Streetsblog Capitol Hill
Inhofe Blasts Transport Bill Inaction That Comes From His Own Party
The Senate environment committee's senior Republican, Jim Inhofe (OK), delivered a stern warning today to any lawmakers who would force another short-term extension of federal transportation programs, which are set to expire at midnight Saturday.
October 29, 2009
Trucking Industry Likes Higher Fuel Prices — When They Help Truckers
To hear American Trucking Association (ATA) vice chairman Barbara Windsor tell the Senate environment panel today, truckers would face a grim economic future if the price of diesel fuel rises, as the ATA predicts would happen if Congress passes climate change legislation.
October 29, 2009
A Republican Returns to Congress With A Map to Transportation Reform
During his 24 years in Congress, former Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) was known for a brand of Republicanism now considered endangered. An ardent environmentalist and defender of objective government science, he played a key role in drafting the acid rain limits that are serving as a model for this year's climate change fight.
October 29, 2009
Senior Dems Release New Distracted Driving Bill as LaHood Testifies
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) today unveiled his plan to take an incentive-based approach to distracted driving as Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood testified on the Obama administration's campaign to end the use of electronic devices behind the wheel.
October 28, 2009
Transportation Policy Becomes the Proverbial Tree Falling in the Forest
Halfway through this afternoon's rally in support of a new federal transportation bill, there came an accidental but telling moment. A group of tourists, attracted by the hundreds of orange flags planted in the National Mall for the rally, walked through the event and whispered questions to attendees about its purpose. Once their curiosity was sated, the group lost interest and ambled away.
October 28, 2009
Philly Mayor Tells Senate: Climate Bill Can Help Make Cities Greener
As the Senate opened its second round of climate change hearings today, Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter delivered the urban case for climate legislation, outlining an array of infrastructure improvements and green reforms that would be made possible by federal action to reduce carbon emissions.
October 28, 2009
Transport Policy Update: Senate to Pass 6-Month Extension This Week
Before week's end, the Senate will pass a six-month extension of the nation's four-year-old transportation law -- setting the stage for another showdown with the House, where transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar remains on the fence about abandoning the push for a new long-term bill before 2010.
October 27, 2009
At Senate Climate Hearings, Lots of Transport Talk and All Eyes on Baucus
The Senate environment committee today held the first in a three-part marathon of hearings on its climate change legislation, with supporters singling out the bill's investments in clean transportation even as one senior Democrat notably withheld his support from the measure.
October 27, 2009
Advice for Policymakers: Time to Check Your Blind Spots
Last week, I left my Washington home, walked to the nearby Metro station, rode a train downtown, walked to the National Press Club, and settled in to hear Steven Rattner, former head of the Obama administration's auto task force, declare that "no one has yet invented a substitute for the automobile."
October 27, 2009
Electric Cars Got a Bigger U.S. Bet in 6 Months Than Transit Gets All Year
Vice President Joe Biden will return to his home state of Delaware today to announce that California car company Fisker Automotive will reopen a shuttered General Motors plant to build a moderately priced plug-in hybrid that goes by the code name Project NINA.
October 27, 2009