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Warner Scores a (Small) Win for White House’s Transportation Agenda
While it pushes for an 18-month delay in the next federal infrastructure bill, the Obama administration has proposed
a data collection effort that would help states and localities begin
tracking ridership and usage of transit, roads, buses, and the like --
a small put pivotal step towards enacting national performance standards for transportation.
September 17, 2009
Senate R’s Attempts to Strip Bike/Ped Requirment Dies on Senate Floor
Sen. Tom Coburn's (R-OK) attempt
to curb federal investment in bicycle and pedestrian paths, as well as
other "transportation enhancements," was defeated on the Senate floor
today -- but it managed to pick up two unlikely Democratic supporters
in the process.
September 16, 2009
New Investigation Finds 2,100 Transport Lobbyists Working the System
Interest groups seeking to influence transportation policy-making have long flooded the capital with campaign cash and lobbyists
-- and their numbers are rising at an eye-popping rate. Nearly 1,800
interests are employing at least 2,100 transportation lobbyists to work
the system in anticipation of the next federal infrastructure bill, according to a Center for Public Integrity investigation unveiled today.
September 16, 2009
The New White House Fuel Efficiency Rule: Count the Loopholes
The final fuel-efficiency rule released by the Obama administration
this morning includes what some lobbyists have nicknamed "the German
provision," giving automakers that sell less than 400,000 vehicles in
the U.S. an exemption for 25 percent of their fleet.
September 15, 2009
How Much Would Most People Pay For a Shorter Commute?
As Washington conventional wisdom has it,
raising gas taxes or creating a vehicle miles traveled tax to pay for
transportation is impossible during the current recession. After all,
who would want to squeeze cash-strapped commuters during tough economic
times?
September 9, 2009
Was the Auto Industry Bailout Legal? It’s Debatable, Oversight Panel Says
The Treasury Department sent $81 billion in taxpayer-subsidized aid to
General Motors and Chrysler -- which is unlikely to be recouped in full
-- using legal authority that "is the subject of considerable debate,"
according to a report released today [PDF] by the congressionally appointed bailout oversight panel.
September 9, 2009
Compromise or Concession: It’s Not Just for Healthcare
Health care and transportation funding are very different items on Congress' to-do list, but the Washington Post's assessment
of the former issue fits the latter as well: Lawmakers return today
from a month-long recess to find a political landscape that has barely
shifted from the impasse of late July.
September 8, 2009
LaHood on Transport: ‘We Don’t Want to Pit One Mode … Against Another’
While Vice President Biden was giving a
candid take on cities' difficulties taking advantage of the economic
stimulus, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was giving a recovery
speech of his own in Chicago -- where he sent a message of transport
reform to an audience that might not have expected it.
September 4, 2009
‘Clunkers’ Consequences: GM Sales Down, Ford Gas-Guzzlers Up
When Congress tripled the size of the "cash for clunkers" program in July, both Congress and the White House
billed the $3 billion program as a boon for struggling domestic
automakers. But when those Detroit car companies released sales figures
today, the numbers didn't quite match up to the hype.
September 1, 2009
Senator Dukakis? What Kennedy’s Loss Could Mean for Transport Policy
As the nation mourns the loss of Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), a discussion
has begun over how to fill his outsized shoes, both in Massachusetts'
Senate seat and atop the Senate health committee -- two vacancies that
could have notable consequences for transportation policy-making.
August 31, 2009