Ben Goldman

As House Punts on Transpo Bill, Senate Stops Short of Opposing Extension (Hill) The Four Unsung Heroes who Got the Senate Bill Passed (Trans. Issues Daily) Bicycle Advocates Hone Their Message for Today’s Hill Visits (BikeLeague) At National Bike Summit, Growing Cycling Beyond Usual Suspects (BikePortland) Standoff Over Transpo Bill Could Eat Into Spring Construction … Continued

Two press releases from the House seem to indicate that members have emerged from recess intending to do something other than nothing. The first is from Transportation and Infrastructure chairman John Mica:

The League of American Bicyclists welcomed a record crowd to the 2012 National Bike Summit this morning. Over 800 attendees filled the basement of the Grand Hyatt Metro Center in Washington to hear remarks from federal lawmakers and officials about the state of bike advocacy in America -- so large a crowd that president Andy Clarke said that next year the LAB's sights are set on the much larger Walter E. Washington Convention Center, just two blocks away.

House Dems, Led by Tim Bishop (D-NY), Will Introduce Senate Bill (Hill) Senate Says It Won’t Take Up House Extension, Setting Stage for Standoff (TranspoNation) Transpo Insiders Discuss What They’ve Learned from Reauth. Process (Trans. Issues Daily) Scenes From the National Bike Summit: Day One (BikePortland) Oklahoma Fifth Grader’s Winning Entry to Bike Poster Contest … Continued

It looks like everyone who bet on "extension" can collect their winnings.

Something to keep in mind while the House GOP leadership toys with the idea of sending national transportation policy back to the 1950s…

The Week Ahead: Transpo Bill Comes to a Crunch (Hill) National Bike Summit Mobilizes Hundreds to Save Cycling (BikeLeague) Secretary LaHood, NJ Senators Push Senate Bill As-Is (HuffPo) Repubs Want the Federal Gov’t Out of the Transportation Business (Politico) Boehner Weighs Whether to Take Up Senate Transpo Bill (NOLA.com) Transpo Bill: Dedicated Funding Increase Needed … Continued

The House of Representatives is back in town, and its members still don't have a transportation bill. In fact, they probably won't have one for weeks. But two groups holding conferences in Washington this week would be more than happy to help them out in the meantime.

Extension, Not Passing a Multi-Year Bill, Is Now Focus of Congress (Trans. Issues Daily) Transportation Lobby Sees Road to Short-Term Spending Bill (Hill) As Gasoline Prices Rise, So Does Push for Bicycle Trails (USA Today) The Georgetown Climate Center Summarizes the Senate Transpo Bill [PDF] Transit Vote Could Bring New Life to Gritty Atlanta (Grist) … Continued

Funding to make biking and walking safer has taken something of a beating in both the House and Senate transportation bills. The fate of the most significant federal bike-ped programs -- Safe Routes to School, Transportation Enhancements, and Recreational Trails -- is still very much in doubt. Under the Senate bill, passed Wednesday, local agencies would at least have greater access to the funds that remain for these programs. At last glance, the House bill completely obliterated dedicated bike-ped funding.