Adam Voiland

White House: Reid’s Energy Bill Could Be Strengthened in Committee (Bloomberg) New Jersey Sprawl Reaches Breaking Point (NJ.com) Do Heavy Trucks Pay Their Share for Highway Maintenance? (Idaho Reporter) LaHood Schedules Distracted Driving Summit for September (Detroit News) Why Gas Tax Hikes Are Long Overdue (USA Today)  Texas DOT Gives Rail a Chance (Dallas Morning News) … Continued

Obama Administration Remains Cool on Gas Tax (Bond Buyer) What Caused the Climate Bill to Unravel; What Happens Next (Time, The Hill) Denver Receives First-of-Its-Kind $300 Million Federal Loan for Transit (Journal of Commerce) Gas Prices Head North (AP) Safety Report Aboout DC Metro Will Likely Have National Implications (WaPo) “Drive ’til You Qualify” Rent … Continued

Climate Bill Dead; Let the Blame Game Begin (Politico 1, 2) The Times Examines the Effect of America’s Huge Transit Repair Backlog Emanuel: Obama Now Considering “Infrastructure Rebuilding Bill” (WSJ) Union Pacific Calls for More Investment in Freight (Bloomberg) Conservative Cyclists: A Rare Breed (MinnPost) Complete Streets Bill Moves Forward in Michigan (NPR) Illinois Approves … Continued

Climate Bill Forecast: Cloudy (Politico, Rolling Stone) Study: $80 Billion Needed to Get America’s Existing Transit Systems Up to Snuff (The Hill) Storm Brewing in the Gulf Could Delay Spill Containment Efforts (Washington Post) Meanwhile, House Dems Water Down Onshore Drilling Legislation (The Hill) Delaying Road Repairs Costs a Lot in the Long Run (Infrastructurist) … Continued

Climate Bill at a Crossroads; Dems to Decide Thursday Whether to Push Forward (Politico, The Hill) Good News: Damaged Gulf Well Appears Stable (Philadelphia Inquirer) Obama Encourages Greener Commutes for Feds (Washington Post) Q&A with T4America Director James Corless (Bike Portland) At the Awkward Intersection of Transit and Religion (Infrastructurist) Minneapolis Eyes Downtown Streetcar Revival … Continued

Oil Now Seeping From Four Places at Deep Horizon Site (Washington Post) It’s Crunch Time for Climate Bill Provisions; Let the Haggling Begin (CQPolitics, NYTimes) A Bipartisan Call for Transportation Funding (Politico) Gov. Rendell Calls for Tax Hikes to Fund Transportation Projects (Post-Gazette) Big Three Push for Lenient Fuel Efficiency Standards (The Hill) Airports Embrace … Continued

Gulf Oil Spill: Here We Go Again (CNN)  Dems Hope a Change in Vocabulary Will Boost Climate Bill Prospects (Politico) US DOT Makes the Public Health Case for Transportation Reform (Fast Lane) Alaska Rep. Don Young Haunted By Ghost of Highway Bill Past (Anchorage Daily News) Texas Senate Loses Transportation Reform Heavyweight (Austin-American Statesman) Amtrak … Continued

At an event billed as a “town hall” held at USDOT headquarters yesterday, top department officials answered questions about the future of the nation’s road, rail, bus, and bike networks -- even as the prospects of passing a comprehensive transportation reauthorization bill anytime this year appear as dim as ever. Already, reauthorization of the transportation bill is nearly a year overdue, as lawmakers have failed to muster the will to pay for it.