Today’s Headlines
More coverage of yesterday’s release of transit and road projects “ready to go” for Congress’ jobs bill (WSJ, Det. News, WashPost, Free Press, Politics Daily) A crucial footnote in the debate over using bailout money on infrastructure: $1 for TARP isn’t $1 for budgeting purposes (Ezra Klein) Maryland governor cheers the prospects for a new … Continued
December 3, 2009
Congress Gets Project Lists for Jobs Bill: $15B for Transit, $48B for Roads
As Democrats in both chambers of Congress work on drafting new economic recovery legislation, they now have a preliminary list of how much spending can be set in motion on short notice: $15 billion for transit projects and $48 billion for highway projects.
December 2, 2009
One More Sign That the Stimulus Traded Infrastructure for Tax Cuts
The independent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released an economic analysis of the Obama administration's stimulus law this week, and one chart in particular (see below right, or a larger version here) is getting a lot of attention from bloggers, including Ezra Klein and Ryan Avent.
December 2, 2009
Why Deficit Politics Matter in the Infrastructure Debate
Infrastructure will be on the menu tomorrow when the White House hosts a "jobs summit" aimed at assuaging public concern over mounting unemployment. Labor leaders have vowed to push for new transport projects, and invitee Paul Krugman is already on record backing a Wall Street transaction tax that some House Democrats want to see benefit the built environment.
December 2, 2009
Today’s Headlines
A response to the New York Times piece claiming that America no longer builds ‘mega-projects’: We’re paying for them in the Mideast (Foreign Policy via Yglesias) The Wall Street Journal quotes construction company chiefs lamenting transportation job losses and wishing for a “pavement fairy” — prompting LaHood to fire back (DOT Blog) Oberstar says the … Continued
December 2, 2009
Who Wants to Buy a New Locomotive? General Electric Hopes Amtrak Does
General Electric's Transportation division inked a high-speed rail technology-sharing deal with China last month, but the prospects on the home front for its fuel-efficient locomotives are downright "bleak" heading into 2010, as its chief executive recently told Dow Jones.
December 1, 2009
Blumenauer: Let’s Redirect Wall Street Bailout Money to Infrastructure
The war in Afghanistan and the health care bill are consuming much of Washington's oxygen today, but looming in the background is a high-stakes clash over what to do with an estimated $210 billion in unspent and returned cash from the government's rescue of Wall Street.
December 1, 2009
In New Orleans, LaHood Unveils $280M in Streetcar and Bus Grants
During a visit to New Orleans, where city planners are seeking nearly $100 million in federal stimulus money for three new streetcar lines, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced plans to award $280 million in grants for streetcar and bus networks.
December 1, 2009
The Missed Opportunity For an Urban Stimulus: Mayors ‘Were Ignored’
Two-thirds of America's population, and more than three-quarters of its economic productivity, come from major cities. So why did the Obama administration's economic stimulus law end up giving metropolitan areas the short end of the stick?
December 1, 2009
Today’s Headlines
Warren Buffett, newly minted full owner of the Burlington Northern railroad, says all cars on U.S. roads will be electric within 20 years (Seeking Alpha) Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL), head of the new Congressional “Jobs NOW!” Caucus, says his members would be open to paying for a new transportation bill with unused money from the … Continued
December 1, 2009