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As Yet Another House Proposal Dies In Utero, Boehner Looks to Senate Bill
The original six-year House transportation bill had funding levels that were too low, so House leaders axed that and came up with a fairy tale bill in which oil drilling would pay for higher transportation spending levels. Then they decided to kick transit funding out of that bill, which didn't fly. So they thought about replacing the whole kit and kaboodle with an 18-month bill, but no one liked that either.
March 8, 2012
Senate Leaders Reach Deal on Transpo Bill, Setting Up Slew of Votes Today
The leaders of each political party in the Senate have reached a deal on their two-year, $109 billion transportation bill, clearing the way for as many as 10 votes on amendments to the bill later today.
March 8, 2012
Experts See No New Transportation Bill Before Election
Last May, Streetsblog ran an article with the headline "Experts Agree: Six-Year Transportation Bill Won't Pass This Year." A lot has happened since then, but we're still right where we started, butting up against a deadline with more than enough gridlock to give even optimistic experts pause.
March 7, 2012
Cloture Vote on Transpo Bill Fails, Setting Up Longer Fight in Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid failed to win a key vote in the Senate today that would have forged significant progress toward passage of a two-year transportation bill. It is the second time a cloture vote on the bill has failed since it was first brought to the Senate floor.
March 7, 2012
John Mica Sidelined by House Leadership for Transpo Bill Rewrite
CQ and AmericaBikes are reporting that Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-FL) has received a rebuke from House leadership, and will play a lesser role as the House reworks its foundering transportation bill. Mica will retain his chairmanship, but he will take a back seat to Railroad Subcommittee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA).
March 6, 2012
Tomorrow’s Key Vote on Senate Transpo Bill Could Go Either Way
In interviewing a number of experts for an upcoming article about the prospects of passing a transportation bill, I've found a surprising amount of disagreement about whether the Senate bill will clear a key milestone tomorrow.
March 5, 2012
As the Economy Grows and Adds Jobs, Americans Keep Driving Less
Well, there you have it.
March 5, 2012
With Contraception Vote Over, Senate Can Finally Get to Transpo Issues
The U.S. Senate voted 51-48 today to reject an amendment to their transportation bill that would overturn measures in President Obama's signature health care law dealing with contraception coverage. The vote clears the way for the Senate to finally begin considering actual transportation issues rather than dealing with delay tactics.
March 1, 2012
House Scales Back Transpo Bill But Keeps on Attacking Safe Streets
UPDATE (3:45 p.m.): Citing a lack of support from his colleagues, Speaker John Boehner has dropped his 18-month transportation proposal and has not yet offered an alternative, according to Politico. "A five-year bill is the best way to do this," he said.
March 1, 2012
Congress to America: “Get a Car!”
Photographer and blogger Jay Mallin, whose video of Woodbridge, VA police ticketing injured pedestrians was picked up by Streetsblog NYC a year ago, has turned his attention to the congressional transportation debacle.
March 1, 2012