance pedestrian and bike safety near schools. “We were working in a pretty different environment,” said Margo Pedroso, deputy director of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership. “Everybody was talking about a $500 billion transportation bill. So we figured, we don’t know what the full bill will be in the end, but let’s go for the funding we feel like we need.”