TIGER

Constrained by Paul Ryan's budget and the sequester, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and HUD passed a $44 billion spending bill for 2014 – 15 percent lower than 2013 enacted levels. The bill contains $15.3 billion in discretionary appropriations for the Department of Transportation, also 15 percent below enacted 2013 levels and amounting to about two-thirds of the president’s request. It passed the subcommitee this morning on a voice vote.

This article is the second of a two-part series about how U.S. DOT's Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery program -- TIGER, a discretionary grant program that got its start under the Recovery Act in 2009 -- has made transportation planning more strategic, based on a benefit-cost analysis and national goals. Read the first part here, about Republicans' empty charges of political bias. 

When the buzz about a new, stimulus-funded, discretionary transportation grant program started to circulate in 2009, some environmentalists opposed it. They worried it would be a slush fund for the Federal Highway Administration, used to build unnecessary roads that would aggravate sprawl and pollution. But insiders knew that wasn’t how the new Obama administration would be handling things.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told members of Congress last week that U.S. DOT would be announcing TIGER V on Friday. He kept us in suspense through the weekend, but here it is: $474 million for innovative transportation projects that don’t necessarily fit neatly under other funding programs.

From the beginning of today’s hearing, Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee made it clear they weren’t going to let Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s last appearance before them be an easy one. While the hearing's purpose was to examine the department's budget request, the tough questions LaHood fielded on the budget were nothing compared to the fight one lawmaker picked about the Columbia River Crossing.

With the election just days away, it’s a good time to reflect on what the Obama administration has done with transportation policy – and what a Romney administration might have in store. Streetsblog does not endorse candidates. This is an overview of their respective records and a look back at what we know of these two men. We’ll start with President Obama in this post and move on to Mitt Romney in the next one.

Some Republican lawmakers really can't stand TIGER, the Obama Administration's competitive grant program for innovative transportation projects, which has funded several local initiatives to improve transit, biking, and walking over the past few years. Right now, Republicans are fighting to keep TIGER funding out of an appropriations bill -- even though demand for the program has been overwhelming. In the last round of funding, nearly 700 applications were received requesting $10.2 billion, with only $500 million available for about 50 projects.

The House of Representatives approved the transportation bill conference report this afternoon by a vote of 373 to 52. [UPDATE 4:00 PM: The Senate has also approved the bill, 74-19.] This is a bill that’s been called “a death blow to mass transit” by the Amalgamated Transit Union, “a step backwards for America's transportation system” by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, “a retreat from the goals of sustainability and economic resiliency” by Reconnecting America, “a substantial capitulation” by Transportation for America, and “bad news for biking and walking” by America Bikes.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood just announced the 47 transportation projects in 34 states (and DC) that will receive a total of almost $500 million from the TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) program. It's the fourth round of TIGER grants, bringing the total up to over $3 billion for innovative transportation projects.