House of Representatives
Transpo’s Losses in First Round of Spending Cuts Look Worse Than They Are
The two houses of Congress were so much at odds over the Republicans’ proposed spending cuts that they needed two more weeks to bicker about it. So last week, they pushed off a little longer final passage of the budget for a fiscal year that started five months ago. But in order to even pass that measly two-week extension, Democrats needed to accede to $4 billion in cuts.
March 7, 2011
House Passes Seventh Extension of Transportation Bill
Just in the nick of time, the House has passed an extension of the current transportation law. The sixth extension of SAFETEA-LU was set to expire this Friday.
March 2, 2011
AASHTO: Government Shutdown Could Cost Transportation Sector $100M/Day
If the House, Senate, and President Obama don’t agree on a course of action by the end of this week, the U.S. will be left with no federal budget, and the government will shut down. Transit agencies and construction interests don't seem alarmed, but the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials estimates that a government shutdown would stop $100 million in transportation dollars a day from flowing into the national economy.
February 28, 2011
Road Interests Crowd Reauthorization Panels in Indiana and Chicago
Road interests continued to dominate the discussion as members of Congress wound their way through Chicago and Indiana this weekend, gathering feedback for the six-year transportation reauthorization bill.
February 23, 2011
Highways Take Center Stage at Columbus Transpo Field Hearing
Make federal transportation dollars more flexible. Tie infrastructure investment to economic development. Streamline the construction process.
February 23, 2011
How Hard Will the Senate Fight Back Against House Spending Cuts?
Members of Congress worked all day Friday, until 4:42 Saturday morning, to finish voting on hundreds of amendments and, finally, the final HR 1 bill to set spending levels for the rest of 2011.
February 22, 2011
House to Vote on Deep Cuts to Essential Transportation Programs
The House is still voting on amendment after amendment to the continuing resolution that will fund the federal government for the rest of FY2011. Just a quick recap as we go into the weekend. The “base bill” of HR 1 – not the amendments – would do the following:
February 18, 2011
In Age of Budget Cuts, Why Are Billions of Federal Rail Dollars Going Unused?
If I told you there was a fantastic, $35 billion federal program to lend money for railroads to improve their infrastructure, you’d probably assume one of the following:
February 18, 2011
Bike Trail Funding Survives 583 Amendments
Bet you weren’t expecting to hear any good news from the floor of the House today, were you? Turns out not everyone in Congress is as axe-happy as some high-profile Republicans. For example, Amtrak survived one attempt to cut all its funding and another to cut $447 million. (Amtrak funding does stand to lose $224 million in cuts already included in HR 1, the budget bill for the rest of FY2011.)
February 18, 2011