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House Attack on Safe Streets Makes Transpo Bill Ever More Elusive
We reported last week that the House had proposed allowing states to “opt out” of funding bicycle and pedestrian safety improvements in its counter-offer to the Senate during transportation bill negotiations. The House GOP essentially wants to reject the Cardin-Cochran amendment, which gave local governments control over half the “Additional Activities” funding set aside for bike/ped programs, letting states make decisions about the other half.
June 11, 2012
Conference Devolves Into Talk of Extensions
If you were still hoping a real bill could come out of the transportation conference, here’s a bitter pill: House Speaker John Boehner is now talking about a six-month extension of the current law.
June 8, 2012
House GOP Wastes Time With Bogus Gas Tax Debate
If you've been following the ongoing transportation bill saga, then you know there's a fair amount of gamesmanship going on in Congress right now -- lots of political posturing, little progress on substantive policy. Here's a great new example of what the House GOP has been up to instead of passing a transportation bill:
June 7, 2012
Stakeholders Beg Conferees to Stop Acting Like Children
Sen. Barbara Boxer's noon press conference started out as a bit of a mess. The Senate press gallery announced it was canceled five minutes before it was due to start. Then three minutes later, the EPW committee sent out a notice that the event had changed locations and would start 20 minutes later. Needless to say, there was much confusion.
June 6, 2012
FRA Chief: America Is Driving Less and Congress Needs to Catch Up
Speaking to reporters earlier today, Federal Railroad Administration chief Joe Szabo said that people are driving less and using transit more -- and that those changes are permanent. "America’s travel habits are undergoing rapid change," he said. It's a fact, he said ("not opinion -- statistically proven"), calling on Congress to show that it understands these changes by moving in a new direction.
June 4, 2012
Broad Coalition Urges Congress to Support Local Control of Bike-Ped Funds
A coalition of 70 organizations, including the US Conference of Mayors, American Heart Association, and the National PTA, have signed on to a letter from America Bikes urging Congress to preserve the Cardin-Cochran amendment -- a provision in the Senate transportation bill that allows local agencies to directly access funds street safety projects. The letter is addressed to the 33 House members and 14 Senators on the transportation bill conference committee. Neither co-sponsor of the original amendment is on the committee.
May 31, 2012
Fate of Bike-Ped Compromise Still Unknown as House Reconvenes
The Senate has left town for their traditional late-May nine-day weekend, while the House has just returned from their own week off. Amid these comings and goings, work continues on the transportation bill, which has been concealed inside the conference committee's secret underground lair since the beginning of May.
May 31, 2012
Washington Post: Have We Lost Our Passion for the Automobile?
The data tell us that young people are driving less; that Americans are driving fewer miles -- and it's not just because of the economy. Now the Washington Post asks a more transcendental question: Is the spark gone?
May 24, 2012
One More Time: Here Are 4.6 Billion Reasons to Support Bike Infrastructure
Cyclists may only account for 1 percent of all trips taken in the U.S., but that's still good enough to save the American people a total of $4.6 billion per year, according to research recently released by the League of American Bicyclists, the Sierra Club, and the National Council of La Raza. The announcement coincided with National Bike to Work Day, observed last Friday as part of Bike Month.
May 23, 2012