Tanya Snyder

Last fall, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) proposed diverting all transportation enhancements funding, which goes primarily to bike and pedestrian projects, to bridge repair. "With nearly 25 percent of our nation's bridges deemed either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, we need to make their reconstruction a priority over errant beautification projects," Sen. Paul said.

The last thing the president will do during this hot, lazy recess week is to sign the transportation bill. He'll be surrounded by construction workers, as this bill was always as much about jobs as it was about setting policy, and by college students, since the bill was combined with a provision keeping student loan rates low. You can watch it live on C-SPAN.

Dems Conceded Way Too Much on Transportation Bill (MSNBC) Environmental “Streamlining” Could Improve Safe Routes to School Project Times (Bike Portland) Transportation Bill Gives a Boost to Intelligent Transportation Technology (Marketwatch) The Construction Industry’s Breakdown of the MAP-21 Transportation Bill (For Construction Pros) Sprawl and Lack of Transportation Choices Contributed to Foreclosure Crisis (Earth Island Journal) Transportation … Continued

In the highly polarized and antagonistic transportation bill negotiations, dragged out over the course of almost a year, there was one thing that Democrats and Republicans could agree on: vastly expanding the TIFIA loan program. The Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program has, since 1998, provided federal credit assistance at favorable interest rates to surface transportation projects of national and regional significance.

The House of Representatives approved the transportation bill conference report this afternoon by a vote of 373 to 52. [UPDATE 4:00 PM: The Senate has also approved the bill, 74-19.] This is a bill that’s been called “a death blow to mass transit” by the Amalgamated Transit Union, “a step backwards for America's transportation system” by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, “a retreat from the goals of sustainability and economic resiliency” by Reconnecting America, “a substantial capitulation” by Transportation for America, and “bad news for biking and walking” by America Bikes.

Transpo Bill Includes Federal Oversight For Transit Safety (Examiner) Most Dem Conferees Wouldn’t Sign Off on Final Transportation Report (Politico) Heritage and Club for Growth Are Scoring Vote on Transportation Bill (The Hill) The Horrors of the Transportation Bill: Bike/Ped Edition (Bike Portland) You’d Think he Subway Underneath the Capitol Would Warm Pols to Transit … Continued

In H.R.7 -- the transpo bill so backwards even the House couldn’t pass it -- the roads-only crowd threw transit riders under the bus, as it were, eliminating dedicated funding for transit, which was left to fend for itself off scraps from the general fund.

NOTE: The facts are even worse than they seemed when I wrote this article. States can flex TA money, not just to CMAQ, but to anything they want. See "The Awful Truth About the Transpo Bill's Bike/Ped Loophole," for more.

Transportation for America, the big-tent coalition for transportation reform, tends to be careful about the statements it puts out. Its folks are diplomatic, since they work with both sides on the Hill and a wide variety of coalition members. Yesterday, as details of the conference report were leaking out, they wanted to read the whole bill before weighing in publicly. Now that they've absorbed it all, they've come out swinging.

The Text of the Conference Report (Rules Committee) Democrats and Republicans Both Claim Victory With Transportation Bill (The Hill) DeFazio to Vote Yea: “It’s a Good, Solid Bill that Doesn’t Do Violence to Things We Care About” (The Hill) Coal Ash Language Out, Environmental Review Language In (Politico, AP, BusinessWeek) Baucus: Bill Is Fully Paid For (Finance Committee) House Rejects VMT … Continued