Streetsblog Capitol Hill
Pelosi: Passing a Wall Street Transport Tax Would Require Overseas Buy-in
Any proposal to fund new U.S. infrastructure investment by taxing financial transactions -- such as Rep. Pete DeFazio's (D-OR) bill taxing Wall Street oil speculators -- would require international participation to prevent the trades in question from migrating overseas, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said today.
November 19, 2009
DeFazio: Summers, Geithner Oppose Using Bailout Money on Infrastructure
As Streetsblog Capitol Hill readers may know, there is no love lost between lawmakers on the House transportation committee and President Obama's economic advisers.
November 19, 2009
A Warning From America’s Cities: The Recession Has Only Just Begun to Hit
President Obama may be optimistic about continued U.S. economic growth as 2009 ends, but the reality on the ground in urban America -- which an estimated two-thirds of the population calls home -- is undeniably, disturbingly bleak.
November 19, 2009
‘This Needs Attention’: Senators Seek Shot in the Arm on Transportation
Senate environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and fellow lawmakers today pressed the Obama administration to take a more active role in ending the current political stalemate over federal transportation funding, but the sense of urgency they sought emerged only intermittently during an 80-minute session on infrastructure.
November 18, 2009
Streetsblog Capitol Hill Q&A: Four Questions For Rob Puentes
America's transportation and infrastructure policies affect literally everyone who moves from place to place in the country, but often they are under-discussed and over-simplified by the mainstream media. To help broaden the debate, Streetsblog Capitol Hill is kicking off a new Q&A series called "The Four Questions."
November 18, 2009
Oil-Centric Houston to Experiment With (Coal-Powered) Electric Cars
Houston has long enjoyed its status as America's oil capital, the type of city where the local Petroleum Club threw a $100,000 gala during a period of then-record high gas prices. But things are changing, thanks to a light rail system that is exceeding ridership predictions and encouraging pedestrian-friendly development.
November 18, 2009
General Electric Inks High-Speed Rail Deal With Chinese Government
While President Obama grappled with political concerns during his trip to China this week, General Electric was busy signing technology-sharing agreements with Beijing partners -- including a high-speed rail pact that positions GE to leap ahead of its competitors in the race for business from the Obama administration's bullet train rollout.
November 18, 2009
3 GOPers, 4 Dems Ask Reid to Call Up Six-Month Transport Bill Extension
The senior Republicans on three of the Senate's four infrastructure-centric committees today signed a bipartisan letter asking the leaders of Congress' upper chamber to call up a six-month extension of the 2005 transportation law.
November 17, 2009
Introducing the Samuelson Gas Tax Increase: A Penny Every Month
Democratic lawmakers are discussing the possibility of a one-year stopgap transportation bill but have yet to reach consensus on how to pay for the measure, Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) said today.
November 17, 2009
Dems, AFL-CIO Step Up Push for Infrastructure Spending as Job Creator
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka today called for more investments in infrastructure as one plank of a job creation proposal that he plans to bring to the White House employment summit next month -- as congressional Democrats continued jockeying over how and whether to pursue and long-term transportation bill in the coming months.
November 17, 2009