Streetsblog Capitol Hill
Senators Seek Rail Safety Funding in Aftermath of Metro Crash
Mere hours after the Washington Metro system suffered a shocking accident, two senior senators released a letter to their colleagues asking for $50 million in grants to improve rail safety technology.
June 23, 2009
STAA Tuned
We now have in our hands the 775-page Surface Transportation Authorization Act, which was released yesterday by James Oberstar (D-MN), chairman of the House transportation committee. It is, in many ways, a remarkable bill -- a blueprint for how transportation planning and infrastructure construction might undergo a significant shift away from the mindsets that have dominated for the past half-century. There is a lot to like in the bill.
June 23, 2009
Flashback: Does the Government Owe Transportation $21 Billion?
Welcome to Flashback, a regular feature at Streetsblog Capitol Hill looking back at past transportation policy debates that have the potential to impact the next congressional re-authorization -- no matter when it occurs.
June 23, 2009
Oberstar’s Transportation Bill: The Early Word
Policy wonks across the capital are still poring over the 775-page bill released earlier today by Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN), chairman of the House transportation committee. But searching the legislation for the key topics being debated by transportation reformers reveals new details and raises new questions.
June 22, 2009
Oberstar’s Transportation Bill: Download it in Full
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar's (D-MN) new federal bill, which he previewed Wednesday despite pushback from the Obama administration, is officially out.
June 22, 2009
New Report Quantifies Benefits of Adding Smart Growth to Climate Bill
As a new non-partisan analysis of the House climate change bill -- proving that capping CO2 can save money for the poorest fifth of the nation -- continues to make waves on the Hill, it's worth noting that the legislation could yield even greater savings by focusing on reducing transportation-based emissions.
June 22, 2009
A National Infrastructure Bank By Any Other Name …
The House transportation committee's new $450 billion bill provides for a national infrastructure bank intended to "maximize the limited resources available for our surface transportation needs," as the panel's early outline puts it.
June 19, 2009
House GOPers Propose Filling Trust Fund With Stimulus Money
As their committee's leaders butted heads with the Obama administration, a group of Republicans on the House transportation panel proposed to fill the $7 billion hole in the nation's highway trust fund with unobligated money from the economic stimulus law.
June 19, 2009
Oberstar’s Bill Praised by Mayors, Engineers
The U.S. Conference of Mayors and American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) are out with statements this afternoon hailing House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar's (D-MN) new federal transportation proposal.
June 18, 2009
House Transpo Leaders United — in Frustration With the White House
Senior members of the House transportation committee today fired a warning shot at those pushing an 18-month extension of existing federal law, putting the Obama administration and key senators on notice that their $450 billion proposal would move forward this year.
June 18, 2009