James Oberstar
House Transpo Leaders United — in Frustration With the White House
Senior members of the House transportation committee today fired a warning shot at those pushing an 18-month extension of existing federal law, putting the Obama administration and key senators on notice that their $450 billion proposal would move forward this year.
June 18, 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
Who Still Thinks the Federal Transportation Bill Will Pass On Time?
Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN), chairman of the House transportation committee, has vowed not to support any short-term extensions of the federal transportation bill that's poised to expire on September 30. But Oberstar's commitment to getting the dense legislation to the president's desk on time may be tested by leaders of his own party.
June 16, 2009
Oberstar’s Transportation Unveiling Moved to Thursday
Through a post on his Twitter feed, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) reveals that his release of an outline for the next federal transportation bill has been pushed back by a day.
June 16, 2009
Oberstar to Release Transportation Outline on Wednesday
Jim Oberstar (D-MN), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, will release a "white paper" on his plans for the upcoming federal reauthorization bill in a press conference on Wednesday.
June 15, 2009
When Will Oberstar’s Transportation Bill Drop? Place Your Bets Now
At first it was slated to emerge by June 1. Then its release was said to slip to this week. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) now plans to release his version of the six-year federal transportation bill by the end of the month, with a full House vote unlikely to come before Congress leaves for its annual August recess.
June 10, 2009
Coming Attraction: Teasers From Oberstar’s Transpo Bill Outline
The details of Rep. Jim Oberstar's plans for the next federal transportation bill are starting to come into focus. Last Friday, The Infrastructurist ran an item about a document on the subject that has made its way into the public eye:
May 12, 2009
LaHood to Bike Advocates: U.S. DOT Will Be Your “Full Partner”
BikePortland's Jonathan Maus is down in D.C. today for the National Bike Summit, where Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood gave the opening address this morning. From Maus's recap:
March 11, 2009
Did Team Obama Gut Transit Funds From the Stimulus Package?
Reporting on last week's stimulus letdown -- when a proposal by US Rep. James Oberstar's Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for $17 billion in mass transit spending was slashed by the Appropriations Committee, while $30 billion in proposed allocations for roads and bridges remained the same -- Grist got word that the then-incoming Obama administration may have had a hand in paring down the transportation package.
January 21, 2009
$2 Billion for Bicycling in Stimulus Package?
The most tantalizing tidbit in today's Times profile of Earl Blumenauer comes from fellow cycling Congressman James Oberstar:
January 13, 2009