Ray LaHood
Cyclists Laud LaHood’s Bike-Ped Advocacy
Several dozen cyclists rode to U.S. DOT headquarters today to present Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood with a letter signed by hundreds of local bike-ped groups, hailing the former GOP congressman's support for their cause during his first 16 months on the job.
May 28, 2010
LaHood Answers GOP Critic, Soothes Dem Skeptic of Sustainability Budget
As Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood tangled with a senior GOP senator today over the White House's $500 million-plus request for its inter-agency office of sustainable communities -- a new project aimed at channeling federal energy towards local transit-oriented and smart growth plans -- an influential Democrat joined her fellow senator in raising questions about diverting highway money to the effort.
May 6, 2010
LaHood Reaches Out to Transit Industry, Lamenting ‘Lousy Economy’
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood sought to commiserate with the cash-strapped transit industry today, declaring the Obama administration an ally of local rail and bus agencies even as the "lousy economy" clouds prospects for passage of a new long-term federal transportation bill.
March 15, 2010
LaHood Faces Off With GOP Senator Over High-Speed Rail, Livability
When Cabinet secretaries appear in front of Congress' appropriations committees, which control the annual budgets for each federal agency, the proceedings tend to be dry affairs dominated by local concerns and arcane fiscal debates.
March 4, 2010
LaHood Backs Feingold’s Plan to Cancel Unspent Transport Earmarks
When a member of Congress earmarks transportation money for a local project, the funding isn't always spent in a timely manner. The Bush administration's final budget proposed to cancel road earmarks that had sat largely unspent for 10 years, a move that would have freed up $626 million, according to Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI).
February 26, 2010
Fact-Checking the Toyota Hearing: Lower Speeds Increase Safety
Megan McArdle at the Atlantic, writing on today's Toyota hearing in the House oversight committee, hears Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood claim that "lowering the speed limit to 30 mph would not save any lives, which is why we have minimum speeds on highways."
February 24, 2010
Conrad Sees ‘Tough Choices’ Ahead on Transport, Naming VMT Tax & Tolls
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) today shed rare light on the extent of the nation's transportation funding crisis, warning his fellow policymakers that "we are going to have to make tough choices" to raise enough money for continued federal investments in the built environment.
February 24, 2010
U.S. DOT Offers Sample Distracted Driving Bill — With a Potential Loophole
The Obama administration today offered a one-page sample proposal to crack down on texting behind the wheel, aimed at helping guide states through the process of crafting their own distracted driving legislation.
February 22, 2010
Alongside LaHood in L.A., Boxer Talks Timing for the Next Transport Bill
Friday was billed as a day to discuss the next long-term federal transportation legislation, but the day turned in to a stirring defense of the Obama administration's economic stimulus law and ended with a commitment
from Senate environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) to do all she could to help turn Los
Angeles into a transit town within the next 10 years.
February 22, 2010
Boxer, LaHood Coming to L.A. to Discuss Federal Transportation Bill
As transportation reformers continue to wait for the Senate to join the House in offering a new federal
transportation bill, Senate environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Transportation
Secretary Ray LaHood will hold a town-hall meeting at the headquarters of L.A.'s Metro transit authority on Friday, February 19.
February 10, 2010