Today’s Headlines
White House Threatens to Veto House Transportation Bill (Politico) Groups Line Up Against Mica’s Road-Building Plan (Orlando Sentinel) House Committee Sets Debate Rules, Gets Through 23 Amendments (Only 200+ to Go!) House Dems Seek Delay on Transportation Bill After Process Change (Hill) Salon Analyzes the Tea Party’s War on Cities Highway Bill Saga Continues for … Continued
February 15, 2012
House Committee Set to Vote Tonight on Slew of Transpo Bill Amendments
The House Rules Committee is now considering the GOP's transportation proposal, deciding how it will be debated on the House floor this week. That means they'll be sifting through the several hundred amendments to the bill that have already been proposed, and decide how many of them -- if any -- will be voted on.
February 14, 2012
House Transpo Bill Doesn’t Have the Votes, So Republicans Split It in Three
With more and more Republicans coming out against provisions of the House transportation bill, the GOP leadership has opted to split their massive bill into three parts to be debated and voted on separately, Politico reports. The thinking, as Larry Ehl writes, is that members will be allowed "to go on record voting 'yes' on sections they strongly support, and 'no' on sections they strongly oppose." One bill would deal with transportation reauthorization (including the Ways & Means Committee's transit "fix"), one with energy production, and one with federal pension reform (yes, all of that was included in the same bill until today).
February 14, 2012
Today’s Headlines
CBO Says House Bill Would Bankrupt Highway Trust Fund (JOC) Rand Paul Puts Hold on Senate Transportation Bill (Politico) Speaker John Boehner’s Invitation to Gridlock (Chicago Tribune) House Bill Sends Seattle Transit Providers Into Cold Sweat (Seattle Times) Eric Cantor, Former Subway Rider, Defends Cuts to Transit (Capital) The Tea Party’s War on Mass Transit … Continued
February 14, 2012
Obama Budget Proposes $476 Billion for Transportation Over Six Years
President Obama has released his budget request for the 2013 fiscal year, which includes a proposed $476 billion investment in transportation over six years. High-speed rail, mass transit, and bridge repair would get a big boost under Obama's plan, which is paid for primarily by war savings as America's troop presence is drawn down in Afghanistan.
February 13, 2012
Why the House Transportation Bill Hits Bus Riders Especially Hard
When the House Ways and Means Committee voted to divert all gas tax revenue away from transit projects, severing transit's only dedicated source of federal funds, they were essentially throwing transit riders under the bus.
February 10, 2012
Today’s Headlines
Sac Bee: House GOP Throws Transit Under a Bus Seven Fatal Flaws in the House Highway Bill (Center for Amer. Progress) Alon Levy Takes a Closer Look at House’s Bad Bill Trucking and Railroad Industries Call Truce, Support House Bill (Bloomberg) White House Backs Senate Transpo Bill (Hill) America Has 40 Million McMansions That Nobody … Continued
February 10, 2012
Senate Transportation Bill Clears First Floor Vote, 85-11
The Senate picked the right day to make themselves look good by comparison.
February 9, 2012
Today’s Headlines
Today Is T4America‘s National Call-In Day to Oppose House Transportation Bill It Gets Worse: House Bill Could Spell Credit Downgrade for Transit Agencies Everywhere (ProgRail) Civil Rights Coalition Joins Fight Against House Bill (Leadership Conference) And So Does the New York Times Editorial Page 2:00 p.m. Cloture Vote Today Begins Reauthorization Process in Full Senate … Continued
February 9, 2012
Baucus Adds Transit Tax Benefit to Senate Transpo Bill
The Senate Finance Committee is currently marking up what lawmakers have christened the "Highway Investment, Job Creation and Economic Growth Act of 2012," the final component of the Senate's two-year transportation bill. This portion of the bill, put together by committee chair Max Baucus (D-MT), is responsible for the "pay-for" -- identifying approximately $13 billion in funding needed to align the bill's spending with its revenue. As of yesterday the committee had announced only a little more than $10 billion in "found" revenue.
February 7, 2012