Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
House of Representatives

No Details Yet on House Transportation and Oil Drilling Bill

House leaders did not unveil a bill at their press conference this morning.

Speaker Boehner says he's hoping for a vote on a yet-unintroduced energy and infrastructure jobs bill this year. Photo credit: Associated Press

House Transportation Committee Chair John Mica said the bill, when it is released, will:

    • consolidate duplicative parts of the federal transportation system
    • shift responsibility to states and local governments to move transportation projects forward
    • increase the ability to leverage financial resources
    • significantly streamline the process for projects, cutting red tape and federal paperwork
No word on the dollar amount or duration of the bill. Mica did note that the bill is a "key component of our Republican jobs proposal, which I’m pretty confident will put Americans back to work with a long term and fiscally responsible plan."

House Speaker John Boehner said he still hopes the House will act on the bill before year's end.

All the questions from reporters that Boehner took were about the supercommittee.

Meanwhile, environmental groups and transportation advocates are already responding. Jesse Prentice-Dunn of the Sierra Club wrote that "the Speaker is right that we desperately need to invest in our crumbling transportation infrastructure, but wrong in suggesting that we must sacrifice our environment to do so":

Our addiction to oil is threatening our climate, our coasts, and our wallets. Transportation, driven primarily by our passenger cars and trucks, consumes roughly two-thirds of oil used nationwide and is responsible for roughly one-third of our nation's carbon pollution. At the same time, nearly half of Americans lack access to public transit, forcing them to pay any price at the pump to get around.

Instead of offering a plan to upgrade our infrastructure into the 21st century, Speaker Boehner laid out a one-two punch that will leave us addicted to oil for decades to come.

We'll have more information about the bill later today.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

E-Bikes and Creating Financially Sustainable Bike Share Programs

The number of customers using bike share in the U.S. and Canada is now at an all-time high thanks to e-bikes.

Tuesday’s Headlines Pick the Low-Hanging Fruit

Greg Shill argues that if a transformative road redesign isn't possible, it's time to talk about second-best strategies.

May 7, 2024

How to Fight a Texas-Sized Freeway Battle

A new book explores how Texas advocates are fighting back against destructive highway expansions. But what happened to those projects since it was sent to the printer?

May 7, 2024

S.F. Fire Apologies for Tweeting About Imaginary Bike Rule

There is no rule in California that says cyclists have to ride single file — but the San Francisco Fire Department tweeted about it anyway.

May 6, 2024

You Wouldn’t Like Monday’s Headlines When They’re Angry

Which state has the worst road rage? Consumer Affairs magazine looked at a variety of factors to come up with an answer.

May 6, 2024
See all posts