Ray LaHood
A High-Speed Rail Reality Check for Texas
Despite data backing up the White House's assertion that politics played no role in high-speed rail decision-making, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) -- waging a re-election bid against a GOP primary challenger as well as the Democratic mayor of Houston -- wasn't shy about complaining after his state received less than one-hundredth of the $1.8 billion in rail stimulus it had requested.
February 3, 2010
LaHood Talks Budget: “Very Bright” Future for Infrastructure Fund
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said today that he sees "very bright" prospects for congressional approval of the Obama administration's $4 billion National Infrastructure Innovation and Finance Fund, the new iteration of the long-discussed National Infrastructure Bank proposal.
February 1, 2010
Big Transit News: Bush-Era Rule Tossed, Enviro Benefits on the Table
Transportation reformers and members of Congress have long clamored for changes to the federal government's major transit grant program, otherwise known as "New Starts," and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood answered today with an announcement of sweeping changes in the works.
January 13, 2010
Obama Administration Working on Its Own Six-Year Transportation Bill
The annual powwow of thousands of transportation workers, planners, and wonks that's known as the Transportation Research Board (TRB) conference kicked off in the capital yesterday with a candid admission from some senior U.S. DOT officials: reorienting American transport planning to accommodate the overlap with housing and environmental sustainability is proving pretty difficult.
January 11, 2010
Battle Heats Up Over Pennsylvania Tolling, With National Implications
For more than two years, Pennsylvania transportation planners have sought federal permission to make I-80 one of only three interstates in America approved for tolling.
December 18, 2009
VIDEO: LaHood Visits ‘The Daily Show’ to Talk Transportation
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood visited Jon Stewart on The Daily Show last night to talk about his department's role in the stimulus debate, infrastructure modernization, and development of a U.S. high-speed rail system. Check out the video above (and let us know what you thought in the comments).
December 16, 2009
32 Rail Companies Commit to Expanding in U.S. Under High-Speed Rail Plan
As the Obama administration and Congress keep a close eye on jobless numbers and the shrinking American manufacturing base, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said today that 32 rail companies that have promised to expand U.S. operations if they are chosen to help states build high-speed train networks.
December 4, 2009
LaHood: Gas Tax Increase in Congressional Hands
As Congress maneuvers to end the political impasse over the next long-term national transportation bill, lawmakers are going to have to debate an increase in the federal gas tax, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said today.
November 30, 2009
LaHood’s Twelve-Word Definition of ‘Livability’
The White House's effort to promote sustainable communities has prompted serious (and inadvertently humorous) hand-wringing from conservative pundits who fear the concept of livability will translate into governmental edicts on lifestyle choices. What's the best way to counter such tactics?
October 5, 2009
Spending Transportation Stimulus Money Fast vs. Spending it Well
How fast is the economic stimulus law's $48 billion in transportation aid being spent -- and is it being spent on the right projects? The relative importance of those two questions made for lively debate in the House transportation committee yesterday.
October 2, 2009