U.S. DOT
Bailout Recipient Citigroup Gets Contract to Run ‘Cash for Clunkers’
As the Senate gears up for debate this week on approving $2 billion more in "cash for clunkers" new-car rebates, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has vowed to work with the program's main private contractor -- Citigroup -- to iron out any kinks in the system that auto dealers use to apply for taxpayer-subsidized reimbursements.
August 3, 2009
Road Stimulus Money: Half Spent on Repaving, 17% on Widening
The $787 billion economic stimulus law provided $27 billion for roads and bridges. But is the money going to shore up aging infrastructure or to add new highway lanes?
July 31, 2009
‘Cash for Clunkers’ Out of Cash — But Not Quite Finished
The U.S. DOT may have notified car dealers last night that its watered-down "cash for clunkers" plan was already out of cash, but that doesn't mean the rebates are on their last legs. With the White House vowing to protect the program, Congress soon could have to decide whether to keep the good times rolling for auto companies.
July 31, 2009
Oberstar to White House: On Emissions, Back Up Your Words With Action
Appearing this morning at the release of a new report on transportation's role in fighting climate change, House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) challenged the Obama administration to back up their emissions rhetoric with action and pass his six-year, $450 billion infrastructure bill.
July 28, 2009
House Votes on Transportation Spending: Track it Live
While how to pay for future transport programs takes center stage in the House today, another crucial debate is going on over approval of next year's U.S. DOT budget.
July 23, 2009
Government Still Taking Hands-Off Approach to Cell Phoning While Driving
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was prepared six years ago to seek broad limits on cell phone use by drivers -- with or without a hands-free device -- but shelved its plans for fear of alienating Congress and chat-loving voters, the New York Times reported today.
July 21, 2009
Obama Administration’s Transportation Goals: Read Them Here
When the Obama administration proposed an 18-month delay in drafting the next federal transportation bill, U.S. DOT chief Ray LaHood called for Congress to include "critical reforms" alongside the extension of the existing law. But details on those reforms have been kept under wraps -- until today.
July 1, 2009
House Transpo Leaders and Obama DOT Run Off in Opposite Directions
The conflicted state of federal transportation policy-making was on vivid display today, as House lawmakers pressed ahead on a $500 billion bill that still lacks a funding source while the Obama administration scrambled to find $20 billion for a bailout of the highway trust fund.
June 24, 2009
LaHood Asks For 18-Month Extension of Four-Year-Old Transpo Law
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is asking Congress to extend the existing federal transportation law for 18 months, averting the coming insolvency of the nation's highway trust fund while putting off broad-based transport reform for as long as the Bush administration did in the days surrounding the 2004 election.
June 17, 2009
DOT Defines High-Speed Rail: ‘Reasonably Expected to Reach … 110 MPH’
The federal DOT has just released its guidance for states seeking a share of its $8 billion in high-speed rail funding -- and tucked in the rules are standards that could prove crucial to the project's success.
June 17, 2009