Barbara Boxer

An 18-month extension of existing transportation law cleared the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee today, but not before spirited debate on a proposal billed as a compromise with House members who remain strongly opposed to the Senate's stopgap.

This was supposed to be a big week for action on climate change in the Senate -- but it's ending with Republicans rubbing their hands in glee as the Environment and Public Works Committee delays its unveiling of legislation on carbon emissions.

(Photo: theweeklydriver.com) The Environmental Protection Agency today granted California’s request for a waiver allowing greater limits on auto tailpipe emissions, a move that effectively speeds up the phasing-in of the Obama administration’s fuel-efficiency standards in as many as 13 other states. The EPA billed its decision, which was widely expected and fulfills a campaign promise … Continued

Green transportation advocates are pressing Congress to refuse any new spending that's not tied to reform of the existing system -- a call that influential senators in both parties ruled out today.

(editor's note: Elana Schor has done yeoman's work analyzing the newly released white paper from Congressman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) which very well could end up being the framework for the next authorization of the Federal Transportation Trust Fund.  Oberstar's work on this issue really puts the "work" done by the Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee Chair, Barbara Boxer, to shame.  You can read all of Elana's coverage, including a look at the highways-transit split and funding for metro areas proposed by Oberstar at Capitol Hill Streetsblog.)

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee and a key player in the federal transportation re-write, just released a statement hailing Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s call for an 18-month extension of the existing transport law: I am very pleased that the White House is being proactive in working with the … Continued

Another must-read from last week’s Reuters Infrastructure Summit: Barbara Boxer, who as Chair of the Senate’s Transportation Committee will be responsible for shepherding the next transportation bill through the Senate, says she’s open to a mileage tax and to indexing the gas tax to inflation to generate new revenue. It’s great to hear a legislator … Continued

Behind the scenes, we're hearing a lot of sustainable transportation advocates sounding alarms over California Senator Barbara Boxer these days. As chair of the Senate's Environment and Public Works committee, Boxer is going to play a critical role in this year's federal transportation funding effort. Environmentalists want to see transportation policies and funding formulas that encourage reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. But the highway lobby, AASHTO and the EPW committee's ranking Republican and vocal climate change denier, Senator James Inhofe, don't want anything get in the way of their pork-tastic federal highway projects. Environmentalists have come away from meetings and conversations with Boxer and her staff with the sinking sensation that she's going to cave to Inhofe and friends when it comes time to write the transportation bill.

The Inhofe/Boxer stimulus bill amendment for $50 billion in additional infrastructure funds appears to be dead, with official word expected soon from Senator Harry Reid's office. Sources close to the negotiations say that at least five Democratic Senators were not going to support the amendment if transit and water provisions weren't improved, while Senate Republicans vowed to obstruct such improvements.