Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
422093580_050ae3f4c9.jpgRep. Jim Oberstar at the 2007 National Bike Summit. Photo by Bike Portland via Flickr.

The details of Rep. Jim Oberstar's plans for the next federal transportation bill are starting to come into focus. Last Friday, The Infrastructurist ran an item about a document on the subject that has made its way into the public eye:

Oberstar has recently been circulating a “two-page handwritten outline” around the Hill, according to the BNA’s Daily Report for Executives, which obtained a copy of the document. They report the following tidbits:

> The outline calls for “transit equity.” Right now the feds pay 80 percent of highway projects and 50 percent of transit projects. That would change.

> It would create DOT agencies focused on a “national strategic plan” and on “mega-projects.”

> “DOT’s 108 programs [will be consolidated] into four “major formula programs”: critical asset preservation, highway safety improvement, surface transportation program, and congestion mitigationand air quality improvement.”

> The document seems to call for more transparency with transportation data.

Leaves you wanting more, doesn't it?

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday Video: The Largest U.S. City With No Transit

Can communities really keep people moving without fixed-route transit? Find out on this visit to Texas.

November 21, 2025

Friday’s Headlines Tread Carefully

The Washington Post too a deep dive into the epidemic of pedestrian deaths, which rose from 4,300 in 2010 to more than 7,000 in 2023.

November 21, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: Emotional Consumption in China

High-speed rail has completely transformed the country. Think about that sentence: "High-speed rail has completely transformed the country." When was the last time something positive like that happened here?

November 20, 2025

Cutting Federal Transit Funding Won’t Close Budget Gaps — But Will Make Transportation Less Affordable

The Trump administration's proposal to eliminate the mass transit account of the Highway Trust Fund would be short-sighted, ineffective, and ruinous, a new analysis finds.

November 20, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Get Schooled

It's still hard to find people willing to drive the ol' cheese wagon. And since so many places aren't walkable, guess what parents are doing?

November 20, 2025
See all posts