Streetsblog Capitol Hill
Audit Finds U.S. DOT’s Transit Record-Keeping ‘Unreliable,’ ‘Inaccurate’
The disjointed state of "New Starts," the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) program to fund new rail and bus lines, is well-known on the Hill -- in fact, House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) recently quipped that it ought to be renamed "small starts, low starts, and no starts."
August 6, 2009
PBS NewsHour Takes on Alabama’s “Zombie Highway”
UPDATE: Blueprint America's segment has been rescheduled due to breaking news, and will now air on two nights starting Monday, August 10.
August 6, 2009
Transit Union Apologizes to Senate After Campaign-Finance Flap
The United Transportation Union (UTU) is moving quickly to smooth over relations with the Senate Commerce Committee after sparking bipartisan ire with a claim that a former UTU counsel won a presidential nomination thanks in part to the union's political contributions.
August 6, 2009
The Perils of Taking Transit Advice From an Alabama Senator
During yesterday's Senate Banking Committee hearing on transit's funding needs, the most emotional testimony came from Washington D.C.'s Metro chief, John Catoe -- who, as the Washington Post reported, delivered an abject plea for federal aid to keep his system running safely.
August 5, 2009
Portland’s Transport Research Guru Headed to Obama Administration
The U.S. DOT is expected to announce today that it has tapped Robert Bertini, a Portland State University professor who headed Oregon's state-wide transport research effort, as the No. 2 at the Research and Innovative Technology Administration -- the government's home for stats on all things transportation.
August 5, 2009
Lobby Firm Behind Climate Forgeries Helped Kill Higher CAFE Standards
The Washington lobbying firm of Bonner & Associates is facing protests and a possible wire fraud probe after it was revealed to have forged at least a dozen letters to Congress this summer that claimed to represent local grassroots groups opposed to fighting climate change.
August 5, 2009
Glaeser Takes an Unserious Look at High-Speed Rail
Ed Glaeser is a very good economist, and his papers are indispensable reading for those interested in the workings of urban areas. But he is also a strident conservative, whose popular writings frequently challenge conventional progressive wisdom (and my own views).
August 5, 2009
AP: Obama Administration Won’t Release Full Data on ‘Cash for Clunkers’
A $2 billion renewal of "cash for clunkers" is now almost assured, with GOP senators easing up on their threat of a filibuster and one key Democrat remarking that "the statistics [for the program] are much better than everyone thought."
August 4, 2009
Following ‘Cash for Clunkers’ with ‘Riches for Rail’
Robert Menendez (D-NJ), a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee, began his hearing on transit today by displaying the above cartoon by Pulitzer prize-winner Tom Toles. The senator's message parallels Toles': In a world where the auto industry can get $2 billion more in one week, what's to be done about rail's $50 billion backlog?
August 4, 2009
“Build America Bonds” Having a Big Week — Is the Transport Bill Next?
With the nation's highway trust fund facing a $200-billion-plus shortfall over the next 10 years, finding new sources of revenue for transportation innovation is one of the toughest long-term challenges that Congress faces. One possible solution, however, lies no further than this week's business pages.
August 4, 2009