Streetsblog Capitol Hill
Lawmakers Cross Party Lines on Transpo Funding as Debate Rages
An 18-month extension of existing transportation law cleared the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee today, but not before spirited debate on a proposal billed as a compromise with House members who remain strongly opposed to the Senate's stopgap.
July 15, 2009
Voinovich Joins House Dems in Saying No to Transpo Funding Stopgap
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will move tomorrow on a White House-backed extension of the four-year-old federal transportation law, but at least one of its members is already opposed.
July 14, 2009
U.S. Transit Agency Issues Safety Warning After D.C. Metro Crash
Following quickly on the heels of a National Transportation Safety Board warning about the D.C. Metro's crash-prevention system, U.S. DOT regulators are asking transit agencies nationwide to ensure they have safety backups in place.
July 14, 2009
Obama’s Agenda for Cities: Enough Talk
In closing his speech to a roundtable on urban and metropolitan issues, given yesterday at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Barack Obama quoted Chicago architect Daniel Burnham, who famously urged men to "make no small plans."
July 14, 2009
Congress Takes First Steps on Obama’s Transpo Budget: The Details
The House panel in charge of annual transportation spending has begun work on a bill that increases transit funding while providing $150 million for D.C.'s cash-strapped Metro and $150 million for the Obama administration's inter-agency push for "sustainable communities."
July 14, 2009
Obama Talks Urban Policy as LaHood Seeks More Urban Transpo Money
The White House Office of Urban Affairs, which has drawn criticism for its inactivity at a rocky economic time for the nation's cities, capped a day-long summit today with a speech by President Obama.
July 13, 2009
GOPer Offers Alternative Climate Plan: More Nuke, Less ‘Energy Sprawl’
Lamar Alexander (TN), the GOP's third-ranked leader in the Senate, today unveiled an energy plan that is intended to serve as a counterpoint to the climate change bill being assembled by senior Democrats. His proposal focused largely on one promise: 100 new nuclear plants in the next 20 years.
July 13, 2009
Transit Outsourcing Booms — But Are There Safety Trade-offs?
The Wall Street Journal reports today on the growing number of cities around the country that are in talks to outsource local transit systems to cope with the budgetary pressures of the recession.
July 13, 2009
Republicans Deem Transpo Stimulus — 6% of Total Spending — a ‘Failure’
Republicans on the House transportation panel held a press conference today to deem the economic stimulus law a failure, citing low infrastructure spending in the nation's highest-unemployment states.
July 10, 2009
Taking GOPer Bachmann a Bit Too Seriously
Back when the Senate kicked off its health care debate, Republicans tested out a new line of attack against health committee chairman Edward Kennedy's (D-MA) draft bill: Its investment in encouraging walking and biking amounts to inexcusable government waste.
July 10, 2009