Trio of Experts Urge Passage of Bipartisan Transportation Bill
The Senate is finally making progress towards passing their two-year transportation bill, but the big question seems to be what's to come in the House -- and not even the House knows.
March 9, 2012
Day One of Votes: Senate OKs Two Amendments, Rejects Keystone Pipeline
After two consecutive failed attempts, floor votes are finally proceeding on the Senate's two-year, $109 billion transportation bill. The votes come on the heels of an agreement between party leaders Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell, which will allow certain non-transportation-related amendments to be voted on. As part of the deal, those amendments will require 60 votes for passage instead of the customary simple majority.
March 9, 2012
Today’s Headlines
Editorial: It’s a Terrible Time — And the Right Time — to Raise Gas Taxes (Baltimore Sun) Boehner Rides Senate’s Version of Transport Bill (Journal of Commerce) Partisan Divisions, Tea Party Leave Mica’s Highway Bill in Tatters (Sentinel) Lawmakers Question LaHood About Transportation Budget (AviationNews) All Signs Point to a Big Year for Women on … Continued
March 9, 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
Today’s Headlines
Reid Says Senate Has Agreed to Amendments, Will Vote on Them Today (Hill) Boehner Rebuffs Report He’s Lost Confidence in Mica’s Five-Year Bill (Hill) House Bill Will Drop Controversial Change to Transit Funding (Governing) Republican Senator Mike Enzi Warns Gas Tax Must Be Raised (HuffPo) House Dem Dennis Kucinich Loses Primary After Redistricting (Grist) The … Continued
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 6, 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
How the House and Senate Transportation Bills Changed Overnight
The sun rose this morning on a landscape considerably different from the one described by not one but two articles Streetsblog published yesterday.
March 2, 2012