Streetsblog Capitol Hill
GM and Chrysler Get 6,666% Return on 2009 Lobbying Investment
Washington lobbyists' 2009 spending levels became final today, and the Detroit Free Press was the first to tally auto industry data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
February 12, 2010
White House: Transit Inflation Outstripping Private Transportation
The White House's annual economic report, in addition to its endorsement of inter-city rail and transit spending, also sheds more light on transit inflation, which is often reported anecdotally in the many cities struggling with fare hikes but rarely put in statistical terms by economists.
February 12, 2010
White House Economic Report Touts TIGER, High-Speed Rail, Transit
The White House Council of Economic Advisers' first annual report under President Obama made headlines today for its gloomy job-creation outlook, but tucked inside its 462 pages is a tangible reflection of a changed outlook on transportation policy under the new administration.
February 12, 2010
Bipartisan Senate Jobs Bill Has Highway Trust Fund Rescue But No TIGER
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and his panel's senior Republican, Chuck Grassley (IA), today offered a job-creation proposal designed to garner enough GOP votes to overcome an anticipated filibuster.
February 11, 2010
D.C., VA, MD to Apply for Federal Aid as Snow Eats Into Transport Budgets
Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia are set to apply for federal disaster aid to offset the costs of cleanup from this month's record-breaking mid-Atlantic blizzards, according to the Washington Post reports today. But the so-called Snowpocalypse could dent more than just worker productivity -- already crunched transportation budgets are also on the line.
February 11, 2010
AASHTO Stimulus Report Omits Jobs Data Comparing Transit With Roads
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the trade group representing state DOTs in Washington, yesterday unveiled a website
and report billed as a one-year "progress report" on the White House's $34.3 billion in formula-based transportation stimulus spending.
February 10, 2010
The Gas Tax Versus a VMT Tax: Is ‘All of the Above’ an Option?
The prospect of an eventual move away from the gas tax and towards a fee on vehicle miles traveled (VMT) has sparked consternation from some well-known bloggers this week, with Matt Yglesias asserting that "a VMT [tax] has no advantages whatsoever over higher gasoline taxes" and Andrew Samwick suggesting that declining fuel tax revenues mean that tax rates need to go even higher.
February 10, 2010
First Lady Launches Childhood Obesity Push With Nod to Biking & Walking
First Lady Michelle Obama took to the mikes this afternoon to kick off a national campaign to combat childhood obesity, emphasizing new initiatives to promote biking and walking alongside a strong focus on healthier food options in schools.
February 9, 2010
New Report Maps a High-Speed Rail Link For Every Major U.S. City
Now that the Obama administration has awarded $8 billion in high-speed rail grants to more than two dozen states, with $2.5 billion more coming soon, why not keep thinking big when it comes to bullet-train expansion?
February 9, 2010
Report: White House Budget Office Helped Weaken EPA Pollution Rule
Pensacola, Florida. Springfield, Missouri. Fort Wayne, Indiana. All three of those metropolitan areas have populations between 350,000 and 500,000, and all three would have been required to install nitrogen dioxide monitoring stations near major roadways under a new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule cracking down on the pollutant.
February 8, 2010