Streetsblog Capitol Hill
Bailout Beneficiary Wells Fargo Loses Transit Tax-Shelter Lawsuit
The tax tricks known as SILOs -- in which major banks snapped up rail cars and other pieces of public infrastructure from cash-strapped localities, only to lease them back and claim a tax write-off -- has prompted an outcry from the Hill as Wall Street's biggest players invoked obscure claims to wring money from local transit agencies.
January 12, 2010
Pelosi: Gas Tax Hike Doesn’t Have Majority Support in Congress
After touring the Detroit Auto Show yesterday with fellow lawmakers, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) took one question yesterday: Why are Democrats not pursuing a federal gas tax hike, given its potential to cut carbon emissions and its support from auto industry players aiming to stoke demand for efficient cars?
January 12, 2010
Baltimore Rolls Out Free, Fully Funded Downtown Bus Service
Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon is on her way out of office, thanks to a deal with prosecutors pursuing a corruption case against her, but she's leaving something positive in place for local transit riders.
January 12, 2010
White House and Congress Take Issue With AP’s Transport Stimulus Claims
The Associated Press published a piece today that, after putting "economists and statisticians" to work on analyzing $21 billion in federal stimulus money for transportation, reached a volatile conclusion:
January 11, 2010
Should a Climate Bill Even Try to Fight Sprawl?
The potential for a cap-and-trade climate bill to set aside significant amounts of money for reforming local land use and transportation planning is often touted by Democrats, environmental groups, and this particular Streetsblogger.
January 11, 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
Coming Soon: A Senate Jobs Bill … With a New Approach to Transport?
The House disappointed more than a few transportation reformers last month in passing a major jobs bill with $75 billion for infrastructure but no merit-based funding or changes from the existing formulas for highways and transit.
January 8, 2010
Does Transit-Oriented Development Work Even Without Transit?
Yes, says urban planner Neil Payton. From his guest column today on Reconnecting America's blog:
January 8, 2010
Could Rail be the Sleeper Issue in the Connecticut Senate Race?
After Sen. Chris Dodd's (D-CT) retirement propelled popular Attorney General Richard Blumenthal into Connecticut's 2010 Senate race, ex-Rep. Rob Simmons (R-CT) now faces a more difficult bid -- one described by his own pollster as a "war of attrition." So it's worth asking what role the state's lengthy transportation to-do list will play in the campaign.
January 8, 2010
Democratic Lawmaker Blasts Salazar For Calling Big Oil ‘Kings of the World’
When Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced yesterday that his department would conduct stricter environmental reviews before leasing federal land to oil and gas producers, he added a comment that few in the Democratic party might contest:
January 7, 2010